Shades of Grace | Natalie Nichols

Miracle Ahead: Three Things to Remember in Times of Crisis

Natalie — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:41:47 +0000

Are you in a crisis with no foreseeable way of escape? Believe it or not, you’re in the birthplace of a miracle! When we have a backup plan — a way of escape — we miss God’s miraculous deliverance.

Watchman Nee’s thoughts on this subject, shared in A Table in the Wilderness [Affiliate Link], are instructive and encouraging:

When God works His miracle, we have to laugh at our own foolishness. If we still persist in worrying and planning, then we are no disciples of His. Many, I fear, never see God work for them because they always have a way out–some friend perhaps, who might help a little if God does not! Most to be pitied are those who, brought to a supreme crisis, still find an avenue of escape. For necessity is the foundation for miracles. To escape the one is to miss the other. Great difficulties are meant only to force us out of ourselves into reliance on Him. When there is no way forward or back, then God is able. He has a plan. So do not fear impossibilities. They are of no account to Him. Fall at His feet, and wait for Him to act. A miracle is ahead.[i]

What then should you do in a crisis? The following three things:

1. Stop worrying and trying to plan your way out. Instead, look confidently to God.

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?…³¹ So do not worry…³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:25-27, 31, 33, emphasis added).

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27, emphasis added).

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2, emphasis added).

”¹God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,³ though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. ⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,the holy place where the Most High dwells.⁵ God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day” (Psalm 46:1-5, emphasis added).

It is helpful to note what others have said about worry:

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.”~ Corrie Ten Boom

“Whenever you face all of your problems and you trust only your plans to get you out — it is a sign that your faith is deteriorating.” ~ T.D. Jakes

“No one can pray and worry at the same time.” ~ Max Lucado

“Worry is the sin of distrusting the promise and providence of God, and yet it is a sin that Christians commit perhaps more frequently than any other.” ~ John MacArthur

“The more extreme your circumstances, the more likely you are to see My Power and Glory at work in the situation. Instead of letting difficulties draw you into worrying, try to view them as setting the scene for My glorious intervention.” ~ Sarah Young, Jesus Calling

“Sadly, many who truly love Jesus often panic in times of crisis, and they worry and fret. They spend time trying to figure out ways to escape or endure their trial. They do not heed His call to ‘come and dine’ with Him. I am not talking about spending one hour or so each day in prayer, I am talking about focusing on Him all through the day, ‘Praying without ceasing.’ This is simple, quiet conversation—just talking to Him, becoming more acquainted with Him, so that in crisis times we need not rush in consternation to a prayer closet and wail out for help like a stranger.” ~ David Wilkerson

2. Know that God allowed your difficulty for a purpose — to force you to rely on Him, the God who is able!

⁹ Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us (2 Cor. 1:9-11).

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Eph. 3:20).

3. Fall at God’s feet in worship. Thank Him in advance. Wait expectantly for Him to act. He will deliver you in due time! A miracle is ahead!

“Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God” (Psalm 42:11, AMP)

¹THE LORD is my Light and my Salvation–whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?…¹³[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living! ¹⁴Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord” (Psalm 27:1, 13, 14, AMP).

”¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. ¹⁸ The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. ¹⁹ A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all” (Psalm 34:17-19).

When we worry, fret and try to finagle a way out of our crisis, we are no different than an Old Testament king looking to the size of his army rather than to the size and capability of God. In your crisis today, put your hope in God and His unfailing love. Wait in hope for Him. He will deliver you!

¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
¹⁸ But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
¹⁹ to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
²² May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.

~ Psalm 33:16-22

Question: What crisis are you facing today? How will you respond — in fear, or in faith and reliance on the God who is able?

_______________________

[i] Watchman Nee, A Table In The Wilderness, (Fort Washington, PA: CLC Publications, 2011), 16

On The Air with Living Joyfully Free Radio

Natalie — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:14:05 +0000

I was a guest recently on Living Joyfully Free Radio. Author and radio host Lisa Buffaloe conducted the interview. The program aired January 23, 2012 — however, prayer and fasting were our main priorities at the time. So I waited until after the fast to share the link to the program here in a post.

Lisa Buffaloe, the radio host, has also been diagnosed with Lyme disease. She had excellent insights into God’s comfort for life’s trials!

In addition to sharing my story, I shared candidly about my weakness in conducting the interview that day. Due to an over extended schedule the past few years, I’ve suffered a major health collapse. In addition to this collapse and loss of strength, I was experiencing severe repercussions from medication changes that left me very weak and ‘foggy brained’ for this interview. However, as I’ve shared here before, there is opportunity in weakness! God is attracted to weakness.

^“27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

God works through our weakness so that He alone receives glory for what is accomplished.

Could this program be meant for you today?

Do you feel weak or inadequate in some way?
Do you have an illness?
Are you lonely?
Are you struggling with feelings of disillusionment toward God?
Are you frustrated at your inability to control your life?
Are you suffering — do you want things in life that you don’t have; do you have things you don’t want?
Do you desire to have a deeper hunger for God and His word?
Would you like to sense God’s presence today?

I believe God will speak to you and encourage you through this program — not because of me, or Lisa or anything we said but because God was present and speaking.

You can listen to my interview on Living Joyfully Free here.

Question: How did God encourage you through this program?

Are You Satisfied in God?

Natalie — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:24:35 +0000

From Natalie: This is a guest post by Angela Morgan. Angela’s deep faith and undying passion for Jesus are a personal inspiration to me. She co-led the Concert of Prayer event as part of the Harmony Hill Church worship team. You can read her blog and follow her on Facebook. Her post today begins where the previous post ended.

God Is Most Glorified When…

I heard an amazing quote the other day by John Piper:

“God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”

Isn’t that an amazing statement?

Think about it. When the Lord becomes your everything—like for instance when you wake up in the morning and He is the first thing on your mind, when you can’t wait to talk to Him and hear what He has to say in His word…when He is the very breath that you breathe—that is when He is most glorified!

Isn’t it all about God’s glory anyway?

God loves us so much that He attaches being satisfied in Him with bringing Him glory. To me, it’s a win-win situation! So, why wouldn’t we want to praise Him? Why wouldn’t we want to love Him—with our everything?!

You Won’t Be Happy Until…

Think about this statement:

God seeks our praise not because He won’t be happy until He gets it—He seeks our praise because we won’t be happy until we give it!

Oh the love of our God! We cannot comprehend it.

“Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” (Psalm 107:8)

Practicing What I Sing

I will be honest. The past few years have been tough for me…but God has been so faithful. My dad has been sick. I’ve struggled in my prayer life—but through it all, every time I go to the Lord, He says “Angela, are you going to practice what you sing?”

You see I don’t preach, but I do lead worship sometimes. And the songs God always seems to want me to sing are ones with words that bless His name! They’re always about Him—about lifting Him up and giving Him praise—not about circumstances…or problems…or me. They’re about Him! Period.

I sat back recently and listened to God speaking to me: “My desire for you, Angela, has always been about my glory—that you would bring me glory!”

When we realize the meaning of this statement—and the depth of it—we realize how much He loves us.

Never Left Empty Handed

When I am singing and praising the One Who is to be glorified, He never leaves me empty handed.

^“14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ¹⁶And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:14, 16).

Jesus Christ is the fullness of all joy, all peace and all love! When we allow Him to be Lord of our lives, we are most satisfied in Him—because He is the fullness of all joy, all peace and all love.

There is nothing in this world that can ever come close to the precious relationship that you can have with Jesus Christ our Lord. There is no one on this earth—not even a husband—that can fill our hearts and keep them full because they are not the fullness of joy, peace and love. Only Jesus is!

That is why I repeatedly say, “Fall in love with Jesus.” The Bible says:

^“1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²The same was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴In him was life; and the life was the light of men. ⁵And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:1-5).

When we question how to find love, joy and peace, we often hear in response, “Fall in love with Jesus.” What does that mean? It means to love His word—He is the word. It means to read His word!

Loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength doesn’t mean you will skate through life unharmed. It doesn’t mean you will never have problems. But I can tell you this: In the midst of the storms of life, you can have peace. You can have joy. You can be filled with love. Only Jesus can do this.

So… what is your part?

^“6But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. ⁷Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (James 4:6-8).

My prayer is that my life would bring Him glory every day. That my speech..my walk…my talk…would edify the one who is worthy. It’s not about me. It’s all about Him. And He is most glorified when I am most satisfied in Him.

Question: What will you do today in order to deliberately find your satisfaction in God?

The Fasting Archives

Natalie — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:00:29 +0000

Each fasting post written this year contains a bulleted list of that day’s fasting post from previous years. (For example, the Fasting Day 1 post contains a bulleted list of links to previous years’ Fasting Day 1 posts.) However, in order to provide easier access to the fasting archives, I have listed below all of the fasting posts to date.

2012

Pre-Fast Posts

21-Day Fasting Posts

2011

Pre-Fast Posts

21-Day Fasting Posts

Miscellany

Call for the Watching, Fasting Women

2010

Pre-Fast Posts

21-Day Fasting Posts

Miscellany

Fasts Proclaimed by American Government Leaders

Fasting Day 21: Why Does God Reward Fasting?

Natalie — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:02:21 +0000

Why does God respond to fasting? Why does He reward us when we fast? Throughout the pages of the Bible, it is quite evident that He does. Jesus promised he would reward fasting: “When you fast…your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Mt.6:17-18).

What is the answer to the question? The following six points explain.

1. A Harmful Answer

Does God reward fasting because it has been earned by the display of the faster’s merit? Such a claim dishonors God and turns His free grace into a business transaction. It implies that fasting comes from our own will, and that this self-achieved discipline is then offered to God for payment or reward.

Such a claim dishonors God because it says that what belongs to God — the initiative for prayer and fasting — actually belongs to us. To believe this would mean that we’ve put ourselves in God’s place and cancelled the free gift of His grace. This view turns fasting into “works.”

“Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due” (Romans 4:4).

This passage literally means: “To the one who works, the reward is not reckoned according to grace, but according to debt.”

If we believe God rewards fasting by paying “wages” or settling “debts” with those who have earned His reward by fasting, then we act as if “the reward is not reckoned according to grace.” This is a deathly way to relate to God. The only option to free grace is condemnation.

God does not save us “by grace…through faith” and then reward our fasting “by justice…with works.”

The reward of justification – and every other subsequent reward – comes to us on the same ground. This ground is God’s work in Christ through His atoning death (Rom. 3:24). The means by which it comes to us is our faith (Eph. 2:8; Gal. 5:6).

If we try to merit or earn anything from God, our attempt not only nullifies grace, it is evil. Therefore, this is a wrong answer as to why God rewards fasting.

2. Fasting is “From Him and Through Him and to Him”

God knows our heart. He does not reward fasting because it shows Him knew knowledge about our devotion. Our converted heart of faith is God’s handiwork. “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:10). He created us as new creations in Him. Not only that, He is “working in us that which is pleasing in His sight” (Heb. 13:21).

It is our duty and responsibility to choose obedience moment by moment, but we should never forget that “it is God who is at work in [us], both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).

Fasting itself is a gift from God. Therefore, it cannot earn anything from God. Fasting is something God is “working in us.” We cannot expect God to pay for something that is already His. This is what Paul meant when he said:

“Who has first given to [God] that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:35-36).

Fasting is from Him and through Him and to Him. It is not first offered to God that we might be receive recompense for it. It is first given by God that we might benefit and God might be glorified.

3. The Ultimate Origin of Sacrifice

King David saw his people sacrificing their riches to build the temple – in a similar way that we sacrifice food in fasting. When David saw this, he did not gloat over the self-created virtue of his people; he was humbled that God had given them (by grace) such generosity. He said:

“Who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand” (1 Chron. 29:14).

This is the way we should view fasting. We have no basis to boast. There is nothing in us that would choose fasting for God’s glory apart from His life-changing grace.

When David looked to the future and considered whether the heart of sacrifice would continue, he prayed, “O LORD…preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You.” (1 Chron. 29:18).

This is how we should pray about our own fasting. “O Lord, keep the desire to fast — desire and intention that You created — in the hearts of Your people and direct our hearts toward You as our source.”

4. God Rewards Helplessness and Hope in Him

If God is the creator and sustainer of fasting, why is it that he has appointed it as an occasion to reward? In A Hunger for God [Affiliate Link], John Piper answers this question:

“The answer is that God is committed to rewarding those acts of the human heart that signify human helplessness and hope in God. Over and over again in Scripture God promises to come to the aid of those who stop depending on themselves and seek God as their treasure and help.”[i]

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost….Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live” (Isa. 55:1-3).

God promises water, wine, milk and life that money cannot buy to those who have no money and are thirsty, if they will look away from what money can buy and come to Him.

“I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost….Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (Rev. 21:6; 22:17).

The reward of life is not given to those who can buy it or work for it. It is free—“without cost.” The price is thirst that turns from the dry, incapable cisterns of the world to God’s never-ending fountain.

For it is:

The “poor in spirit” who will be rewarded with the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3).
Those who “wait for the Lord” for whom he works (Isa. 64:4).
Those who “trust in God,” and not their horses or chariots who are given victory by His power (1 Chronicles 5:20; 2 Chronicles 13:18; Psalm 20:7).
Those who “delight in the Lord” and trust in Him who receive the desires of their heart (Psalm 37:4-5).
The sacrifices of a broken spirit and a contrite heart that are acceptable to God (Psalm 51:17).
The one who serves God “by the strength which God supplies” and not in his own strength who will be rewarded by the Lord (1 Peter 4:11).

5. God’s Ultimate Commitment is to His Glory

God rewards our actions that indicate our helplessness as humans and our hope in God. Why? Because these acts draw attention to His glory.

“Whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11).

When we serve God not in our own strength, but in the strength that God supplies, then God gets the glory. The giver receives the glory.

God is dedicated to doing everything for His glory.

“It appears that all that is ever spoken of in the Scripture as an ultimate end of God’s works is included in that one phrase, ‘the glory of God.’” ~ Jonathan Edwards, Dissertation Concerning the End for which God Created the World [Affiliate Link].

God is committed to doing all things for His glory:

God chose His people before the foundation of the world…for His glory (Eph. 1:6).
He created mankind…for His glory (Isa. 43:7).
He chose Israel…for His glory (Isa. 49:3).
He delivered them from Egypt…for His glory (Isa. 48:9-11).
He sent His Son to confirm His promises…and so the Gentiles would glorify Him for His mercy (Rom. 15:8-9).
He put His Son to death…to show the glory of His justified righteousness (Rom. 3:25-26).
He sent the Holy Spirit…to glorify His Son (Jn. 16:14).
He commands us to do all things…for His glory (1 Cor. 10:31).
He will send Jesus a second time to receive the glory due Him (2 Thess. 1:9-10).
In the end, He will fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory (Hab. 2:14).

John Piper sums up this point:

God’s ultimate aim in all that he does is that his glory might be displayed for the appreciation of those who embrace it, and the desolation of those who don’t. Therefore he rewards acts that confess human helplessness and that express hope in God, because these acts call attention to his glory.[ii]

6. Fasting is an Offering of Emptiness to Show Where Fullness Can Be Found

What is the purpose of prayer?

“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son”( John 14:13).

God responds to prayer because when we pray, we are looking away from ourselves and any other resource – looking to Christ as our only hope. This gives God an opportunity to display His glory and His grace through the providing work of His Son.

Fasting is similar to prayer in that it is an offering of emptiness given to God in hope and faith. It is a sacrifice. Fasting says:

“Father, I am empty, but you are full. I am hungry, but you are the Bread of Heaven. I am thirsty, but you are the Fountain of Life. I am weak, but you are strong. I am poor, but you are rich. I am foolish, but you are wise. I am broken, but you are whole. I am dying, but your steadfast love is better than life (Ps. 63:3).”[iii]

God sees this admission of need and this expression of trust. And so He acts because the glory of His all-sufficient grace is at stake.

“The final answer is that God rewards fasting because fasting expresses the cry of the heart that nothing on the earth can satisfy besides God. God must reward this cry because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” [iv]

Yes! God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. Nothing causes us to realize how absent the world is of satisfaction, and nothing causes us to find true satisfaction in God, like fasting and prayer! [v]

Have you felt God supplying you with the desire and ability to fast? Have you felt your hope and expectation shift — from visible securities to God alone? Have you found ultimate satisfaction in God? How do you feel God has received glory through your fasting and prayer?

As we conclude our fast and look to the rest of the year, may our focus remain the glory of God.

Worship: “I Give You Glory”

Can't see the video in your RSS reader or email? Click Here!

I Give You Glory led by Klaus Kuehn

Bible Reading: Philippians 2:13; Romans 11:35-36; 1 Peter 4:11; John 14:13; Psalm 63:3

Prayer Focus: As you conclude your fast and resume normal eating, how can your goal in life remain the glory of God? How can you continue to tell God, “I am helpless; my hope is in You”? Will the cry of your heart still be that nothing on earth can satisfy besides God? He is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.

FROM THE FASTING ARCHIVES:

[i] John Piper, A Hunger for God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1997),178

[ii] Ibid., 180

[iii] Ibid., 180

[iv] Ibid., 181

[v] The idea for this post is from John Piper, A Hunger for God, 175-181

Fasting Day 20: Keeping It a Part of Your Lifestyle

Natalie — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:16:35 +0000

There is only one more day left of Pursuit 21. Before we conclude the fast and resume normal eating, I’d like to ask you to prayerfully consider how you will keep fasting a part of your lifestyle in the coming year.

Being Intentional

For most of us, if we hadn’t been intentional and decided last year that on January 8, 2012 we were going to begin a fast, we never would have done it. I know I would not have.

If I would have waited until January 8 to decide whether or not I was going to fast, I never would have fasted. I would have been too attached to my food to choose fasting. However, because I made the commitment in advance, I began my fast on January 8th even though my flesh was not at all in the mood. And oh how thankful I am — on this side of January 8 — that I made the commitment in advance and have had these glorious days with God in fasting and prayer.

My point is this: if you wait until June, July or August to decide how fasting and prayer will be a part of your lifestyle, you may miss a great opportunity. Consider and pray now about how God would have you incorporate fasting in the coming months. I encourage you to prayerfully put a date on the calendar. It does not mean that when God calls you to a unique season of fasting, you will not obey. It simply means that you have intentional plans for fasting to be a part of your lifestyle.

Like Praying and Giving

After Jesus called His disciples, He gave them their first public teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. In it He explained to them the kingdom of God — its laws and life. He provided the pattern by which each of us is to live as a child of God. This pattern mentions three specific responsibilities: giving, praying and fasting.

In this passage Jesus said, “When you give,” “When you pray,” and “When you fast” (Mt. 6:2, 5, 16). He made it obvious that fasting is to be a regular part of the Christian life. He did not say “if you fast” but “when you fast.” We are to give as much focus and priority to fasting as we do to giving and praying.

We do not wait until after we’ve received a paycheck, paid all our bills and spent money on frivolous things to decide whether to tithe. No, tithing is a deliberate decision we make in advance. It’s practically on our calendar. We know that when we receive a paycheck, we will give the first ten percent to God.

We do not wait until tomorrow morning to decide whether or not we feel like praying. We know that scripture exhorts us to seek God first. Therefore, we set our alarm so that we wake early for prayer — so that we have time to spend with God before beginning the day’s activities. Prayer is essentially on our calendar, our agenda, for the next morning.

What if you were to treat fasting in the same manner? What if you made plans now for a regular time of fasting and prayer?

An Example

When the Shades of Grace team and I traveled to Romania to minister several years ago, our team stayed in the home of Liviu and Mary Neagoe. Immediately upon arriving, we sat down for dinner and a time to get to know each other. Within minutes, the topic of fasting came up. We quickly discovered that we were all fasting twenty-one days in January.

Conviction quickly sat in as Liviu mentioned that he also fasts the first two days of every month — before he pays bills or makes business decisions. He gives God the first two days of the month.

The Holy Spirit’s point was well taken. Up until then, I followed God’s leading for individual fasts, but I hadn’t been so intentional as to put fasting on my monthly calendar. In my new friend Liviu, God showed me a powerful example of one way we can be deliberate about fasting — one way we can be sure it is a part of our lifestyle.

Ears to Hear

“Natalie,” a friend told me this week, “the times that I’ve fasted, I’ve heard God so much more clearly. I mean, wow! It’s amazing the difference in how much more clearly I hear His voice when I fast!”

If for no other reason than to keep us in tune with God, we should be intentional and keep fasting a part of our lifestyle.

However, once we resume normal eating, we may forget how clearly we’ve heard God and sensed His presence during this time. The memory of just how glorious these days have been may fade. Now is the time to pray about keeping prayer and fasting a part of your lifestyle.

“If you seek him, he will be found by you” (1 Chron. 28:9).
“He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things” (Ps. 107:9).
“I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me” (Prov. 8:17).
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).

Worship: “The More I Seek You”

Can't see the video in your RSS reader or email? Click Here!

The More I Seek You led by Kari Jobe
From the Album: Glorious by Christ for the Nations Music
[Affiliate Links]

Question: How could you incorporate prayer and fasting during the rest of this year? The more we seek Him, the more we find Him.

FROM THE FASTING ARCHIVES:

Fasting Day 19: Faith, Bravery and the God Who Is Able

Natalie — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:36:26 +0000

From Natalie: This is a guest post by Scott Brodie. Although Scott has ALS, he does not let it stop him. He typed this post with his toes! Scott’s faith and perseverance challenge and inspire me daily. You can watch my interview with him here. You can also read his blog and follow him on Facebook.

When I think of healing and bravery in the midst of certain death, no other person stands out to me like Hezekiah. Hezekiah came to the throne of Judah nine years after the northern kingdom of Israel was carried away into captivity by the king of Assyria. Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign as Judah’s King (see 2 Kings 18:13).

Hezekiah’s Heart

Hezekiah had such an amazing heart to serve God. During his early years as King of Judah, he undertook sweeping religious reforms that Jerusalem hadn’t seen since the days of King Solomon. He removed idolatrous elements from worship, cleansed and sanctified the temple and restored the Levites back to their temple duties. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered. (See 2 Chron. 31:21.)

Untimely Assault

But after these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib, king of Assyria (who represents the devil), came against Hezekiah. Sennacherib, with his great Assyrian army (represents the demonic hordes of hell), destroyed and laid waste every city and nation in its path on its way to the ultimate goal of conquering Jerusalem. When the Assyrian force arrived outside the city walls, its field commander brought a message from Sennacherib himself.

In an attempt to demoralize the Jews, the field commander announced to the people on the city walls of Jerusalem that Hezekiah was deceiving them and that Yahweh could not deliver Jerusalem from the king of Assyria. He listed the gods of the people thus far swept away by Sennacherib then said:

“This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? Let not Hezekiah deceive you. For he will not be able to deliver you out of my hand…Nor let Hezekiah make you trust in and rely on the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of Assyria’s king” (2 Kings 18:19, 30).

Sending Lies

Hezekiah was doing all these great things for God and serving Him with all his heart—then Sennacherib came to attack Jerusalem. The first thing Sennacherib did before any physical assault was attempt to send lies over the city walls of Jerusalem — to try and promote fear and doubt in the people’s hearts and to question Gods power to deliver.

I can only imagine the lies the enemy directed at Hezekiah such as:

“Where is your God now”
“Your God has failed you”
“You’re going to die”
“I’ve taken down greater men than you”
“You’re next Hezekiah because God sent me to tell you”

Dear friend, the devil will come after a believer with his biggest attacks when you display you are a threat to his kingdom and are showing others the way out of darkness. He sends lies over the walls of your mind attempting to shake your faith in Gods power to deliver again. Satan just wants you to believe one of his lies so that you will back down and surrender your faith in God.

Turning to God and His Word

Rather than surrender to the enemy, which appeared to be the only option for Hezekiah in this life or death scenario, he turned to God and His word for deliverance. Hezekiah understood the reality of the predicament in which he found himself. He did not deny it, but chose to believe God above it.

“Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their countries, and have cast their gods into the fire…..Now, therefore O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know, that Thou art the Lord, even Thou only” (Isaiah 37:18-20).

God was pleased that Hezekiah came to Him asking for help and He answered in dramatic fashion.

“Because you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria… Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow here or come before it with shield or cast up a siege mound against it…For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David. And the Angel of the Lord went forth, and slew 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when [the living] arose early in the morning, behold, all these were dead bodies.^” (Isaiah 37:21,33,35-36, AMP).

God Is Able

Hezekiah, when faced with death, turned to God in prayer and reminded God of his power, faithfulness, testimony and promises…and by the time he was done, God sent the prophet Isaiah with an answer.

God not only sent word of an answer, He was faithful to fulfill it! He put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. “When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies” (Isaiah 37:36, NIV).

Are you facing a crisis of almost certain defeat? Rather than surrender to the enemy, go to God in prayer. He is able to answer in dramatic fashion and deliver you!

Note from Natalie: In yesterday’s post, we saw that Hezekiah’s life was prolonged fifteen years by the Lord. It was fifteen years ago that Scott Brodie was given a death sentence. Like Scott, perhaps Hezekiah also didn’t know each day if he would live to see another. Yes, God promised Hezekiah fifteen years…but what if his symptoms returned or progressed and he was tempted to believe the lies of the enemy? Hezekiah’s life, like Scott’s, demonstrates not only bravery but faith and confidence in the God who is able!

Worship: “God Is Able”

Can't see the video in your RSS reader or email? Click Here!

God Is Able by Smokie Norful
From the Album: Nothing Without You
[Affiliate Links]

Bible Reading: 2 Kings 18:19, 30; Isaiah 37:18-36; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 3:20

Prayer Focus: What lies are being lobbed over your city walls? What is the enemy trying to get you to believe? Though the devil is trying to convince you otherwise, God is able to deliver you!

FROM THE FASTING ARCHIVES:

Fasting Day 18: Fasting for Healing

Natalie — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:25:26 +0000

From Natalie: This is a guest post by Melinda Malloy. In addition to being the owner and photographer at Melinda Malloy Photography, Melinda is an administrative associate here at Shades of Grace (she helps me a lot!). You can follow her on Facebook.

Have you felt overwhelmed, discouraged, or hopeless due to sickness or some other type of physical pain or suffering? Maybe doctors have given you a diagnosis that weighs heavily on your heart. Have you considered that fasting and praying for healing is God’s will?

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to break every yoke? Then your light will appear like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the LORD’s glory will be your rear guard…The LORD will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose waters never run dry” (Isaiah 58:6, 8, 11).

Jehovah Rapha

We have the privilege of taking our pain and suffering to our Jehovah Rapha – “The Lord who heals.” Don’t resign yourself to sickness, and don’t limit God’s ability to change your situation! Seeking the Lord in prayer and fasting for healing should be a way of life. However, fasting is not to replace the aid of doctors, medicine, and technology.

In addition to praying and seeking Him about a situation, God sometimes instructed people in the Bible to use medicine or certain remedies for healing. In Isaiah 38, God said to Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah, “Put your house in order for you are going to die; you will not recover.” However, Hezekiah did not get his things in order and prepare for death. Instead, he turned his back on worldly thinking and understanding and wept and prayed before the Lord.

The word of the Lord came again to Hezekiah – “I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life!” God then instructed that a poultice of figs was to be used to bring about Hezekiah’s healing. Rather than resigning himself to death, Hezekiah had faith that the Lord could override the sickness in his body. He sought the Lord for healing, followed God’s instructions for medicinal aid, and he was healed!

By contrast, in 2 Chronicles 16, Asa contracted a severe foot disease but refused to seek the Lord for healing. He only sought physicians, and Asa died as a result. Though we should be thankful for doctors and modern medical technology, we should also be thankful that there is One who is above all of man’s knowledge and understanding! The Lord is the only One worthy of all our trust and confidence, for He alone has the ultimate power to heal and change our circumstances!

In the book of 3^rd John, verse 2 says, “Beloved, I desire that in all things you should prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” God desires that we be in good health, but even more so He desires that our souls would prosper. God said that in this world we will suffer. Sometimes God heals in order to show His power and to make His name great. Other times God chooses to bring Himself glory through our suffering when no healing is in sight. God’s sustenance, strength, comfort, peace, and joy in the midst of suffering gives us hope and increases our faith. This precious faith will help us get through trials in the future and will help us be a comfort to others.

My Own Experience

Several years ago, I participated in the 21 days of fasting with Pursuit 21. Due to some health issues, I did a partial fast. About three months later, I began experiencing such extreme intestinal pain that I was not able to eat anything. Since I had been through that fast earlier in the year, the Lord had strengthened my heart, my resolve, and my confidence in Him.

I did not know then what the coming days and weeks would hold, but I committed the time as a fast unto the Lord, spending great amounts of time praying, seeking, and worshiping Him. I was able to praise Him though sometimes I felt afraid and discouraged when time went by and my healing did not arrive.

I was not able to take in sustenance, but the Lord strengthened my body and kept me going. He encouraged me and blessed me with His peace and presence. I also sought the help of doctors and medical testing, but no help was found through those avenues. God, Jehovah Rapha, was my source and the only One that I could look to for hope.

After twenty-one days the Lord led me to 1 Samuel 1, and as I read through the chapter, His word to me was in verse 5:

“Those who were hungry hunger no more.”

The next day I was able to eat a little without horrible pain, and little by little the Lord restored to me the ability to eat. I praise Him for His healing power, but I also praise Him for the invaluable lessons He taught me during those twenty-one days – both sets of them! He increased my faith, provided for me, amazed me with His works, and gave me comfort that I am now able to share with others.

I pray that the Lord will strengthen and encourage you today! If you need God’s touch in your physical body right now, seek the Lord in prayer and fasting. If you know someone who is suffering, pray and fast for them. Persevere and do not lose heart!

“Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.”
Matthew 7:7

Worship: “Healer”

Can't see the video in your RSS reader or email? Click Here!

Healer by Kari Jobe
From the Self-Titled Album: Kari Jobe
[Affiliate Links]

Bible Reading: Isaiah 58:6, 8, 11; Matthew 7:7

Prayer Focus: Do you feel hopeless due to sickness or some other type of physical pain or suffering? Bring your need to Jehovah Rapha, your Healer, today.

FROM THE FASTING ARCHIVES:

Fasting Day 17: Back Into the Arms of Our Beloved

Natalie — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:11:47 +0000

From Natalie: This is a guest post by Linda Johnson. Linda is the founder and teacher of Sister Circle I.N.C. (In the Name of Christ) ministries where she leads a monthly Bible study. You can read her blog and follow her on Facebook.

A few days ago my husband and I were babysitting a sweet, yet energetic nine month old baby girl. As I was standing in the kitchen, I glanced into the living room and saw my husband trying desperately to hold her in his lap…but she had other plans. She was kicking and whining to get down and crawl on, what to her, seemed like a place full of fun and games. However, as an adult I was thinking differently. I was thinking to myself, “I really need to deep clean that floor because she’s at the age where anything she picks up she puts it in her mouth.”

Then this revelation from God hit me like a ton of bricks: “God that’s us, your children; that’s what we do!”

Seemingly Innocent Excursions

How many times in life have we as Christians, as innocent as it may have seemed at the moment, left the arms of our beloved? We leave for various reasons, but we all return for the same. Many leave His arms to go another set of arms, but these arms are from a human who can only ‘hold’ them so long. Others leave His arms for the arms of a job – a job that at first is rewarding and challenging, but it never seems to last. Some even leave His arms for the arms of this world and its cares. Whatever the reason, however long we leave, or however far we go – we still ‘feel’ the coldness of leaving the warmth of His protective arms!

I often meditate on the parable Jesus shared about the prodigal son in Luke 15 and the fact that there are many parallels in the story. The parallel I want to share is how, like the young, prodigal son, we too go to God asking for blessings and then leave His arms.

When the prodigal son said, “Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me,” the father did not hesitate or resist the son’s request (Luke 15:12, KJV). The verse goes on to say, “And he divided unto them his living.”

This made me think, “Why in the world would a father just give a young and unlearned child his whole inheritance without any opposition?”

Then I understood exactly why he did. The father had enough wisdom and hindsight to know that it would not take his young and unlearned son long to figure out where he needed to be, who he really was and most importantly, how well his father had indeed cared for him.

A Far Country

If you are familiar with the story, then you know that the son moved away to, what the Kings James version calls, “a far country.” Scripture tells us that in this “far country,” the young and unlearned son “wasted his substance with riotous living” (Luke 15:13). The word ‘riotous’ is defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary as exuberant, excessive, and extreme. The son left the only home he’d ever known to go far away to live ‘life’…or so he thought.

As the story continues, we see that the son ends up broke (I would say not just financially but also spiritually). He has to take a job feeding pigs. The young and unlearned boy gets so desperate and hungry that even the pigs’ lunch is mouth watering to him (Luke 15:16, NLT). Verses 17-19 explain how the young son came to himself and realized that even those working for his father were better off than he was at the moment.

Throwing A Party

The young son then decided to return home to his father, humbly, seeking forgiveness – willing to even give up his title as son and become a servant to his father. When he returned home, to his surprise, he found a father who ran to him.

I love how scripture describes this scene. The father was “filled with love and compassion…He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20, NLT). The son who felt so shameful and guilty by his past and his decisions couldn’t see that his father was joyful at his return. He began to tell his father how unworthy he was—how he couldn’t even be called his son—but the father didn’t reply to that. Instead, the father started planning a party!

He Is Waiting…Longing

Did you know that when we come back home to the arms of our beloved heavenly Father, all of heaven rejoices? Just like the father in this parable, your heavenly Father is waiting, longing, desiring for you to come back home to be embraced by his loving, caring arms! He is not as concerned about where you have been, what you have done, or how long you have been gone as He is about holding you again!

During our times of fasting and prayer we have some of the sweetest moments with Him; but we can have these moments in everyday life if we stay in His arms!

Personally Speaking

I know personally, June 30, 2009 was a day I chose to stay in His arms! I was a Christian, twenty-five years old, freshly graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University with a masters degree in social work, ready to work and live life – yet stopped by fatal congestive heart-failure!

I remember that day—lying on the emergency room stretcher, tears rolling down my face, lost for words—that the Lord gently spoke to my heart. I remember Him telling me that I had to stay with Him and fight…or give up and die! Talk about easy decisions. I chose, “ stay with Him, fight and live!” not knowing how many fears, tears, and times of wanting to get out of His lap I would have. I can say today—almost three years later—that I still rest in His arms and the finished work of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Have I had moments of despair, confusion, depression, anger or loneliness? Why yes, I most certainly have. However, during those times, I just closed my eyes and held on to His hand for dear life.

Assurances From God’s Love Letter

Life is tough and it’s not all fair. However, God is a God of justice and He always has a way of evening things out. As Christians, we have His love letter (the Holy Bible), which ensures us that:

1. God can not lie (Num. 23:19)

2. All things turn out good (Rom. 8:28)

3. No weapon shall prosper against us (Isa. 54:17)

4. Christ enables us to do all things (Phil. 4:13)

5. We are more than conquerors through Christ (Rom. 8:37)

In closing, I want to encourage you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, to stay in the arms of our Savior. If you have left His arms, simply return! If you have never rested in His arms, accept His love and let Him hold you. Know in your heart that you are never so far that His outstretched arms cannot and will not reach you!

“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.” Deuteronomy 33:12

Worship: “My Beloved”

Can't see the video in your RSS reader or email? Click Here!

My Beloved by Christ for the Nations Music
Led by Kari Jobe
From the album: Overtaken [Affiliate Links]

Bible Reading: Luke 15:11-32

Prayer Focus: Have you wandered from the loving embrace of your heavenly Father? He is waiting with open arms, ready to rejoice upon your return!

FROM THE FASTING ARCHIVES:

Fasting Day 17: Breaking Negative Emotional Habits

Fasting Day 16: Fasting Is… (Pt. 3)

Natalie — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:28:50 +0000

Fasting is one of the most powerful spiritual weapons believers can utilize. Below is a list of twenty-five quick definitions for fasting. Fasting is…

1. Fasting is telling God:

I want You more than food.
I want to be with You more than I want to spend time with other people or engage in other activities.
“I want to be sanctified and holy. I want to become in practice and attitude what you have made me.

2. Fasting is getting in touch with the Giver and elevating Him above His gifts.

Fasting is giving up a craving of the body, or another need, because of a greater need of the spirit. Food, money, health — these are gifts from God. But when you fast, you do without the gift in order to get in touch with the Giver. Fasting elevates the Giver over the gift.

“It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night…The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.” – John Piper

3. Fasting is emptying.

emptying your body of food
emptying your life of entertainment and normal routine
emptying your life, soul and stomach before God

In 1 Kings 17, the widow was willing to empty her barrel of food. God supernaturally supplied her with flour and oil.

When we fast, we say, “Lord, empty me of pride, ego, carnality, lust, bad temper, unforgiveness and anything unlike You!”

The woman in 2 Kings 4 was facing bankruptcy. Since she didn’t have enough money, her children were at risk of being enslaved. The prophet told her to gather empty vessels from her neighbors, bring them to her home and begin filling them with her pot of oil. She did as he had instructed her. She gathered vessels, brought them to her home, locked the door behind her and her sons and began filling the empty vessels.

⁶ When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

⁷ She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left” ( 2 Kings 4:6-7).

God looks for vessels that are empty.

4. Fasting is tasting.

Jesus is the bread of life (see John 6:35). Sin damages our spiritual taste buds so that we do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. When we fast, we get our spiritual taste buds back.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him” (Psalm 34:8).

5. Fasting is drinking.

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1-2).

“For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things” (Psalm 107:9).

Fasting is drinking living water. Sometimes we believers do not reach for living water. We drink the spiritual equivalent of soda pop, which cannot quench real thirst. We drink in the world’s priorities, cares and pleasures, deceived into thinking it will quench our thirst for God.

When we fast, we begin to see and taste things clearly. Where our thirst was lacking, God restores it. We begin to recognize what truly quenches our thirst for God and what does not.

Many people are drinking from the wells of this world…and they don’t satisfy.

“Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).

6. Fasting is feeding your spirit by neglecting your flesh.

Most of the time we do the opposite; we neglect our spirit and feed our flesh.

7. Fasting is waiting.

God promises to bless those who wait for Him. “The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him” (Lam. 3:25, ESV).

8. Fasting is coming.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Jesus is calling, “Come to me.” When we fast, we respond to His call. We come to Him…with all of our baggage, our weariness, our burdens, our needs. We come to Jesus—not to any other visible security or source.

He who is calling you to Himself is faithful!

“Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].faithful is he who is calling us to himself, and he will also do it” (1 Thessalonians 4:24, AMP).

9. Fasting is resting.

Fasting is resting. Fasting gives our body rest from food and digestion. Our bodies aren’t at their peak when they are involved in digesting food. Our systems were designed to have periodic rest. When we give our body a break from food, it can focus energy on cleanup and removing toxins.

Disconnecting from the world by fasting and connecting to God through prayer brings us to a place of spiritual rest. Fasting brings both physical and spiritual rest.

Everything slows down when we fast. We stop running through life trying with all our might to make our desired outcome happen. We realign our perspective and look to God in quiet trust and submission.

Fasting is an expression of our belief and trust in God. When we fast and pray, we are acting upon a basic trust that God will honor us.

When we believe God, we enter His rest.

Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world (Hebrews 4:3).

10. Fasting is relying—relying more on God and less on food.

“Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

11. Fasting is returning to God.

“’Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning’” (Joel 2:12).

12. Fasting is celebrating.

Under the New Covenant, when we fast, we celebrate God’s goodness and all that He has given us in Jesus Christ – mercy, forgiveness, blessing, favor, peace, provision – in short, the provision for every need we will ever have!

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

13. Fasting is worship.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1).

When we fast and pray, we present our bodies (and the meals we forfeit) to God as a living sacrifice, a memorial that forever remains before His throne. The worship that we offer God through fasting helps keep us sensitive to the Holy Spirit and obedient to Him, resulting in a holy life.

14. Fasting is preparing for new anointing.

God cannot put new anointing, new wine, into old wine skins. If we want new wine – new miracles, new power, new closeness and intimacy with Christ – we must fast and shed the old skin for the new.

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved” (Matthew 9:16-17)

15. Fasting is self-humbling.

“I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart” (Psalm 35:13).

16. Fasting is making room for God.

When we fast, we stop stuffing our soul with the small things of the world. We have room for the great!

“If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.” – John Piper (hungry handmaid).

17. Fasting is disconnecting from the world and connecting to God.

In Matthew 17, Jesus refers to the people who could not cast out a demon as faithless and perverse. By “faithless” He meant they were too disconnected from God, and “perverse” meant instead that they were too connected to the world. When we are too disconnected from God and too connected to the world and its distractions, the result is always unbelief.

We disconnect from the world by disconnecting from food. We connect to God through prayer.

The faith that can overcome stubborn resistance, such as the demon possessed boy in Matthew 17, is not possible except for men living in very close fellowship with God and in very special separation from the world—in prayer and fasting.

“Faith needs a life of prayer in which to grow and keep strong. The other is that prayer needs fasting for its full and perfect development.” – Andrew Murray

Fasting is renouncing the natural to invoke the supernatural.

18. Fasting is internalizing God’s word.

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight” (Jeremiah 15:16, emphasis added).

19. Fasting is preparing for the great.

Fasting prepares us for the great things God has in store. When the Holy Spirit calls us to fast, He is beginning to prepare us for what is ahead. When we fast at the beginning of the year, it positions us and sets the course for the entire year.

Like Anna, when we fast, we allow God to position us for a miracle moment.

20. Fasting is a way to stoke the fire on the altar of your heart.

Sometimes in life, our fire for God dims. Our spiritual fervor and affection turns into duty and obligation. Joy and passion are missing from our relationship with Christ.

“The tendency of fire is to go out; watch the fire on the altar of your heart. Anyone who has tended a fireplace fire knows that it
needs to be stirred up occasionally.”
- William Booth

What you sense as coldness is not the loss of the life of Christ within you, but the dullness of your sensitivity to Him. You have been living with your spirit man subject to the natural man. Your intimacy with Christ has been put on the back-burner. The busyness and demands of this of life have clouded your sensitivity to Him – they have clogged the drain, so to speak. Fasting gets the junk out!

Fasting increases your awareness of the Spirit of Christ within you. You can’t hear the voice of the Holy Spirit continually, and not have your spiritual passion stoked and your hunger for God dramatically increased.

21. Fasting is God’s testing ground — and healing ground.

22. Fasting is God’s chosen way to deepen and strengthen prayer.

23. Fasting is a means of revealing to ourselves and confessing to God what is in our heart.

24. Fasting is a short-term discipline that yields long-term effects.

25. Fasting is abstaining from anything that hinders prayer.

Question: Did I leave out your favorite definition of fasting? If so, please share!

FROM THE FASTING ARCHIVES: