Prayer and Fasting in critical times

1. Prayer and
Fasting
in critical times

2. Chief Rabbi David Lau

3. Ezra 8:21-23
21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I
proclaimed a fast, so that we
might humble ourselves before
our God and ask him for a safe
journey for us and our children,
with all our possessions.

4. Ezra 8:21-23
22 I was ashamed to ask the king for
soldiers and horsemen to protect us
from enemies on the road, because we
had told the king, “The gracious hand of
our God is on everyone who looks to
him, but his great anger is against all
who forsake him.”

5. Ezra 8:21-23
23 So we fasted and petitioned our
God about this, and he answered
our prayer.

6. Matthew 4:2
2 After fasting forty days and
forty nights, he was hungry.

7. Matthew 6:16-18
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.

8. Matthew 6:16-18
17 But when you fast, put oil on your
head and wash your face,

9. Matthew 6:16-18
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.

10. Matthew 9:14-15
14 Then John’s disciples came and
asked him, “How is it that we and the
Pharisees fast often, but your
disciples do not fast?”

11. Matthew 9:14-15
15 Jesus answered, “How can the
guests of the bridegroom mourn while
he is with them? The time will come
when the bridegroom will be taken
from them; then they will fast.

12. Acts 13:1-3
1 Now in the church at Antioch there
were prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Simeon called Niger,
Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had
been brought up with Herod the
tetrarch) and Saul.

13. Acts 13:1-3
2 While they were worshiping the Lord
and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set
apart for me Barnabas and Saul for
the work to which I have called them.”

14. Acts 13:1-3
3 So after they had fasted and prayed,
they placed their hands on them and
sent them off.

15. Mark 9:29
And he said unto them, This kind
can come forth by nothing, but by
prayer and fasting.

16. To humble themselves before God, to
show total reliance on God and not on
the king and their own selves.

17. Ezra 8:21
21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I
proclaimed a fast, so that we
might humble ourselves before
our God and ask him for a safe
journey for us and our children,
with all our possessions.

18. Ezra 8:22
22 I was ashamed to ask the king for
soldiers and horsemen to protect us
from enemies on the road, because we
had told the king, “The gracious hand of
our God is on everyone who looks to
him, but his great anger is against all
who forsake him.”

19. 2 Chronicles 7:14
14 if my people, who are called by my
name, will humble themselves and
pray and seek my face and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear
from heaven, and I will forgive their
sin and will heal their land.

20. To seek the right way or right direction

21. Ezra 8:21
21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at
the river of Ahava, that we might
humble ourselves before our God,
to seek from Him the right way for
us and our little ones and all our
possessions.

22. Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all your
heart and lean not on your own
understanding; 6 in all your ways
submit to him, and he will make
your paths straight.

24. To entreat God’s protection from
dangers especially bandits

25. Ezra 8:21
21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at
the river of Ahava, that we might
humble ourselves before our God,
to seek from Him the right way for
us and our little ones and all our
possessions.

26. Ezra 8:23
So we fasted and entreated our God
for this, and He answered our
prayer.

27. Ezra led a great revival in Jerusalem also because of
Prayer and Fasting

28. psalmPsalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the
shelter of the Most High will
rest in the shadow of the
Almighty.

29. psalmPsalm 91
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is
my refuge and my fortress, my
God, in whom I trust.”

30. psalmPsalm 91
3 Surely he will save you from
the fowler’s snare and from
the deadly pestilence.

31. psalmPsalm 91
4 He will cover you with his
feathers, and under his wings you
will find refuge; his faithfulness will
be your shield and rampart.

32. psalmPsalm 91
5 You will not fear the terror of
night, nor the arrow that flies
by day,

33. psalmPsalm 91
6 nor the pestilence that stalks
in the darkness, nor the
plague that destroys at
midday.

34. psalmPsalm 91
7 A thousand may fall at your
side, ten thousand at your
right hand, but it will not come
near you.

35. psalmPsalm 91
8 You will only observe with
your eyes and see the
punishment of the wicked.

36. psalmPsalm 91
9 If you say, “The LORD is my
refuge,” and you make the
Most High your dwelling,

37. psalmPsalm 91
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near
your tent.

38. psalmPsalm 91
11 For he will command his
angels concerning you to
guard you in all your ways;

39. psalmPsalm 91
12 they will lift you up in their
hands, so that you will not
strike your foot against a
stone.

40. psalmPsalm 91
13 You will tread on the lion
and the cobra; you will trample
the great lion and the serpent.

41. psalmPsalm 91
14 “Because he loves me,”
says the LORD, “I will rescue
him; I will protect him, for he
acknowledges my name.

42. psalmPsalm 91
15 He will call on me, and I will
answer him; I will be with him
in trouble, I will deliver him
and honor him.

43. psalmPsalm 91
16 With long life I will satisfy
him and show him my
salvation.”