Mensa Otabil - Serving God With Fasting (10/25/2025)
Setting apart time to pray and fast is great, but we can also take it a little further and live a fasted life, and that’s what I’m talking about today, drawing from Luke Chapter 2, verses 36 to 37. Now, there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of great age; she had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and this woman was a widow of about 84 years who did not depart from the temple but served God with fastings and prayers, night and day.
Anna is the first person recognized as a prophetess in the Gospels, and you can say in the New Testament era. This woman had been married for seven years, and after that, her husband died. After her husband died, she chose to live for God, to be married to the Lord, and to seek the Lord’s face in prayer. She didn’t do it out of disappointment, frustration, or bitterness; she did it out of commitment and conviction. Her life was full of continuous prayer and fasting, and you recognize she was one of the earliest people to identify who Christ was, even when He was a baby in the temple.
There are two things I want you to note about Anna. The first is that she spent time in the temple; she literally lived in the temple. The passage says she did not depart from the temple, meaning she was there at all times. The Jewish hours of prayer were morning, noon, and evening-three times a day. In addition to that, in the temple, there were various services and sacrifices taking place, and this woman was there to participate in everything occurring in the temple. She probably had a small, basic room in the temple where she lived, but her life was totally devoted to the Lord, in the presence of the Lord, and in the house of the Lord. From here, we learn that spending time in the presence of the Lord and in the house of the Lord is valuable. So, while we are praying and fasting, it’s important that you also spend time in the house of the Lord with other believers gathered together in prayer. Don’t just do it alone; gather and be in the temple, be in the house of the Lord.
The second thing we learn about Anna is that she lived a fasted life, which means she was dedicated to the routine of prayer and fasting. She didn’t just do it once a year; it was her life. The passage states that she worshiped the Lord with prayer and fasting; for her, prayer and fasting was a worship. So you get the impression she wasn’t even asking for a breakthrough, she wasn’t asking for favor, she wasn’t asking for a child; of course, she wasn’t asking for her husband. She was just worshiping the Lord, dedicating her life, pouring out her life to the Lord. Many times, we become too self-centered when we enter moments of prayer and fasting because it’s all about our need-our need, our need-and we even forget about the Lord, who must be the center of our affection. This woman shows us that Christ must be the center of our affection; God must be the center of our devotion.
The passage didn’t tell us what kind of fast she was doing, because if she was fasting constantly, she wouldn’t be able to survive without food throughout her life. So probably, she fasted certain days of the week-perhaps twice a week-or maybe she fasted certain meals a day, and she did it consistently. Or maybe she took some kind of food out of her meal plan and probably didn’t eat certain things, doing it regularly. The important thing to note is her discipline, her commitment, and her sense of devotion and the routine of waiting before the Lord and doing it constantly. That is what I call a fasted life, and it’s preferable to just fasting; you have to make it a routine of your life.
Let’s pray together. Heavenly Father, I dedicate myself to worship You day and night. Show me Your glory. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.