Get Involved In The Week Of Prayer And Fasting!

I’m so excited about what God is going to do in our church this week as we intentionally set aside time to seek Him through prayer and fasting.

God is so good, he invites us to draw near to him with the promise that as we do, he will come near to us. Isaiah 55:6 reminds us to “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near…”. God is near, and prayer is a gift from him, one in which we can experience his nearness as we engage him in conversation. And when we combine prayer with fasting, something wonderful happens. We find ourselves unencumbered by the things that normally occupy our attention and instead, in us, there is an ever-deepening hunger for God and the things of God.

I so appreciate what John Piper has written in his book, A Hunger For God:

“The ultimate reason why God called us to fast without wanting to be seen by others is so that we would count God himself as our desire, and all else a subordinate spinoff of his enthralling glory. This is what Jesus is calling us to, a radically God oriented living and praying and fasting. So for the sake of your own soul, and in response to Jesus and for the advancement of God’s supremacy in all things, comb your hair, and wash your face, and let the father who sees in secret observe how hungry you are for HIM with fasting.”

So, let me encourage you to prayerfully consider what the Lord would have you do to participate during this week. Perhaps you could fast a meal or two, or a meal a day for the entire week. Maybe you could fast a couple of days during the week, or even consider fasting most or all the week. Parents, this is a great time to introduce your children to the idea of fasting. While they might not be able to skip meals, perhaps they could fast video games or their Ipods all week. What about fasting favorite television shows, or fasting television altogether for the week? Talk this over with your children using some of Piper’s thoughts and be creative as you participate as a family in seeking God together.

However the Lord leads you I know any effort at all to pursue him will please him and further his purposes in your life.

Mike