What is Prayer and Fasting in the Christian Life? (Nehemiah 1:1-4; Mark 9)

The exposition draws the Bible’s Nehemiah account into a contemporary call to spiritual dependence. When news arrives of Jerusalem’s ruined walls, the proper first response is not strategy but sorrow, sustained prayer, and fasting; those postures move concern from information into genuine burden. Dependence on God must precede planning, fundraising, and recruitment—only after the heart is captured by God does wise action follow. Prayer is framed as the admission of inability to produce spiritual fruit; fasting is described as a voluntary, temporary setting aside of legitimate comforts to sharpen focus and deepen reliance on God. This practice is not about earning approval or performing piety but about returning to the posture of one who has already been rescued by Christ.

Attention is given to the cultural and pastoral implications: living among people whose lives feel exposed, insecure, or disgraced creates opportunities for the peace of Jesus if believers refuse indifference. The historic vision—making disciples—is reframed as a simple, relational aim: everyone discipling one. Practicalities are offered for a twenty-one-day initiative: a downloadable guide, a corporate night of prayer and worship, and the exhortation to choose a concrete plan (what to fast, when to pray, and how to use the time freed by fasting). Pastoral care and common-sense guardrails appear throughout—medical exceptions, alternative fasts for those who cannot fast from food, and a warning against using disciplines to earn God’s favor. The ultimate aim is not programmatic success but the Spirit moving hearts so that God works through ordinary, dependent people to make disciples in everyday life.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Dependence precedes every strategy and solution Prayer and fasting are the foundational posture before any plan. When Nehemiah learns of the ruined city, the first movement is mourning, prayer, and fasting—not a project proposal—because spiritual renewal must begin in the heart. Strategy without dependence can produce activity but not lasting fruit; dependence reorders motives, exposes pride, and aligns human intention with divine power. [25:59]
• 2. Burden moves information into affection Knowing about brokenness is not the same as being moved by it. Nehemiah’s response—sitting down, weeping, and mourning—shows how God converts data into compassion that palpably hurts and motivates intercession. This sorrow is not sentimentalism but a theological grief over the Lord’s name being diminished and people living exposed and vulnerable. [20:32]
• 3. Fasting deepens dependence beyond words Prayer expresses dependence with speech; fasting makes dependence embodied. Voluntarily setting aside legitimate comforts narrows distraction, intensifies focus, and trains the body to follow the soul’s orientation toward God. Fasting is not merit-making but a discipline that creates the inner space where the Spirit renews desire and discernment. [32:58]
• 4. Mission requires prayer-fueled ordinary people The goal—everyone discipling one—depends less on clever marketing than on God moving ordinary people who are learning to pray and fast. True evangelistic fruit flows from hearts shaped by dependence, not primarily from better tactics or programs. Corporate and personal prayer create the soil in which disciple-making becomes sustainable and sacrificial. [27:06]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:13] - Instant Solutions vs Prayer
• [00:59] - Prayer as Response, Not Performance
• [11:26] - Reading Nehemiah 1
• [13:24] - Three Movements in Nehemiah
• [14:18] - A Need That Cannot Be Ignored
• [20:32] - Burden That Moves the Heart
• [25:59] - Dependence Before Strategy
• [32:58] - What Fasting Really Is
• [38:53] - Practical Next Steps

Bible reading

Nehemiah 1:1-4 (ESV)
"The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, 'The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.' As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven."

Mark 9:28-29 (ESV)
"And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, 'Why could we not cast it out?' And he said to them, 'This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.'"

Observation questions

1. According to Nehemiah 1:3, what was the specific report Nehemiah received regarding the people and the physical state of Jerusalem?
2. What were the four immediate actions Nehemiah took after hearing the news about the ruins of the city? (Nehemiah 1:4)
3. When life "throws you lemons" or goes sideways, what are the common "solutions" people often rush to instead of praying first? [00:13]
4. In the account from Mark 9, what was the specific reason Jesus gave for why the disciples were unable to help the desperate father and his son? [30:12]

Interpretation questions

1. Nehemiah was living a "normal" life in Susa, far from the destruction, yet he was deeply unsettled by the news. What does his reaction suggest about the difference between simply having information and carrying a God-given burden? [20:32]
2. The walls of Jerusalem had been in ruins for over a hundred years, meaning generations had grown up viewing insecurity and disgrace as "normal." Why is it spiritually dangerous for a person or a church to become indifferent to the brokenness around them? [15:26]
3. Jesus points out that certain spiritual realities can only be addressed through prayer. How does this truth reshape the way we view our own skills, strategies, and "religious hustle" when trying to do God's work? [30:55]
4. Fasting is defined as voluntarily setting aside legitimate comforts to seek God with clearer focus. How does this physical discipline help a person move from self-reliance to a posture of total dependence on God? [32:58]

Application questions

1. It is possible to care deeply about your family, your job, or your community and still be functionally self-reliant. [04:33] In what area of your life are you currently carrying a heavy burden but failing to actually carry that burden to God?
2. A God-given burden is not something we can manufacture or hype up; it is something we must ask God to move in our hearts. [23:01] What would it look like for you to pray, "God, move my heart for what you want to accomplish in the people around me," rather than just asking Him to fix your problems?
3. The mission of "everyone discipling one" depends on God moving through ordinary people rather than clever marketing or being "strong enough." [27:57] Who is the "one" person in your everyday sphere of influence—a neighbor, coworker, or friend—that you are committing to pray for and move toward this year?
4. Fasting is not about earning points with God or proving how spiritual you are; it is a response to the God who has already come near to us in Jesus. [07:08] If you were to set aside a "legitimate comfort" (like certain foods, social media, or entertainment), what specific space would that create in your day for prayer and seeking God's face?
5. If we aim at nothing, we will hit it every time. [40:37] What is your concrete plan for the next twenty-one days? What will you fast from, and specifically when and where will you dedicate time to pray?
6. We don't pray and fast to get God to love us, but because He already does. [38:08] How does knowing that your relationship with God is based on Christ’s work—not your own performance—change your motivation for practicing spiritual disciplines like prayer and fasting?