Book #3 - The Power of Prayer and Fasting

The hand-in-hand spiritual discipline of prayer and fasting is not a gimmick or a spiritual fad, although its neglect in recent decades makes it a new discovery for many Christians. Instead, as author Ronnie Floyd explains, prayer and fasting is a Scripture-ordained act of obedience – a means of humbling ourselves before God, drawing closer to Him, and making room for Him to speak and act in our lives.

The Power of Prayer and Fasting offers firsthand stories of the difference prayer and fasting has made in the author's life and others, compelling explanations of how this discipline works in a Christian's life, practical guidance for those who have never fasted before, and a stirring call to revival.

Fasting is a forgotten discipline in the church today, at least it was for me. It's something we mention from time to time, but don't really understand, and rarely practice. This book is a great reminder and encouragement to change those things. The author really hits home on the importance and power of prayer and fasting in our daily lives.

This book created a desire in me to fast by seeing the great invitation, or even, command, God gives us to humble ourselves through prayer and fasting. I had to push through some of the chapters. Easy reads don't generally follow when speaking of self-denial and the squashing of pride. The latter half is invaluable in terms of practical help while on a fast.

This book is very broad based and applicable to those delving into the arena of fasting. Foundationaly sound, this book pulls the most relevant scriptures for the legitimacy of fasting even in our "modern" times. Not only is this book convincing, it also gives practical advice for the hesitant follower. I thought it did a nice job of balancing the notion of fasting for the appropriate reasons yet not with the wrong motives.

Those of us who call ourselves Christians have the power of the Holy Spirit in us. That same power is what raised Jesus from the dead. However, few of us take advantage of this power that is at our disposal. The premise, which comes right out of the Bible, is that prayer and fasting are God's gateway to supernatural power and spiritual breakthroughs. These are spiritual disciplines which are required of us. According to the author, prayer and fasting is a Scripture-ordained act of obedience a deep means of humbling ourselves before God, drawing closer to Him, and making room for Him to speak and act in our lives. The author offers powerful examples from his experiences personally and in his church to show God moving powerfully to answer the requests of His people. This book provides sound doctrine, and gives us solid instructions on how to break through our strongholds. I am convinced that if Christians would follow the instructions provided concisely and convincingly in this book, they would live lives that would be more honoring and pleasing to their Heavenly Father. We need to be real through genuine confession and repentance as we are in the holy presence of God. Prayer and fasting will result in authenticity and transparency with everyone. This book provided such practical applications to show fasting and prayer, which are difficult for our weak flesh to be obedient acts of worship to God.