Baptist Press
By Kie Bowman, posted June 18, 2024
John Wesley took a dim view of pre-revival America, but he had a plan to change it. Wesley spent time in the colonies and reported, “I desired as many as could to join together in fasting and prayer, that God would restore the spirit of love and of a sound mind to the poor deluded rebels in America.” Even a side glance at the current cultural moment demonstrates that prayer and fasting are just as urgently needed for the “poor deluded rebels in America” today as they were when the nation was new.
Prayer is mentioned hundreds of times in Scripture, and fasting is mentioned about 70 times. Prayer can obviously be practiced without fasting, but fasting, as Scripture describes it, is impossible without prayer. Even when fasting is discussed in passages where prayer is not explicitly mentioned, prayer is obviously implied.
Prayer implied with fasting
Prayer is not always in the foreground of passages about fasting, but it is reasonable to see it at all times in the background. The experience of Jesus, for instance, is an example. Prayer is not explicitly mentioned when He fasted 40 days in the Judean desert (Matt. 4:1-11). More Here