It is recognition of the fact that we come to God only through what Jesus has done on the cross of Calvary. We have no grounds for approaching God, other than what Christ has done. We have no righteousness in ourselves. Nothing we do can buy extra attention from God.
Fasting is an appropriate spiritual discipline, but our prayers are not guaranteed a better hearing because we are fasting. Fasting just says to God that we are serious. It does not obligate God to act more quickly, or to fulfill our demands, because we are doing something by way of payment.
Many times we do not feel like praying. However, prayer has nothing to do with feelings. We make a decision of our will to approach God as our heavenly Father, because He tells us to do so, and because the Bible says that we need to be faithful in this.
God is not more impressed because we have been successful in our Christian walk in recent times, or because we feel uplifted, or because things are going well in life, and in our walk of faith.
In fact, the opposite is true. When we are miserable, when we are tired, or discouraged, or despairing at the coldness of our hearts, is precisely when we need God the most. Turning to Him at such times is our heart's cry for help. That is the prayer that God delights to answer.
As Christians, we have an obligation to be prayerful. God wants us to learn to trust Him more, and to come to Him more and more in prayer, so that our relationship will be strengthened.
In every challenge facing the Christian, we are to go to God in prayer. Our answer is to be found, not in our own strength or cleverness, or even in the quality of our prayers, but in the power of God. Answers to prayer and help from God are based, not on how we feel, but on the fact that Jesus has paid the price, and we have access to the throne of grace "in His name."
