Prayer and Fasting

A good friend recently challenged me to fast while I pray. She told me that the two go hand in hand; essentially, you can't have one without the other. While I can't say that this is a new concept to me, I will say that I had never before realized the importance of fasting. I understood intellectually, but not personally or really.

Several difficult situations have arisen over the past year. This has made me feel a sense of urgency in terms of praying to God for resolutions. My prayers, when I have the strength or the wherewithal to say them, tend to hit the ceiling. At least, that's how I often feel. I know that certain important prayers have been answered. But this is atypical for me; I struggle to even pray at all. My prayers come far more easily than they did five or six years ago, which shows how closely I flirted with agnosticism at that time.

What would happen if fasting accompanied my prayers? I will find out soon. It's time for my prayers to go beyond the ceiling.