Is prayer the key, or is prayer the door? It is both, and the difference is worth understanding.
Prayer is the key, but it must be coupled with faith. The key unlocks the ears of Jesus so He may hear us. Prayer is also the door — the entrance into the heart of Jesus so He may help us. The key causes God to hear us. The door causes God to feel us, and then He moves with compassion.
Jonah shows both. Jonah 2:2 — the Lord heard his prayer; that was the key. Jonah 2:7 — the Lord felt his prayer and moved with compassion; that was the door. Jonah 2:10 — the Lord answered. He prayed from the belly of a fish with no microphone, no audience, and no platform, and heaven responded.
How prayers come in unto the Lord
- Pray with faith
- Pray with sincerity
- Pray with power
- Pray with boldness
- Pray with pure motives
- Pray in Jesus' name
Now the part that makes fasting practical. Jesus said whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. When you bind, you must also loose. Do not leave a vacuum.
Bind and loose
- Bind hatred, loose love
- Bind jealousy, loose contentment
- Bind pride, loose humility
- Bind selfishness, loose generosity
- Bind sickness, loose health
- Bind lying, loose truthfulness
- Bind chaos, loose peace
- Bind anger, loose comfort
This is what the hours you freed up are for. You did not remove a meal so the clock would run slower. You removed it so that at noon, when you would have been eating, you are binding and loosing over your household, your ZIP code, and the assignment you were given.
Pray this on your fast days
Lord, I am using my key. I need You to hear me, feel me, and answer me. I will pray with pure motives, with boldness, and with the power that is within me — all in the name of Jesus. Amen.