The End Time Church: From the Cathedrals to the Catacombs

By Dan L. White

Copyright ©2018 by Dan L. White, all rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB) which is in the public domain.

Chapter 52

Fasting

A three legged stool will sit stably on a floor where a four legged chair won’t. A three legged stool for spiritual stability is Bible study, prayer and fasting. That third leg — fasting — is the one most often cut off.

Why?

Fasting is affliction. So who wants to be afflicted?

WEB Lev 23
26) Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
27) “However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
28) You shall do no kind of work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God.
29) For whoever it is who shall not deny himself in that same day; shall be cut off from his people.
30) Whoever it is who does any kind of work in that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
31) You shall do no kind of work: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
32) It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath.”

Notice verses (27) you shall afflict yourselves; (29) deny himself; and (32) deny yourselves. The day of Atonement is a total fast, when you deny yourself food and drink. The day was even known simply as The Fast.

Acts 27
(9) When much time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, because the Fast had now already gone by, Paul admonished them.

Fasting is to deny yourself and afflict yourself.

David afflicted himself with fasting.

WEB Ps 3
11) Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I don’t know about.
12) They reward me evil for good, to the bereaving of my soul.
13) But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom.

WEB Ps 109
23) I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust.
24) My knees are weak through fasting. My body is thin and lacks fat.

When the child born from the adultery of David of Bathsheba grew sick, David fasted for at least six days. That will make the knees weak and the body thin.

Bible study and prayer require discipline to maintain a steady effort. However, with steady practice, Bible study and prayer become welcome relief, not affliction; not just endurable but enjoyable. Fasting, however, is always affliction.

It’s supposed to be.

Some say there are many kinds of fasts, like skipping a meal here and there, giving up meat and only eating fish, or avoiding everything except chocolate shakes. Such “fasting” is human nature at work. The only fasting specifically named as such in the Bible is to go without all food and drink. That’s how you are afflicted. After only one day of fasting, your body becomes weaker, your mind may become dull, your mouth becomes dry and your growling stomach becomes very angry.

Afflicted!

But Christ requires fasting from His followers.

As with prayer, Yeshua tells how not to fast.

WEB Matt 6
16) “Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
17) But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face;
18) so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Notice that Yeshua said “when you fast,” meaning that as one of His followers, you will fast. Just don’t do it to show off, as the Pharisees did.

In the preceding verses 5 through 15, Christ taught how to pray: “When you pray.” His unspoken premise there is that His followers will pray. After that, He immediately said “when you fast.” His unspoken premise there is that His followers will fast. He taught fasting at the same time as He taught prayer and in the same way. Fasting is just as much a part of a Christian’s life as praying.

But fasting is the leg of the spiritual stool that most often gets cut off, usually ignored, hardly ever taught, and almost never discussed. Yet Christ plainly said that His disciples will fast.

WEB Matt 9
14) Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?”
15) Yeshua said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
16) No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made.
17) Neither do people put new wine into old wineskins, or else the skins would burst, and the wine be spilled, and the skins ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Moses had to fast before he could receive the Ten Commandment tablets from Yahweh. Why? Because that was when he — the most humble man on earth — was most humble.

WEB Num 12
3) Now the man Moses was very humble, above all the men who were on the surface of the earth.

Meek Moses had to go through a forty day fast, kept alive only by the spirit of God, to receive the Ten Commandment tablets. And  when he threw those tablets down and broke them, he had to go through that forty day humbling again.

“Hey, wasn’t that first forty days enough?” Moses might have thought, although of course he was too meek to say such a thing.

The Bible records people fasting when faced with a huge problem.

Satan is a big problem and Christ faced that problem with 40 days of fasting.

WEB Matt 4
1) Then Yeshua was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2) When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward.
3) The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Esther and the Jews fasted for three days when faced with Haman’s planned genocide.

WEB Esth 4
16) “Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I and my maidens will also fast the same way. Then I will go in to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”

And Jehoshaphat fasted when faced with a huge Syrian army.

WEB 2 Chr 20
2) Then some came who told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea from Syria. Behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi).
3) Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and set himself to seek to Yahweh. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4) Judah gathered themselves together, to seek help from Yahweh. They came out of all the cities of Judah to seek Yahweh.

Yes, in a time of calamity, God commands us to turn to Him with humble fasting.

WEB Joel 2
12) “Yet even now,” says Yahweh, “turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.”
13) Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.

When we do, He hears us. How much attention God pays to fasting was shown when Ahab fasted.

WEB 1 Kgs 21
21) Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will utterly sweep you away and will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, and him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel.
22) I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah for the provocation with which you have provoked me to anger, and have made Israel to sin.”
23) Yahweh also spoke of Jezebel, saying, “The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
24) The dogs will eat he who dies of Ahab in the city; and the birds of the sky will eat he who dies in the field.”
25) But there was none like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
26) He did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
27) It happened, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
28) The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
29) “See how Ahab humbles himself before me? Because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but in his son’s days will I bring the evil on his house.”

Who was Ahab?

Israel/Samaria had 19 kings, all reprobates. Who was the worst? Ahab — “there was none like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh.” So if Ahab — the most evil of Israel’s nineteen evil kings — could receive Yahweh’s favor by truly humbling himself with fasting — See how Ahab humbles himself before me? — can’t we do the same?

Nineveh was the central city of the greatest empire on earth at that time, and one of the most evil places on earth. Yet when they humbly fasted before Yahweh, He really appreciated that, even if Jonah didn’t.

WEB Jonah 3
4) Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried out, and said, “In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!”
5) The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least.
6) The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7) He made a proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, “Let neither man nor animal, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water;
8) but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and animal, and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.
9) Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?”
10) God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it.

Saul/Paul, when he found out he was persecuting what he claimed to promote, immediately fasted for three days. He had a hurried up humility!

WEB Acts 9
3) As he traveled, it happened that he got close to Damascus, and suddenly a light from the sky shone around him.
4) He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5) He said, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord said, “I am Yeshua, whom you are persecuting.
6) But rise up, and enter into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7) The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the sound, but seeing no one.
8) Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one. They led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
9) He was without sight for three days, and neither ate nor drank.

You expect Christians to fast when faced with a big personal problem. However, spiritual strength requires fasting more often than just when you have big problems. Fasting gives spiritual strength, helping to avoid big problems.

WEB Matt 17
14) When they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him, saying,
15) “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic, and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water.
16) So I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.”
17) Yeshua answered, “Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him here to me.”
18) Yeshua rebuked him, the demon went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour.
19) Then the disciples came to Yeshua privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?”
20) He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
21) But this kind doesn’t go out except by prayer and fasting.”

This is a spiritual principle: prayer and fasting give spiritual strength. On a fast day, you have more time for prayer, study and contemplation.

And the converse? Lack of prayer and fasting cause spiritual weakness.

Cornelius was a Gentile Roman soldier. During one of his fasts, and apparently he fasted regularly, he had a vision from God.

WEB Acts 10
30) Cornelius said, “Four days ago, I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour, I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
31) and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer is heard, and your gifts to the needy are remembered in the sight of God.

The apostle Paul began his service to Christ with fasting when he was struck blind. Guess what? He didn’t stop then.

WEB 2 Cor 11
24) Five times from the Jews I received forty stripes minus one.
25) Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I have been a night and a day in the deep.
26) I have been in travels often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from my countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brothers;
27) in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness.

See all the things that Paul had to humble him! 39 stripes 5 times – that’s 195 stripes with a whip! He also had three rod beatings, the number of stripes not mentioned. People tried to kill him with rocks. He was in three shipwrecks. He also had a day and a night float trip – with no boat!

And with all that suffering to humble him, what did Paul do?

“…in fastings often.”

He was hungry and thirsty a lot, anyway. So why did he fast?

To get his ‘self’ out of God’s way.

Paul had a thorn in the flesh that Christ refused to remove.

Why?

Simply to keep Paul’s self more selfless. And on top of that, Paul added “fastings often.”

Love and coddle Christians have a hard time understanding why God requires His people to be afflicted. Wasn’t Paul doing a great job? “Good job, Paul! Here, have a Big Mac and take it easy!”

Indulging the self does not build the character to overcome the self. Fasting – if done humbly and hungrily — can.

Humbly — not to show how righteous you are, but because you know how righteous you aren’t.

Hungrily — not just for food, but hungry for the spirit of the Creator.

Bible study is God talking to you with His words. Prayer is you talking to God with your words. And fasting is becoming more like God, because you’re giving up your self. To fast is to deny your self and that is one of the greatest lessons in life.

WEB Mark 8:34
He called the multitude to himself with his disciples, and said to them, “Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

To be a follower of Christ, not just in name but in reality, you have to deny yourself. You have to come out of the world’s ways, days and praise. You have to bless when people insult you. You may even have to give up your life, just for the name of Yeshua. You have to deny yourself.

Even Yeshua had to deny Himself.

WEB Matt 26
31) Then Yeshua said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of me tonight, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
32) But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.”
33) But Peter answered him, “Even if all will be made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble.”
34) Yeshua said to him, “Most certainly I tell you that tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
35) Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.” All of the disciples also said likewise.
36) Then Yeshua came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go there and pray.”
37) He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled.
38) Then he said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me.”
39) He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”
40) He came to the disciples, and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What, couldn’t you watch with me for one hour?
41) Watch and pray, that you don’t enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42) Again, a second time he went away, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup can’t pass away from me unless I drink it, your desire be done.”
43) He came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
44) He left them again, went away, and prayed a third time, saying the same words.

“…your desire be done.” Or as the King James Version puts it, “thy will be done.”

The great problem with any person is himself. True, Christians have to fight the world and they have to fight the spiritual pull of Satan in this world. Yet the greatest fight for any person is the battle to overcome self-love.

Christ told all the seven assemblies in Asia to overcome.

Rev 2:7 – To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of my God.

Rev 2:11 – He who overcomes won’t be harmed by the second death.

Rev 2:17 – To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it.

Rev 2:26 – He who overcomes, and he who keeps my works to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.

Rev 3:5 – He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Rev 3:12 – He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more.

Rev 3:21 – He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father on his throne.

How did Christ overcome? He had to battle Satan, He had to withstand attacks from the Pharisees, and He had to face death for doing nothing wrong. Most of all, He had to overcome his natural desire to put His self first.

Yeshua taught us not to pray to show off and not to fast to show off. And He said that when you do something good —

WEB Matt 6
1) “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2) Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
3) But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does,
4) so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

He said that when you do something good — don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand did! Why? To avoid that inherent love and exaltation of the self.

Yeshua pointed out those things in religion – public prayers, show-off fasting, ostentatious alms, chief religious positions — that are used to exalt the self. In fact, most religion is used for the exaltation of the religionists. The Pharisees were the penultimate example of this, but far from the only one. After all, they weren’t the only ones with human nature.

It may be that religion is the single most common means of self exaltation. Yes, wealth is used for exalting, but most people simply aren’t rich. But anybody can get in a religious group and show off how righteous they are, by their religious trappings, mannerisms, and presumptive talk about love and relationships, with the presumption being that they are the perfect examples.

That’s why fasting cuts to the core of self love. Fasting is denying yourself, a lesson for what you have to do with your whole life.

People who love themselves hate being uncomfortable, and fasting is affliction. Over and over I have seen where an individual or family or group was facing a daunting problem, and the suggestion is made — “Let’s have a fast day for them!” Then many of those vocally loving and supportive Christians have this reaction: “Whoa! I don’t wanna do that!”

Faith fakers don’t fast. They don’t study fasting, they don’t give or listen to sermons about it, and their physiques often deny it. Love and coddle Christians don’t offend people, they don’t make a stand against sin, and they don’t fast.

At least not often.

Paul said that he was “in fastings often.” So how often is often?

We have cited prayer examples in the Bible, where David and Daniel prayed three times a day, but there are no real Bible examples of how often to fast. The Pharisees said they fasted twice in the week. Some Pharisees became Christians and historically some early Christians also fasted twice a week. It would not seem that Paul, on his laborious trips, fasted that often, but he did fast often. So no Bible guide is given of how often to fast, but Christ said His followers will fast. That means Christ’s followers will have a regular routine of fasting.

Often.

So how often is often?

Certainly fasting once a year on Atonement is not often. That’s minimal, fasting only on the commanded day.

Adding a fast or two during a personal crisis is not often. That’s fasting only when you really need something.

Fasting a few times a year, every few months, still seems more sporadic than often. Fasting every month seems often. Fasting every week seems diligent, for a person who is hungrily seeking God.

Whatever often is, Christ’s followers need to fast often.

Fasting is physically going hungry because you have a spiritual hunger. That’s the only motivation that will carry you through to fasting often. Not because you’re commanded to, but because you’re personally driven, with your whole heart, to seek God.

WEB Ps 143
6) I spread forth my hands to you. My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Selah.

WEB Isa 55
1) “Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters! Come, he who has no money, buy, and eat! Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2) Why do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which doesn’t satisfy? listen diligently to me, and eat you that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

WEB Matt 5
6) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Fasting is the third leg of the three legged spiritual stool and fasting is the leg that’s most often cut off.

Why?

Well, people have their reasons!

Hey, we can always find good reasons not to fast!

The typical American schedule is dedicated to keep you from being dedicated to God. That’s no accident! Fasting does not easily fit into a work schedule. You can pray and study in mornings and evenings before and after work; with diligent effort, you can fit that into a work schedule. But fasting is an all day deal, and in the last few hours of a fast day, you’re not going to get much physical work done if you try. Nor should you, because fasting is a time to focus on faith. So fast days have to be planned and scheduled, and because of that, fasting takes even more commitment than Bible study and prayer. You may have to change your whole lifestyle just to be able to fast often.

Yet if you will be a follower of the Messiah, you will do whatever it takes to fast often. This leg of the three legged stool is the one most often sawed off and if you cut off that third leg, you’re sitting on a two legged stool. Good luck with that!

On the other hand, fast days, even though they are days of affliction, can be some of your best days, when you are most out of the way, and that lets you get most in The Way.

Not fasting today is a deathly spiritual mistake. Satan is going to and fro, seeking whom he may devour, perhaps now more than he ever has. No Christian will make it through this end time on his own strength. Only with great spiritual strength directly from God will we persevere through this terribly increasing period of demonic deception. That necessary spiritual strength will come only with prayer and fasting –

Regular fasting.

Often.

The End Time Church: From the Cathedrals to the Catacombs

By Dan L. White

Copyright ©2018 by Dan L. White, all rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB) which is in the public domain.

Chapter 51

Consistent, Persistent, Insistent

I remember taking Driver Ed in high school on the mountain roads of West Virginia. When the instructor took us out for our first drive, he gave us some precautionary advice.

“Don’t drive over the side of the mountain.”

So before the teacher taught us how to drive, he told us how not to drive.

And when Christ told us how to pray, He began by telling us how not to pray.

WEB Matt 23
12) Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

WEB Luke 20
46) “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts;
47) who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these will receive greater condemnation.”

Scribes and Pharisees had pretended, long-winded prayers. Their prayers were to be heard by people, not by God.

WEB Matt 6
5) “When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward.
6) But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Gentiles also liked long prayers, with much speaking. They weren’t praying to the true God so they didn’t even bother coming up with original words. They just kept repeating the same words over and over.

WEB Matt 6
7) In praying, don’t use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.
8) Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him.

That’s why prayers don’t have to be long-winded. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. And He has a really good memory, so you don’t have to keep repeating what you say, with vain repetitions.

Yeshua taught, then, that prayers don’t have to be long, they shouldn’t be showy, and you should actually mean what you say. Then He went on to give an example prayer.

WEB Matt 6
9) Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
10) Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
11) Give us today our daily bread.
12) Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
13) Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’

That English translation of Christ’s teaching prayer has 70 words, including the Amen at the end.

Of course that’s not exactly the same number as in the original Greek, but in either language, that’s not a long prayer.

WEB Eccl 5
2) Don’t be rash with your mouth, and don’t let your heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and you on earth. Therefore let your words be few.
3) For as a dream comes with a multitude of cares, so a fool’s speech with a multitude of words.

What have people often done with Christ’s example prayer? They have turned it into a Gentile prayer, by repeating it over and over. But at least they haven’t made it long-winded.

Yeshua told us how not to pray. Then He showed us how to pray. And the Bible teaches us about prayer, with real life prayers by real people.

Some prayers were very short.

Like Hannah’s —

Elkanah had two wives: Peninnah who had kids, and Hannah who didn’t. Prolific Peninnah persecuted barren Hannah.

WEB 1 Sam 1
4) When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
5) but to Hannah he gave a double portion; for he loved Hannah, but Yahweh had shut up her womb.
6) Her rival provoked her severely, to make her fret, because Yahweh had shut up her womb.

Finally, sad Hannah prayed this prayer.

WEB 1 Sam 1
10) She [Hannah] was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to Yahweh, and wept bitterly.
11) She vowed a vow, and said, “Yahweh of Armies, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will give to your handmaid a boy, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head.”

That prayer was only a few seconds long but traveled a long way.

WEB 1 Sam 1
19) They rose up in the morning early, and worshiped before Yahweh, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and Yahweh remembered her.
20) It happened, when the time had come, that Hannah conceived, and bore a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of Yahweh.”

Hezekiah —

Shortly after they had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and carried off its people, the Assyrians surrounded Jerusalem and sent King Hezekiah a letter, threatening to do the same to Judah. Hezekiah then forwarded their letter, not with snail mail or email, but with p-mail.

WEB 2 Kgs 19
14) Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the house of Yahweh, and spread it before Yahweh.
15) Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sit above the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
16) Incline your ear, Yahweh, and hear. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and see. Hear the words of Sennacherib, with which he has sent to defy the living God.
17) Truly, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands,
18) and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they have destroyed them.
19) Now therefore, Yahweh our God, save us, I beg you, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Yahweh, are God alone.”
20) Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Whereas you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.

Again, not a long prayer, but full of meaning.

Hezekiah also had a terminal illness.

WEB 2 Kgs 20
1) In those days was Hezekiah sick to death. Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Set your house in order; for you shall die, and not live.’”
2) Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed to Yahweh, saying,
3) “Remember now, Yahweh, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight.” Hezekiah wept bitterly.

As Hannah had done, Hezekiah wept bitterly. He was only thirty-five years old, facing death.

4) It happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle part of the city, that the word of Yahweh came to him, saying,
5) “Turn back, and tell Hezekiah the prince of my people, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of David your father, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day, you shall go up to the house of Yahweh.
6) I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.”’”

When a person weeps bitterly, his or her prayers are the opposite of a Gentile vain repetition.

Elijah —

Elijah did not weep bitterly, even though the prophets of Baal outnumbered him 450 to 1.

WEB 1 Kgs 18

26) They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any who answered. They leaped about the altar which was made.
27) It happened at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, “Cry aloud; for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he has gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he sleeps and must be awakened.”
28) They cried aloud, and cut themselves in their way with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.
29) It was so, when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the offering; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any who regarded.
30) Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me;” and all the people came near to him. He repaired the altar of Yahweh that was thrown down.
31) Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Yahweh came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”
32) With the stones he built an altar in the name of Yahweh. He made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed.
33) He put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood.”
34) He said, “Do it a second time;” and they did it the second time. He said, “Do it a third time;” and they did it the third time.
35) The water ran around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.

You gotta admit that the Baal boys worked hard, praying to Baal all day long, jumping up and down and screaming and gashing themselves. The long-winded Pharisees had nothing on these guys.

By contrast, though, Elijah did this.

36) It happened at the time of the offering of the offering, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, “Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
37) Hear me, Yahweh, hear me, that this people may know that you, Yahweh, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again.”
38) Then the fire of Yahweh fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39) When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, “Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!”

After that, Elijah asked Yahweh to end the 42 month drought.

WEB 1 Kgs 18
41) Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
42) So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees.
43) He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” He went up, and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” He said, “Go again” seven times.
44) It happened at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, a small cloud, like a man’s hand, is rising out of the sea.” He said, “Go up, tell Ahab, ‘Get ready and go down, so that the rain doesn’t stop you.’”
45) It happened in a little while, that the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

James connected Ahab’s rain with your pain.

WEB Jas 5
14) Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord,
15) and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16) Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.
17) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months.
18) He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.

The familiar King James renders verse 16 as “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” The World English Bible calls that prayer “insistent.”

Obviously people who wept bitterly were fervent, but joyful prayers can also be fervent.

Solomon —

Solomon prayed a fervent prayer of gratitude at the dedication of the Temple.

WEB 1 Kgs 8
22) Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven;
23) and he said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above, or on earth beneath; who keep covenant and loving kindness with your servants, who walk before you with all their heart;
24) who have kept with your servant David my father that which you promised him. Yes, you spoke with your mouth, and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is this day.
25) Now therefore, may Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that which you have promised him, saying, ‘There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’
26) “Now therefore, God of Israel, please let your word be verified, which you spoke to your servant David my father.
27) But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain you; how much less this house that I have built!
28) Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant, and for his supplication, Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you this day;
29) that your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there;’ to listen to the prayer which your servant shall pray toward this place.
30) Listen to the supplication of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place. Yes, hear in heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.

Solomon went on asking Yahweh in several different ways to be with His people, and then concluded:

51) (for they are your people, and your inheritance, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron);
52) that your eyes may be open to the supplication of your servant, and to the supplication of your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they cry to you.
53) For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be your inheritance, as you spoke by Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, Lord Yahweh.”
54) It was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication to Yahweh, he arose from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth toward heaven.

What a great position for a powerful king: kneeling with his hands spread toward heaven. Solomon began his prayer by standing but ended by kneeling. All the people could hear, and it was for those people that he prayed. That public prayer was longer than those of Hannah and Hezekiah, about ten minutes or so, but Solomon obviously meant every word he said.

At least Yahweh thought so.

WEB 1 Kgs 9
3) Yahweh said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication, that you have made before me. I have made this house holy, which you have built, to put my name there forever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

Nehemiah —

The most fervent prayers are often at times of repentance. When Nehemiah heard how bad things were in Jerusalem, he wept like Hannah and Hezekiah.

WEB Neh 1
4) It happened, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
5) and said, “I beg you, Yahweh, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments:
6) Let your ear now be attentive, and your eyes open, that you may listen to the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel your servants while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Yes, I and my father’s house have sinned.
7) We have dealt very corruptly against you, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which you commanded your servant Moses.
8) “Remember, I beg you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples;
9) but if you return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there.’
10) “Now these are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power, and by your strong hand.
11) Lord, I beg you, let your ear be attentive now to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants, who delight to fear your name; and please prosper your servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cup bearer to the king.

Notice that Nehemiah included himself with sinning Judah, although he hadn’t sinned like them. After that prayer, God granted Nehemiah the king’s favor to go back to Jerusalem.

Ezra –

Those captives who returned from exile soon began doing the same sins that led to the exile. When Ezra the priest learned of this, he tore his garment and his robe, pulled out hair from his head and his beard, and sat down downright confounded. Then he prayed this breathtakingly humble prayer, his face too blushed to even look up to God, even though he had not done those sins himself. Humility in prayer!

WEB Ezra 9
1) Now when these things were done, the princes drew near to me, saying, “The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, following their abominations, even those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
2) For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mixed themselves with the peoples of the lands. Yes, the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this trespass.”
3) When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.
4) Then were assembled to me everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of their trespass of the captivity; and I sat confounded until the evening offering.
5) At the evening offering I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn; and I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to Yahweh my God;
6) and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God; for our iniquities have increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens.
7) Since the days of our fathers we have been exceeding guilty to this day; and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests, have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.
8) Now for a little moment grace has been shown from Yahweh our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
9) For we are bondservants; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended loving kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
10) “Now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments,
11) which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land, to which you go to possess it, is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their filthiness.
12) Now therefore don’t give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever; that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’
13) “After all that has come on us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, since you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant,
14) shall we again break your commandments, and join in affinity with the peoples that do these abominations? Wouldn’t you be angry with us until you had consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape?
15) Yahweh, the God of Israel, you are righteous; for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is this day. Behold, we are before you in our guiltiness; for none can stand before you because of this.”

Those Jews who were guilty of those sins joined in Ezra’s repentance and were granted pardon by Yahweh.

Daniel —

Daniel prayed a prayer similar to Ezra’s, in that he was personally extremely repentant, even though he had not sinned as the Jews had.

WEB Dan 9
1) In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,
2) in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years about which the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years.
3) I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

Amazingly, this was near the time when Judah would return from their captivity. The 70 years were about up but Daniel was anything but cocky.

4) I prayed to Yahweh my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments,
5) we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from your precepts and from your ordinances;
6) neither have we listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7) Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but to us confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, who are near, and who are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you.
8) Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.
9) To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness; for we have rebelled against him;
10) neither have we obeyed the voice of Yahweh our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11) Yes, all Israel have transgressed your law, turning aside, that they should not obey your voice: therefore the curse and the oath written in the law of Moses the servant of God has been poured out on us; for we have sinned against him.
12) He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our judges who judged us, by bringing on us a great evil; for under the whole sky, such has not been done as has been done to Jerusalem.
13) As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come on us: yet have we not entreated the favor of Yahweh our God, that we should turn from our iniquities, and have discernment in your truth.
14) Therefore has Yahweh watched over the evil, and brought it on us; for Yahweh our God is righteous in all his works which he does, and we have not obeyed his voice.
15) Now, Lord our God, who has brought your people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have gotten yourself renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16) Lord, according to all your righteousness, let your anger and please let your wrath be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a reproach to all who are around us.
17) Now therefore, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant, and to his petitions, and cause your face to shine on your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.
18) My God, turn your ear, and hear; open your eyes, and see our desolations, and the city which is called by your name: for we do not present our petitions before you for our righteousness, but for your great mercies’ sake.
19) Lord, hear; Lord, forgive; Lord, listen and do; don’t defer, for your own sake, my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.

Lord, hear. Lord, forgive. Lord, listen.

And the Lord and Master did.

20) While I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Yahweh my God for the holy mountain of my God;
21) yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening offering.
22) He instructed me, and talked with me, and said, Daniel, I am now come forth to give you wisdom and understanding.

Those prayers of Solomon, Nehemiah, Ezra and Daniel were longer than the prayers of Hannah and Hezekiah. They were still each only a few minutes speech, but filled with fervency. And filled with humility. Nehemiah, Ezra and Daniel all included themselves with sinning Judah, although they were obedient men. To be heard, the pray-er must be humble.

WEB Luke 18
10) “Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.
11) The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: ‘God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12) I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’
13) But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
14) I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Since prayers are not rote, there is no one routine. Prayer is more a matter of the heart than of the head. Christ’s example prayer was less than a minute long, yet He Himself sometimes prayed for hours.

WEB Luke 6
12) It happened in these days, that he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God.
13) When it was day, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles:

Christ Himself gave a relatively long prayer in John 17 on the night when He was taken to be crucified. After talking to his disciples, He talked to His Father in heaven, in a five minute prayer they all heard. Shortly after that, He followed it up with these brief prayers.

WEB Matt 26
36) Then Yeshua came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go there and pray.”
37) He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled.
38) Then he said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me.”
39) He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”
40) He came to the disciples, and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What, couldn’t you watch with me for one hour?
41) Watch and pray, that you don’t enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42) Again, a second time he went away, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup can’t pass away from me unless I drink it, your desire be done.”
43) He came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
44) He left them again, went away, and prayed a third time, saying the same words.
45) Then he came to his disciples, and said to them, “Sleep on now, and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Those prayers are the shortest but most powerful in the Bible.

Prayer is to be consistent, persistent, and insistent.

Daniel’s custom was to pray three times a day.                                                                       

WEB Dan 6
10) When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his room toward Jerusalem) and he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before.

13) Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, doesn’t respect you, O king, nor the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.

It seems that was David’s pattern, too.

WEB Ps 55
17) Evening, morning, and at noon, I will cry out in distress. He will hear my voice.

Sometimes communicating with Yahweh will be just thinking, considering, reflecting. Meditating is a fancy sounding word for all that.

WEB Gen 24
63) Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening. He lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, there were camels coming.

The Hebrew word translated as meditate means to muse pensively. The pre-KJV Bishops and Geneva English Bibles said that Isaac went out to pray. The Easy to Read Bible says that “he went out to the field to think,” and the New Evangelistic German translation says that he went out to be alone with his thoughts. To do so is to seek God, whether with words or thoughts or both; and what better time than at twilight.

Praying three times each day is consistent. It’s not easy to do. Your schedule may not allow it, or you get so wrapped up in what you’re doing that you don’t want to get away in the middle of the day. To pray three times a day, your whole life has to be scheduled around that, taking time from whatever seems important for that which is important. Consistent prayer — three times a day.

Persistent —

Samuel said that it would be sin if he stopped praying for Israel.

WEB 1 Sam 12
23) Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Yahweh in ceasing to pray for you: but I will instruct you in the good and the right way.

Samuel couldn’t stop praying. He had to be persistent.

Christ had a parable about persistent prayer.

WEB Luke 18
1) He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up,
2) saying, “There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t fear God, and didn’t respect man.
3) A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, ‘Defend me from my adversary!’
4) He wouldn’t for a while, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God, nor respect man,
5) yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.’”

I don’t know if we will wear God out by our continual prayers — He doesn’t tire easily — but at least we can try.

Paul said to be steadfast in prayer. Steadfast — fastened to steadiness.

WEB Col 4
2) Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving;
3) praying together for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds;
4) that I may reveal it as I ought to speak.

And Paul simply said to pray without ceasing.

WEB 1 Thess 5
16) Rejoice always.
17) Pray without ceasing.
18) In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Yeshua toward you.

Persistence is steadiness, not on and off or up and down, but persistent, day after day after day, through weeks and months and years, through a lifetime. Persistent prayer.

Insistent —

For prayer to be meaningful, you must mean it. The prayers of Hannah, Hezekiah, Nehemiah, Ezra, Daniel and Yeshua were fervent. They were insistent about their needs and their lips were moved by their hearts. As James said, “The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.”

The real key to these short prayers is that the speakers were talking to a real being. They were not just fulfilling a religious duty or going through the motions. They were going to the Creator, seeking to be heard by Him — real talk to a real being.

Like Bible study, prayer changes your spirit. It changes who you are. After all, you’re talking to the spirit that sustains everything. He gives you your physical sustenance. He will give you your spiritual sustenance, as you seek it.

Prayer should be consistent, persistent, and insistent.

Do you pray often each day?

Do you pray every day?

And when you pray, do you mean it?