Fasting Day 8: Grace for the Race

Congratulations, Pursuit 21 fasters! You’re one-third of the way through your fast — there are just fourteen days left. I can’t believe how quickly the time is flying by! Let’s be sure to seize every ounce of potential in the fast by spending time in prayer and the Word.

No Regrets 

Every year, when we reach the one week mark, I look up in surprise … and sadness. A week already gone… and so much time lost that could have and should have been spent in prayer.

As David Wilkerson says, when we set our hearts to seek God, the devil will put on us a conspiracy of interruptions. He will do everything he can to keep us from the prayer closet.

Every year, week one is the same. I should know what to expect. … But still I get blindsided. Still I fail and fall for some of the enemy’s tricks. I buy some of his lies. I give in to the conspiracy!

If this is you too, there’s hope. We have two whole weeks left. But that’s just fourteen short days that will fly by in a flash. So let’s be intentional!

Father, help us draw near to You. Enable us to see past the enemy’s strategies and recognize them for what they are. May we prioritize prayer. We have 344 other days of the year. This is just a short, twenty-one day season. Keep us from wasting it! Keep us from merely being on a diet because we won’t combine prayer and time in your word with our fasting. Give us eyes and ears of discernment to recognize the enemy’s attacks for what they are. Give us the discipline to say no to the things that are keeping us from prayer—no matter how essential they seem to be. Father, maximize these last fourteen days! Do a deep work in us!

Finish the Race

Speaking of no regrets, did you mess up on your fast? As your coach, I blow my whistle—“FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE”—and shout across the track, “GET UP AND KEEP GOING!”

This is a marathon, not a sprint. Just head to the finish line. The race is not over because you fell. Don’t quit or let the enemy get you discouraged. Don’t give him the victory.

Today is day eight of Pursuit 21! In the Bible, eight is the number of new beginnings. What a fitting day to start fresh and leave the condemnation behind. (But don’t start counting at day one again. This is no cause for a complete “do-over!” Pick up with day eight and continue on.)

Grace for the Race

May we receive from God the grace we need to finish the Pursuit 21 race! May we receive from Him the enabling to yes, stick with the fast, but more importantly, the grace to be disciplined in prayer.

Andrew Bonar said that fasting is abstaining from anything that hinders prayer. May we receive from God the grace to abstain from everything that is hindering our prayer life.

Father, thank you for the privilege of seeking You through fasting. Thank you that we can come boldly to Your throne of grace. Thank you for the blood of Jesus that tore the veil and made it possible!

Jesus,, my friend and I are hungry for You. We want to meet with You the next fourteen days. If we do, we’ll forever be changed! So the enemy wants nothing more than to stop it! He’s holding back nothing in order to keep us from the prayer closet.

Show us what things are hindering prayer in our lives. It’s not all from the enemy. Much of it comes from our natural man, from the flesh. Help us do away with everything that is hindering prayer—from obsession with work … and lust for entertainment … to our craving for comfort. Forgive us for prioritizing everything else in life above time with You.

If my friend is feeling condemned and like a failure because he or she messed up on their fast, remove that condemnation and discouragement. It’s not from you!

You’re our Redeemer! So we ask You to redeem and make up the time we wasted this past week. Would you do it by multiplying our time in prayer with you the next two weeks? More than that, would You multiply Your power that descends on us in the prayer closet? Cause us to hear you clearly and above all, respond quickly in obedience! When you gently whisper that You want us to walk away from the crisis that seems to require our attention … or from the mountain of work that’s left to be done … or from the entertainment we crave—when You lead us to walk away so that we might spend time with You in prayer, give us the ability to obey You.

Father, Philippians 2:13 says, “For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants.” We claim your enabling. Help us do what You want.

Now Jesus, may YOU be our focus. Not what we eat or don’t eat. Or how many minutes we do or don’t spend in prayer. Give us such sweet, intimate time with You this week, that we lose all track of time! Take us into the Holy of Holies. Speak to us so powerfully and personally that we forget time and space and get lost in Your presence! Amaze us this week by how You speak into the situations of our lives. Speak to the cry of our heart. In Jesus’ name, so be it.

“For God is at work within you, 
helping you want to obey him, 
and then helping you do what he wants.”
Philippians 2:13, NLT

Question: In what area do you most need God’s grace and enabling the last fourteen days of this fast?

FROM THE ARCHIVES

• Praying for Government Leaders (3): A Guide to Praying for Your Country
• Fasting Day 8: Gaining Thirst
• Fasting Day 8: Brokenness, Part 1
• Fasting Day 8: Feeding Faith, Part 2
• Fasting Day 8: God Fills the Hungry