The person that gives himself to these disciplines will encounter more of the burning heart of God and discover the joy of His presence. Then, the thrill of encountering God will be the motive for doing the disciplines. He or she will start praying and fasting out of the pleasure of knowing Him, not out of duty or obligation.
Through praying and fasting we position our hearts for encounter. We deny ourselves of other things to focus on "one thing", the very "one thing" that David was obsessed with - the beauty of God
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that accelerates the process of receiving revelation from Heaven. When we do it, our hearts get tenderized and we see and hear God more clearly
Through fasting we offer our strength to receive God's. We say no to human strength to receive divine might. In the grace of God, we deny ourselves of legitimate pleasures like eating, entertainment, etc. to pursue the Lord harder. By doing it, our focus on the Lord grows and we become mighty in spirit, mighty inside. Even though fasting weakens our flesh, our inner man grows stronger.
If we choose to not to have a lifestyle of prayer and fasting we will be weak as other men are. Yes, sincerely loving the Lord, but with very weak minds and hearts; prompt to fall into temptation, depression, and boredom.
The lifestyle of fasting is rare, and so the benefits are rare. Not only is there the impartation of new desires, but also there is the removal or diminution of sinful desires. Beloved, when our desires line up properly, life is wonderful. When our desires are out of line, life is burdensome. Fasting, rather than increasing life's drudgery, actually releases supernatural joy.
You will find that the hunger to experience God begins to dominate your life. It's a strange paradox that we actually hunger to fast. I believe it is going to be a common experience to love fasting. It will take some time, but in the long run this is how the body of Christ will choose to live
Dear reader, there is divine grace and might available for you You only have to say yes. No matter how weak and broken you may feel-dare to embrace a lifestyle of prayer and fasting. As you do, watch how the Holy Spirit empowers your heart with holy and fiery desires, and how He anoints your eyes with revelation and fills your soul with His consuming Love.
Today is the day. Taste and see that the Lord is good!
The Prophetic Worshiper by Pablo Perez
1 comment:
Joyce,
I know I'm commenting late, but I really wanted to take some time to read your post. I felt that I needed to do SOMETHING to draw myself closer to God as I seek his assistance in living a life that is pleasing to Him (as you've seen in my posts as of late). I have never fasted, but I feel that this post was divinely inspired.
I intend to fast my lunch at school to spend that time in prayer. I'm not doing it this week because of the weird schedule with conferences, but am planning on starting next week. In a way, I'm looking forward to receiving the guidance that God has for me. Guidance that I haven't received yet my life has been too busy to stop and listen to His answers. But I am also sad, because that is my only time to spend in leisure with other teachers. I want to do this for at least a week. I'm hoping, as your post claims, that this will end up feeling not as a loss, but an incredible gain.
Would you please be in prayer for me as I begin on this new endeavor?
Post a Comment