Welcome to the Special Fasting Edition of the Prayer Motivator Devotional Broadcast #173

This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International. It is good to be with you today.

We praise the Lord for all of you who have fasted and who are fasting and praying in various ways throughout this time. We are now into the 7th and final day of the 7 day fast which will end tonight on election day, Tuesday, November 6th. For those on the 40 day fast under the leadership of Dr. Rick Scarborough of Vision America, your fast ends tonight on election day, Tuesday, November 6th as well. As we close this fasting and prayer campaign, we want to thank all those who participated and we praise the Lord for what He has done and is doing in the nation and the world. However, we don't want to stop here, we ask that Christians everywhere continue to pray urgently and sincerely for our country during these difficult times and to fast when the Lord leads you to do so. Whoever wins this election is not important in the grand scheme of things. But what is important is that there is a remnant of God's people who are committed to standing strong for Him, to standing firm on biblical principles, to praying and reading the Bible, to confessing and repenting of sins, to getting and keeping our houses in order, to preaching God's Word with boldness, to sharing the Gospel with the lost, to not compromising the faith that we hold dear, and to making God's Word and Will known in the nation and the world. 

As you fast, please continue to pray for the  following among other things:

1. For God to heal Christian families

2. For God to revive the church

3. For God to heal the nation

4. For 3 million or more people to come to Christ  

5. And if the Lord is going to tarry His coming, for God to give us the godly leadership that this nation needs going forward.

Our Scripture reading for today is Luke 18:9-14 from the King James Version which reads: 

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Allow me to share with you some important insights regarding this passage from Matthew Henry's Commentary:

Finally, we see the publican's acceptance with God. We have seen how differently these two addressed themselves to God; it is now worth while to enquire how they sped. There were those who would cry up the Pharisee, by whom he would go to his house applauded, and who would look with contempt upon this sneaking whining publican. But our Lord Jesus, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secret is hid, who is perfectly acquainted with all proceedings in the court of heaven, assures us that this poor, penitent, broken-hearted publican went to his house justified, rather than the other. The Pharisee thought that if one of them must be justified, and not the other, certainly it must be he rather than the publican. "No," saith Christ, "I tell you, I affirm it with the utmost assurance, and declare it to you with the utmost concern, I tell you, it is the publican rather than the Pharisee." The proud Pharisee goes away, rejected of God; his thanksgivings are so far from being accepted that they are an abomination; he is not justified, his sins are not pardoned, nor is he delivered from condemnation: he is not accepted as righteous in God's sight, because he is so righteous in his own sight; but the publican, upon this humble address to Heaven, obtains the remission of his sins, and he whom the Pharisee would not set with the dogs of his flock God sets with the children of his family. The reason given for this is because God's glory is to resist the proud, and give grace to the humble. 

Proud men, who exalt themselves, are rivals with God, and therefore they shall certainly be abased. God, in his discourse with Job, appeals to this proof that he is God, that he looks upon every one that is proud, and brings him low. Humble men, who abase themselves, are subject to God, and they shall be exalted. God has preferment in store for those that will take it as a favour, not for those that demand it as a debt. He shall be exalted into the love of God, and communion with him, shall be exalted into a satisfaction in himself, and exalted at last as high as heaven. See how the punishment answers the sin: He that exalteth himself shall be abased. See how the recompence answers the duty: He that humbles himself shall be exalted. See also the power of God's grace in bringing good out of evil; the publican had been a great sinner, and out of the greatness of his sin was brought the greatness of his repentance; out of the eater came forth meat. See, on the contrary, the power of Satan's malice in bringing evil out of good. It was good that the Pharisee was no extortioner, nor unjust; but the devil made him proud of this, to his ruin.

I am sorry for this long-winded commentary, but since this our last day, I wanted to complete the commentary of this passage.

Our fasting quote of encouragement today is from Wesley Duewel. He said: "Fasting in the biblical sense is choosing not to partake of food because your spiritual hunger is so deep, you determination in intercession so intense, or your spiritual warfare so demanding that you have temporarily set aside even fleshly needs to give yourself to prayer and meditation."

Our fasting devotional today is titled "THE 'REWARD' JESUS PROMISES FOR FASTING" from John Piper, author of the bestselling book "A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer". 

Matthew 6:16-18 reads:  And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

What is the "repayment" or the "reward" that Jesus promises from the Father here? Might it be "the praise of men"? We would make a dupe out of God if we tried to use him in some roundabout way to get what we really want instead of him, the praise of men. That's not the reward he gives.

Might it be money? The very next verse (v. 19) warns against laying up treasures on earth (whether God gives them or not) and says to lay up treasures in heaven--where there is no earthly currency except faith and love.

No, the best place to find out the reward of our fasting is to look here in the Sermon on the Mount. For example, the prayer that Jesus just taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13 begins with three main longings: that God's name be hallowed or revered, that his kingdom come, that his will be done on earth the way it's done in heaven. That is the main reward God gives for our fasting. We fast out of longing for God's name to be known and cherished and honored, and longing for his rule to be extended and then consummated in history, and longing for his will to hold sway everywhere with the same devotion and energy that the inexhaustible angels show sleeplessly in heaven forever and ever.

For sure he gives us many, many specific things through fasting. And it is not wrong to seek specifically for his help in every area of our lives through fasting. But these three petitions: hallowing his name, seeking his kingdom, and doing his will--these give the test to see if all the other things we long for are expressions of these. Do we want our sons and daughters saved because this would hallow God's name? Do we want North Korea to open for the sake of the advance of the kingship of Jesus? Do we want upright leaders in government because God's holy, revealed will for his creation is at stake? Do we want our churches revived and awakened with divine power and love and joy because it glorifies the name of God and advances his kingdom and brings about his will?

This is what Jesus is calling us to--a radically God-oriented fasting. So for the sake of your own soul, and in response to Jesus, and for the advancement of the kingdom of God's great saving purpose to glorify his name, fast, and fix your hair, and wash your face, and let the Father who sees in secret see you open your heart of yearning to him with fasting. The Father who sees in secret is brimming with rewards for your joy and for his glory.

Now, let's take this time to break up the fallow ground in our lives. Hosea 10:12 states, "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you."

The great evangelist Charles G. Finney preached a message titled "Breaking Up the Fallow Ground - An Outline for Repentance". In this sermon, he listed 26 sins that we as Christians should confess and repent of. The fifteenth sin he lists is: Wordily mindedness. He urges us to confess this sin in our lives by saying: "What has been the state of your heart in regard to your worldly possessions? Have you looked at them as really yours-as if you had a right to dispose of them as your own, according to your own will? If you have, write that down. If you have loved property, and sought after it for its own sake, or to gratify lust or ambition, or a worldly spirit or to lay it up for your families, you have sinned, and must repent."

Let's go to the Lord in prayer right now and confess our sins before God. 

GENERAL PRAYER

Dear friend, if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, please allow me to show you how you can get to know him today.

All you have to do is believe "that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" and you will be saved. And, like millions of others, you can come to know the risen Lord Jesus Christ for yourself.

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 

The Bible states in the book of Romans 10:9, 13: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." 

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose again, and you want to invite Him into your heart today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! I want to congratulate you on receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read "What To Do After You Enter Through the Door". Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."

Until next time, continue to fast and pray for the salvation of the nation and the world. God Bless You!