In four posts we’re exploring four expressions of faith for killing sin.  Many Christians don’t know what to do about sin, never finding the freedom and victory in Jesus that the Bible talks about.  This series explains a biblical process for killing sin.  As John Owen said, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”

This post handles the third expression of faith, “Cry out to God for deliverance.”  This can include the practice of fasting, also described below.  The other three expressions are: 1) Know what the Bible says about sin, 2) Mourn over the ugliness of sin, and 4) Worship.

Expression of Faith #3: Cry out to God for deliverance

I like to fix problems by myself.  It says something about my manhood if I can’t dig myself out of a hole.  But when the problem is sin, I need to admit my impotence.  Dealing with sin is like getting into a cave with an angry bear.  I better have God with me, or I’m lunch.  Sin is an enemy, waging war and trying to kill me.  Seriously (Rom. 7:23).  That might sound extremist, but it’s the simple truth.  At some point we need to get down on our knees and ask God to protect us from the terrifying enemies of indwelling sin and the devil.

People all through the Bible cry out to God for help.

Psalm 61:1-4 Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.

Also, here’s David’s prayer after he faced his sins of adultery and murder.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Psalm 51:7-12

What does it mean to cry out to God?

First of all, we cry out repentantly.

Wayne Grudem defines repentance as “a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ.” I would add the need to ask for forgiveness from God.  When we cry out to God, our prayer begins with repentance.  This is the starting place for our relationship with God, it is the starting place for most of our ongoing interaction with Him, and it is the centering principle of our worship.

Second, we cry out for God to give us victory over sin.

Hebrews 4:16  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We need God’s help to overcome sin and temptation.  We do not need to clean ourselves up for Him.  We can’t.  We draw near to God as foul sinners, reeking with sin.  Without our mediator and brother, Jesus Christ, standing beside us, we would be killed by God’s burning holiness.  Psalm 1:5 says, “the wicked will not stand in the judgment” which could imply that the wicked will be there, but unable to stand because they’ve been slayed and flattened by God’s awesome holiness.  Only the redeemed can approach God with confidence, and not because they are less sinful than the wicked, but because Jesus has stood in the gap.  Because of Jesus, God promises to forgive us, and he promises to empower us to righteous living.  God is our great help in time of need.  As we cry out to God, we express our confidence in His victory and power over sin.

And we do not cry out tentatively, but we cry out with confidence that God has the power and desire to redeem us.  1 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” If I am beaten down by sin and the devil, my only hope is to cry out to God for deliverance.

Third, we cry out as a way of life, not just in the dire moments of failure.

We’ve got to “watch and pray” all the time for God’s provision and protection from evil. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, His disciples were snoozing because they didn’t understand the danger and magnitude of the moment.

Matthew 26:40-41 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?  Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

That’s true.  My “flesh” (my sin nature, making war against the Spirit of God within me) is very weak.  Without God’s constant help, I’m in danger of being quickly entangled by sin.

1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith…

Jesus was talking about the end times and He said,

Luke 21:34-36 But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.  For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Crying out to God is an expression of faith because I am showing my dependence on God for forgiveness and protection.  I am convinced that God alone can deliver me from the penalty, guilt and control of sin.  It is possible to cry out to God in many ways, but Christians have often used fasting to express their total dependence on God.

What Is Fasting?

Fasting is when we give up food for a while in order to concentrate on prayer and Bible reading.  Fasting is common in the Old and New testaments of the Bible.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives instructions for fasting by saying, “When you fast….”  The Bible assumes we will fast.  Check with your doctor; health reasons might prevent you from fasting, but then you will need to concentrate even harder to achieve the spiritual benefits that come most directly through fasting.

Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade, a man who was well-known for fasting, wrote, “Fasting is not just denying yourself food. It is exchanging the needs of the physical body for those of the spiritual. Long times of prayer and reading God’s Word will be very essential if you are to enter into a more intimate communion with God to maintain your fast to its completion.”

Fasting is an expression of humility.  It’s the Jedi Master way of crying out to God.  When we fast, we’re saying, I don’t need anything more than God, not food, nothing.  I am completely dependent on God. 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 recommends fasting from sex.  Some people fast from other people in the discipline of solitude, spending periods of time with God alone.  Again, fasting is a way to demonstrate our need for God – a need that exceeds every other desire.

John Piper, in his book A Hunger for God, says, “fasting is a way of expressing to God that he is the supreme hunger of our hearts–that we are starving for him.”

Fasting can be abused.  People sometimes fast to get something from God, trying to pry something from His hands.  That’s not a respectful way to approach God.  The point of fasting is not to get God’s attention, it’s to set our hearts on Him more fully – to rest in Him, enjoy Him, depend on Him.  The greatest thing we can ever “get” from God is God.

Sometimes people fast so they can understand God better.  Maybe you want to get married, or you’re at some kind of crossroads.  You know you’re a sinner who will absolutely mess up your life without God’s intervention, so you cry out to Him with a fast.

Sometimes people fast to ask for God’s power and blessing.  Maybe you’re preparing a Bible study, or you’re a new parent, or you anticipate a difficult conversation.  You desperately need God’s help.

Sometimes people fast when their hearts are cold and hard and they don’t feel any awe for God.  Fasting is a wonderful way to pray for revival in our lives, our families, our church, our world.

And more to the point of this four-part series on sin, sometimes people fast as a way to plead for God’s protection from temptation and demonic attack.  If we face some sin that will not die, fasting is a helpful way to spend time in focused dependence, crying out to God for deliverance.

He is our only hope, our only power for killing sin.  Cry out to Him with every tear and with the utmost concentration, waiting on Him and trusting Him to do what only He can do.

O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.