Jejum e oração
Jejum e oração são disciplinas espirituais que andam juntas. Jesus jejuou, os apóstolos jejuaram, e a Bíblia ensina que o jejum fortalece a oração e nos aproxima do coração de Deus.
O exemplo de Jesus
Jesus jejuou quarenta dias no deserto antes de iniciar seu ministério. Ele ensinou que certas coisas só acontecem com oração e jejum.
1 Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit, to be tempted by the devil.2 And having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'Be moved from here to there,' and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible for you.21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."
16 "Moreover, when you fast, do not become gloomy, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men [to be] fasting. Assuredly I say to you, that they receive their reward in full.17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,18 so that you do not appear to men [to be] fasting, but to your Father in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
16 "Moreover, when you fast, do not become gloomy, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men [to be] fasting. Assuredly I say to you, that they receive their reward in full.
17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,18 so that you do not appear to men [to be] fasting, but to your Father in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
2 being tempted [for] forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they were completed, He was hungry.
O jejum nas Escrituras
Ao longo da Bíblia, grandes homens e mulheres de fé jejuaram em momentos decisivos — buscando a Deus com urgência e devoção.
O jejum que Deus escolheu
Isaías revela o jejum que agrada a Deus: soltar as cadeias da injustiça, libertar os oprimidos e repartir o pão com o faminto.
A igreja primitiva
Os apóstolos jejuavam antes de decisões importantes. O jejum acompanhava a consagração de líderes e o envio de missionários.
2 Now as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them."
2 Now as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them."
2 Now as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them."3 Then, fasting and praying, and laying their hands on them, they sent them away.
3 Then, fasting and praying, and laying their hands on them, they sent them away.
3 Then, fasting and praying, and laying their hands on them, they sent them away.
23 And having chosen elders for them in every church, [and ]having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Praticando o jejum
Quando jejuares, unge a cabeça e lava o rosto. O jejum é entre você e Deus — não para impressionar os homens, mas para buscar ao Senhor.
37 and she [was] a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
33 Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise also the [disciples] of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"34 And He said to them, "Can you make the groomsmen fast while the bridegroom is with them?35 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."
28 And after He entered into a house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why were we not able to cast it out?"29 So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."
29 So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."
27 in labor and hardship, in sleepless nights often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness-