There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Well after that Christmas feast you might be thinking of fasting for a bit. Anna fasted day and night. Now let’s read that with some common sense. Anna did not stay awake twenty-four hours per day and she did not totally abstain from food, otherwise she would have died. However, Anna did fast (eat less or no food) while praying.
Do you fast? Fasting helps you hear from God and may even reveal to you, your secrets sins. Fasting with prayer draws us closer to God. We learn to pray with the right motives and yes, fasting can build our faith. When we fast and pray, our attention is on God, not ourselves.
Notice that those times of fasting and prayer made Anna stronger in her belief of the Saviour and she spoke to everyone and anyone about the child, the Christ.
Do you fast and pray? Note that Jesus fasted and prayed and then was able to refute the devil.
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ (Matthew 4:10)
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