Fast and Pray

FAST & PRAY

Dr Reg Morais PhD

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Smashwords Edition

Published by Anoint the World Ministries Perth, Western Australia

Copyright © 2014 by Anoint the World Publications

Published by Anoint the World Ministries, Perth, Western Australia

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any way, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by Australian Copyright Law.

Dr Reg Morais PO Box 954 Hillarys, Western Australia 6923

Unless otherwise mentioned, all scripture quotations are from the New King James Bible. Copyright © 1983 by Thomas Nelson Inc.

Print Edition ISBN 978–0–9870807–6–9

Cover photo from www.photos.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to Living Faith Community Church which I founded alongside Pastor Leanne Shaw in 2007. Throughout the entire journey of planting and expanding this church I was thrown into the deep end to fast and pray for the people who attend, whom I love very much.

Many a time I was dumb-founded by situations and crises people brought to me for help in bringing some form of resolution into their lives. Had I relied on my limited human resources I could never have been of any effective assistance to them. Thankfully God decided to use the people who attend this church as a continual workout for me to fast and pray.

I am therefore eternally grateful to my church for providing me with opportunities that led to my personal teachings, revelations and insights regarding fasting and praying.

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank the following lovely people for the help they have given me in getting this book completed. They are Wendy Fitzgerald, Colin Norris, and my beautiful wife Caryn. A huge thanks to you all for your time, patience and assistance.

Contents

Foreword Dr Bruce D Allen

1. Why Fasting and Prayer?

2. Modern-Day World Changers

3. Fasting Brings Breakthroughs

4. Beyond the Borders

5. The Fast of Repentance

6. Stages of Fasting

7. A Face-to-face Encounter

8. Go the Distance

9. The Ministry of Fasting and Prayer

10. The Secret Powers of Fasting

11. Fasting to Please God

12. Fasting Initiated by God

13. God-Imposed Fasting

14. Lifetime Fasting and Prayer

Epilogue

Foreword

Dr Bruce D Allen

When I was asked to write a foreword for Dr Reg Morais’ book on Fasting and Prayer I was at first hesitant. Over the years there have been many books written on this subject, each with some good insights and observations. My initial thought was, What more can be said that has not already been said?

However, as I began to read this book I was at once captivated by the passion and insightful revelation Dr Morais has gleaned, not only from his study on the subject, but by living his life according to what he has written. His is a conviction brought about by a lifestyle of fasting and prayer that is clearly reflected throughout these pages.

Modern secularism has, to a large extent, invaded the Church to such a degree that it is almost unrecognisable when held up to the mirror of scripture. One of the most powerful elements that has been lacking from the majority of believers is their lack of understanding about this powerful tool called prayer and fasting. When we stray from the basics outlined in scripture we become something other than that which was originally purposed by God.

As we once again embrace the truths in scripture that are foundational, we move back towards the source of truth – Jesus.

I believe that any hungry heart serious about their ongoing walk with the Lord; any serious believer who wants to serve the King of Glory in fullness in this hour, must have a firm understanding of the principles of fasting and prayer. Without this knowledge we are charging into battle only half equipped.

Captured in this book you will find the heart of God for you to walk a victorious and overcoming Christian life – a life not only characterised by utter dependence upon God but a life also characterised by extraordinary intimacy with signs, wonders and miracles.

In my own life and walk with the Lord, I have over and over again been challenged to study the very life of Jesus, and to pattern myself after His life and walk. He was a man of prayer and fasting, availing Himself of the wisdom that comes only through seasons of separation and the denying of His natural inclinations through fasting and prayer. How can I do anything less than what my Lord did?

I believe this book will become a classic on fasting and prayer, so I encourage every believer who is serious about greater intimacy with Jesus Christ, and ongoing victory in their life, to study what Dr Morais has so succinctly placed before us.

For His Glory

Dr Bruce D Allen

Still Waters International Ministries

Chapter One

Why Fasting and Prayer?

"One way to begin to see how vastly indulgent we usually are, is to fast. It is a long day that is not broken by the usual three meals. One finds out what an astonishing amount of time is spent in the planning, purchasing, preparing, eating, and cleaning up of meals."

– Elizabeth Elliot

Throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament, fasting is mentioned approximately seventy times. So, obviously it is meant to be an important element in the life of every believer. That’s because fasting is a method and a tool to harness the power of God.

When I gave my heart to the Lord back in Singapore in the early 1980s, virtually every church preached extensively about fasting and prayer. Then, sometime in the early 1990s, that started to change; and now fasting has become a forgotten subject. No one wants to touch it; no one wants to speak about it; no one wants to know about it. The problem with this avoidance of fasting is that we are missing out on some tremendous power.

Untapped power through the unlimited love of God can be released through fasting and prayer. In Matthew 17, we read about something which can only be accomplished through fasting and prayer. The story begins like this: Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. – Matthew 17:1-3.

At that moment on the mountain, Jesus was submitting to the work and the will of the Father. Because Jesus maintained a lifestyle of fasting and praying, He continually possessed the power to submit to the will of His Father, and to do mighty miracles.

Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets, that is, the books of the Old Testament which all pointed to the coming of the Messiah. So in a sense, they appearing to Jesus confirmed that He was who He said He was – the Lamb of God, and the Messiah.

The story continues: And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord it is good for us to be here; if you wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. And while he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him! And when the disciples heard, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise, and do not be afraid. When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. Now as they came down the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead. – Matthew 17:4-9.

When Jesus took his three core disciples with Him up the mountain, they were all caught up into another realm. When the disciples saw Moses and Elijah, and Jesus transfigured and shining like the sun, it was not by their everyday vision. God opened their eyes to another realm – the dimension of God’s Spirit.

When we sit under the power of God and come into His presence, we are in a cloud, caught up into another realm. That is the power of God’s presence within us. Although we won’t necessarily see Moses and Elijah, we will see something different. All things are possible to those who believe in Him.

Continuing the story: And His disciples asked Him, saying, Why then do the scribes say Elijah must come first? Jesus answered and said, Indeed Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist. – Matthew 17:10-13.

Now we come to the part of this chapter I want to focus on: And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me. – Matthew 17:14-17.

This scripture is very powerful. Here Jesus is rebuking the disciples, almost to a point of chastising them. I doubt any of us enjoyed having our own fathers or mothers chastising us, but it is a biblical concept, and is something that Jesus does. In Hebrews 12:6, we read: For whom the Lord loves He chastens.

Jesus then told them to bring the child to Him: And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, Why could we not cast it out? So Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. – Matthew 17:18-21.

With Jesus on the mountain Peter, James and John had been taken into the realm of the spirit where they saw amazing things, yet when they came down from the mountain and were asked by a man to cast out a demon from his son, they couldn’t do it. That’s because when they stepped down from the mountain, they returned to where, in their hearts, they believed they did not have the power.

Even though they had heard the Father speaking, and saw the glory of God, the disciples could not cast a demon out of a boy. They were probably shaken to the core, and perhaps a little confused, so Jesus explained, This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.

Jesus knew that fasting and prayer holds a unique power that cannot be harnessed any other way. In the book of Genesis, when Father God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, He basically told them to eat whatever they liked, and as much as they wanted. The Father never told them they needed to fast. But that changed when sin and disobedience came into the Garden. With sin came the need for repentance and sacrifice. Hence fasting is meant to be an act of true repentance. Because our flesh so readily leads us toward sin, one reason we fast is to deny our flesh.

One of the main reasons the early prophets and people of God in the Old Testament fasted was to deny themselves so their body would not sin. With the New Testament, the reason for fasting began to change. In this book I will take you into what God has taught me about fasting and prayer in the New Testament Church.

The Missing Link

I was an autistic child for the first 13 years of my life. When I gave my heart to the Lord Jesus, my mother told the pastors, My son is very slow and doesn’t comprehend much. He doesn’t really know what he’s doing. The pastors answered, Tell your son to fast every Friday – not partial fasting but full fasting and prayer. One pastor added, I don’t know when your son will actually be healed, but I know there’s a power released through fasting and prayer.

Without asking any questions, I fasted every Friday for over a year. Then my faith and obedience were blessed with complete healing. God does sometimes heal miraculously on the spot, but in my case it happened over time, with fasting and prayer going on behind the scenes. You’ll often find that is the case when people experience God’s miracle power.

Maybe right now you’re praying for your marriage, or for a breakthrough in your business, or for your parents to recover, or for a financial breakthrough. Whatever it is, I want to challenge you to take it to the Lord, not only in prayer but in fasting as well. Taking on a lifestyle of fasting and prayer could be the missing link to you seeing miracles in your life.

Fasting can also help you lose weight. You don’t have to go to any organisation which is selling a weight loss program, all you have to do is fast. The only reason I have a hard time losing weight is because some ladies in my church make the most heavenly cakes which I find hard to resist. Food often dominates us to keep us from the Lord, but the moment we empty ourselves by fasting and praying before God, there is nothing between us and Him.

If you are experiencing in your prayers for your family, your marriage, your children, your job, your finances, or whatever you’re asking God to do for you, physical or spiritual obstacles between you and the focus of your prayers, the only way you will overcome them is by fasting and prayer.

Jesus led a life of fasting and prayer. Even before He started His public ministry Jesus, after being anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, fasted and prayed for 40 days.

After Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, the book of Matthew tells us: Then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil, and in those days he ate nothing. – Matthew 4:1-2.

At the end of His fasting in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted three times by Satan. But each time Jesus was tempted by Satan He had the perfect answer to overcome the devil. Why did