Verse of the Day: 1 Corinthians 6: 19 – 20 “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, (20) for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
There is a phrase that is very true and it says, “You are what you eat.” If you always eat junk food and fast food and continue to eat that way throughout you life, eventually it will have detrimental effects on your health. Cravings for the wrong kind of food can eventually kill you. The same thing is true for your spiritual life. If you feed spiritually on the wrong things such as tv, movies, video games, gossip, myspace, pornography, foul music, money etc. then you will find out that you have lost your hunger for God.
This fast as you have heard me say over and over again is about more than just food and getting your prayers answered. It is about developing a hunger for God and His presence. When the verse says to "honor God with your body", it means to be hungry for Him and desire a relationship with Him MORE! Hunger is the key element to whether or not you pursue intimacy with God. The definition for hunger is “having an urgent need or eager desire.” Does this describe your hunger for your relationship with God?
Through this time of fasting what are some strong cravings that you have discovered that need to be weeded out in your life? What are things that you think about that crowd out the presence of God? Things that leave you without a passion for Him.
We need to have a steady diet of God’s word and spend time alone with Him. As we get close to the end of this fast, remember to continue what you have started. Don’t forget the things that you have learned on this fast. Remember how throughout this fast you have learned how to honor Him with your body. As you continue to spend time with Jesus this year, daily, you will have intimate times of prayer and spiritual things will come naturally because you have made the presence of the Lord an integral part of your life. Remember, this journey is about a lifetime of intimacy with God. Are you Hungry for MORE?
Personal Word: As we come towards the end of the fast, I encourage you to write down some spiritual goals for when this fast is over. Like, specific times that you will get up and meet with the Lord. Or it could be the amount of time that you will regularly give to God throughout the year. Write down specific bad habits that you had before the fast, which pulled you away from God, that you will not go back to. Maybe your goal will be that you will continue to share Christ with that friend, co-worker or family member. Whatever your goal is, make sure you write it down in a place where you will regularly see it. Read over it on a weekly basis so that you don’t forget as time goes on. Keep up the good work and press in as hard as you can to make this the best week of your fast. Let’s get the maximum amount out of it! I’m praying for you!
1
Zach Williams says:
I just got back from a prayer walk, and it was cold.. and I also didn't have on a very good coat. But besides the cold, I remembered something while I was praying and listening to some worship music... I was thinking about how this fasting and prayer time is about MORE and wanting MORE of God, and it made me remember that God wants MORE of US too! He's chasing after my heart and all of our hearts so desperately wanting us wholly so that we can be holy. I have been reading some scripture that has really been a Rhema word to me - Rhema is the personal word, spoken to your spirit - it's like God's Word spoken directly into a situation or circumstance and being a revelation. Anyway, just wanted to share that God is working and I am excited and can't wait to see Him move more through all of the fasting and praying!
posted on January 23rd, 2008
