Isaiah 58: 8 – 9 (AMP) Then shall your light break forth like the morning, and your healing (your restoration and the power of a new life) shall spring forth speedily; your righteousness (your rightness, your justice, and your right relationship with God) shall go before you [conducting you to peace and prosperity], and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.(9) Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, Here I am.
When we fast the way that God requires. When there is a true love for God and His ways and a sincere concern for others, then we open up the way for God’s full blessing to come into our lives. The rewards for this type of fast and love are: (1) We will experience the light of God and the full joy of salvation and healing. (2) We will experience God’s protection and His presence in our lives. (3) God will help us in trouble by answering our prayers, (4) He will lift us out of darkness and oppression, (5) We will have God’s guidance, strength and fruitfulness, and (6) true restoration, with the revival of God’s standards.
What areas of your life have you been stuck in a rut? Where do you need God’s light in your life today? Do you need physical, emotional or spiritual healing in your life? Do you need more of His presence? Are you confused over life and in desperate need of His guidance? Well then, one of the greatest promises from this verse is that when you fast in order to seek and pursue Him with a sincere heart, God says that He will say, “Here am I!”
Seek Him with all of your heart today. His presence changes everything! One touch of His presence can change any circumstance and dramatically change the course of your life.
Personal Word: It is hard to believe that we are on day 17! I am amazed at the stories that I hear coming from many of you in how God is working in your life and how you are experiencing more of His presence. Be alert and attentive this week to any distractions that Satan may throw your way. 1 Peter 5: 8 says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” There is nothing more than your enemy would like to do than to make you doubt God this week or to spiritually trip you up. So Be Alert! It goes on to say, “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (10) And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
Trust completely in God and He will restore you. He will make you strong, firm and steadfast. These are awesome words. Rejoice in God’s power and presence today! This is going to be a great week for you fasting. You have persevered through the toughest part of the fast. Take time to get alone in God's presence today and tell Him how much you love Him and how much He means to you. Enjoy His presence.
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Caleigh says:
So... I'm not really sure how to start this... but I wanna share something that happened to me yesterday. Through this fast I've been learning to trust God more and to be confident that that he will answer my prayers. Well, yesterday I was on a prayer walk (almost freezing to death...) and I went to a lake and the edges were all icy. So I was walking on some of it testing how strong it was. Then I had an idea: I asked God to let me walk on water. I was like "so God, I'm fasting and I'm trusting you and I mean, you are God... can you let me walk on water?" So I walked over to a thinner part of the ice and I put a foot on it... well, it didn't really work. My foot fell in and about a foot of my jeans and my boot got all wet. So, a little advice: don't try it! But I do encourage all of you to go on a prayer walk. It really helps you to focus just on God and his creation.
posted on January 22nd, 2008
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Shaina Williams says:
Nice Caleigh. Anyway, I just thought I'd comment about something I decided to do this week along with my fast. I decided I'm going to read a certain amount of books a day in the New Testament a day, to get to Jude by the end of the fast. I was trying to think of how I can "step it up" this final week, and felt like reading more in the Bible would be really cool. So, if some of you are thinking about what you can do to make your fast even deeper this week, think about maybe making a goal of a certain amount of chapters or books to read a day. If you normally read a chapter a day or something, step it up to two or something... it helps so much to have a certain goal, or target. We only have a few days left, so the goal is already in sight. Four days!!
posted on January 22nd, 2008
