Prayer: Starting a fast!
Last Friday we talked about the importance of fasting here on the blog, we also addressed frequent questions that can arise in our midst regarding this topic and today we will continue praying for the beginning of a fast, maybe you are not starting a fast now, but I want to leave here available a prayer for you when you decide to do it.
I would also like to recapitulate a few points: Fasting doesn’t change God, it changes you! Fasting will not make God kinder or more merciful to you, in fact, it is directly related to us, that is, our need to break through the barriers and limitations of our flesh. Fasting mortifies our flesh and makes our spirit alert, so its primary purpose is the mortification of the flesh.
We should also not be like the Pharisees, for Jesus condemns exhibitionism before men to attest your spirituality. If you wish, feel free to return to the last text to learn a little more about fasting. I leave here some passages especially for you today:
4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:16-18
Remember that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I will leave it here, because each one of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to follow me, it will be a pleasure, feel free to speak it in your own way.
Prayer
Beloved God, today I decided to start a fast. I decided to fast because your prophets fasted, your Son fasted, as did his disciples and apostles. I know that my flesh must be mortified, so I fast, and I hope to do this with my heart in the right place. Through this fast, I want to hear your voice and live it with more commitment. I desire to turn more to You, even though there are so many things distracting me around.
I ask Your forgiveness for the enormous blindness that has taken hold of me, because I have not given You thanks for the goods that You have given me. I want with this fast that You make me able to appreciate them, as well as the surrounding people. Make me more sensitive to hear and heed your word. May this fast lead me to grow in love for You and for my neighbors.
May I understand through fasting how much I need to walk beside you. I pray that my heart will sigh for You, just as the deer sighs for springs of water and the desert awaits the clouds that bring the rains! May understanding and solidarity grow in me on behalf of those who suffer hunger, thirst, and have no possessions. Help me to see what I possess and what I don’t need.
Father, I ask for the grace to understand that I am a pilgrim on this earth. May I remember that even though I have possessions, nothing belongs to me, for all that I have is from You. Deliver me from my selfishness and pride! Through this fast, deliver me from bad habits, appease my passions, make me grow in virtues. May Your grace remain in the depth of my soul, and through it may I be purified!
Help me, Lord, to resemble Your Son in all trials and temptations, so that I may be able to repel every seduction and thus serve You more and more. My God, Yours is the power, the glory, and the honor forever. It is in the name of Jesus that I pray, give thanks and ask that my words may reach the Lord like a sweet perfume!
Prayer of a mere servant of God
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by
Nicole Leao
Nicole Leão, faço parte da equipe da Bíblia JFA.
