Redirecting our Appetites – Power of Prayer and Fasting
Matthew 3:16-17 “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 4:1 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
Questions:
- Did Jesus fast to overcome the temptations?
- Did the temptations come as a result of him fasting?
Before Jesus:
- Preached
- Healed
- Made disciples
- He fasted
Philippians 2:6-8 “Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself”
John 5:19 “Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”
John 8:28 So “Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.”
So, this wilderness time of Jesus shows us that:
- Our strength doesn’t come from comfort
- Our power doesn’t come from fullness
- Victory doesn’t come from self-reliance
- It comes from dependence upon God
Matthew 4:1-2 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said…”
Matthew 4:3-10 “The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
“Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
- First the devil went for the hunger temptation
- Second the I dare you temptation
- Third the temptation for power
Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”
Mark 9:28-29 “After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out? He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”
There is power when we partner fasting with prayer:
- It is not about getting more of God’s attention
- It is about us giving God more of our attention
Jesus came out of the wilderness stronger, not weaker.
Fasting didn’t drain Him — it prepared Him.
