There are several imperatives in scripture where we are strongly urged to do something or be a certain way. We are urged to live a holy life, live at peace with others, look ahead and not behind, make disciples of all nations, and in John 9:4 we are urged to “do the works of Him who sent us while it is light.”

In the Gospel of John the word “works” refers to miracles, a work that cannot be apart from God. If the Bible is true, then this passage indicates to us that are to partner with God in the miraculous! So why don’t we see more miracles today? Jesus wouldn’t command us to do something that we could not do. So why aren’t most Christians doing the “works” of God?

The Bible is not just a book of good moral teachings. It is God’s personal letter to creation. It explains to us who He is and how to have a relationship with Him. The Bible also demonstrates how to live by faith. Prayer is a vital part of faith-living. Prayer is a demonstration of faith in God. When we pray we believe that God hears us and that our prayers will be answered. (Prayers of unbelief are never answered, James 1:7-8.) God answers EVERY prayer.

Several passages of scripture make clear that we have an enemy, named Satan, who attempts to break our faith and extinguish our hope in God. (Check out these passages Daniel 10, Ephesians 6, John 10, 1 Peter 5, Revelation 12.)

Satan is not omnipotent, he is NOT all-powerful. He is limited in power and capacity. He is not omnipresent. He CANNOT be everywhere all the time. He is however deceptive and “masquerades” as an angel of light. So we must pray and fast.

Jesus’ fasted forty days and forty nights as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11. As a devout man of God He would have fasted annually on the Day of Atonement as prescribed by the Law. Fasting caused the power of God to work through Jesus during His time on earth. He set the example for us all to live a life of faith and to do the work of God.

Day and night are symbols of life and death. We have a specific amount of time on earth and while we do we are to be busy. There are hurting people, suffering people, all around us and God has included us in His plan to restore hope to a broken world. He has given us faith as a means of accomplishing the impossible. He commissions us to finish the work Jesus began.

By fasting we rekindle our first love for God; we sharpen our spiritual edge; we exercise our authority in Christ to do His will. In John 9, a man who was blind from birth was healed and saw his very first sunset because Jesus was willing to do the work of God. Fasting is effective and powerful and necessary for us to do God’s work.