Fasting Devotional day13

“Day 13: Hold on to the Promise

God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, which means He has already laid up rewards for you in heaven. Now, I’ve always read that scripture the wrong way. In my mind, I’ve always added, “seek Him… and find Him.” But the Bible tells us that if we seek, we will find. God will not allow you to give in to temptation. He is with you. Remember your dream to complete the fast, and keep your feet on the path of righteousness. You are over halfway there!

For ten years and two hundred thirty episodes, the TV sitcom Friends became a focal point for millions in this country. In 1994, the critics said this show about six young single friends living in New York City was not very entertaining, clever, or original. The final episode of that show had 52 million viewers. The critics who said it wouldn’t make it didn’t take into account the great vacuum for connection in American culture. People want and need to be connected in relationships.”

“That need to be connected is evidenced in the church by home groups and a greater emphasis on community. While that is good, if we’re not careful, we can become too horizontally focused and not sufficiently vertically focused. Church right now, for the most part in the Western world, particularly in America, is all about me: “I want my needs met. Bless me; teach me; help me.” While those are legitimate needs and desires, we must keep in mind that the cross has two beams: one is horizontal—but the other is vertical.

Fasting turns your priorities more vertical and more in line with God’s desires. It’s what Jesus did when He cleared the temple. They had become excessively horizontal.

Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”

—MATTHEW 21:12–13”

“That doesn’t mean that when you fast, you don’t have specific needs and desires of your own for which you are seeking God. Indeed, you should fast for a specific purpose. However, I believe that as you continue on a prolonged fast, the true cry of your heart becomes, “More of You, God, and less of me.” When you put Him first, all else is added.

According to God’s principle of “first things,” what you put first will order the rest. When you put your spirit first, you serve the things of the Holy Spirit rather than the desires of the flesh. As a result, your mind, will, emotions, as well as your physical body and health will fall in line according to the Spirit’s leading. “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom. 8:13).

When we fast, we are effectively going on a hunger strike against hell to say, “Loose those who are bound by deception, lies, alcohol, drugs, pornography, false religion, etc.!”

On your thirteenth day of fasting, remember:”

• “Keep water with you at all times.

• Continue to meditate and listen.

• Cravings may return.

Thoughts for your journal:

(Write your thoughts in a separate journal.)

• What are the various ways you can experience guidance from God?

• Reflect on how you can resist more temptation in these next days as the hunger pangs continue.

Prayer Focus Day 13: Body of Christ”

“Christians all over the world need prayer. In China, believers meet in secret locations in the underground church. If they are discovered, they risk being beaten, tortured, imprisoned, and worse for their faith. In Ethiopia, believers are brutally attacked and suffer greatly when they refuse to renounce Jesus. In other hostile and closed regions, like Cuba and Vietnam, brave believers share the Word of God with others at great personal risk. Even in our “Christian” nation, the cross of Christ and our beliefs are constantly under attack. So, on this thirteenth day of your fast, concentrate in prayer on the body of Christ—those who are suffering and persecuted for their faith, those who are struggling to hold on to their faith, and those whom the devil wishes to pick off from our younger generation.

Prayer targets within the body of Christ:

(List your answers in a separate journal.)

But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

—1 CORINTHIANS 12:24–26”