January 19th, 2022
If you don’t know, Christians around the world are currently in the last few days of a 21-day corporate fast. It’s a season that many churches, including ours, take time to fast and seek God at the beginning of the new year. As we get toward the end of the fast, it is not the time to sluggishly drag ourselves across the finish line, but to push into God with everything we’ve got!
The Bible says in James 3:2, “you do not have, because you do not ask.” Fasting is a time to ask. The verse that follows is important, though. James 3:3-4 says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” The Bible teaches here that if there’s something we lack, it’s not because God doesn’t desire to meet every one of our needs, but because we either aren’t asking or we’re asking in error. We don’t fast to beg God for things or to try to show him how good and deserving we are of whatever it is we’re seeking. Fasting is a spiritual discipline that brings our hearts into alignment with God. We give up food, something we physically need, to receive from God what we actually need to live! In Daniel 10, we see one of the key facts in the Bible. Daniel had come across a prophecy and was grieved that it had not come to pass, so he set himself to fast and seek God for 3 weeks. At the end of the fast, he got his answer in the form of an angel who said to him, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come” (Daniel 10:12-13). We see here that as Daniel fasted, powers of darkness were actually fighting to keep heaven’s answer from reaching him. It wasn’t that God waited until the end of the 21 days to decide Daniel had proven he was good enough to receive the answer. It’s absolutely key to realize that we don’t fast to get God to answer us. If you think you’re trying to convince God, you won’t pray in faith! We fast in obedience to align ourselves with heaven’s mindset. Fasting and prayer push back the powers of darkness and strengthen the church to receive from heaven! If you feel like you haven’t yet received anything as you’ve fasted these last couple of weeks, don’t be discouraged. Push through to the end and keep your heart and prayers focused on God’s word. His answer is on the way!
The Bible says in James 3:2, “you do not have, because you do not ask.” Fasting is a time to ask. The verse that follows is important, though. James 3:3-4 says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” The Bible teaches here that if there’s something we lack, it’s not because God doesn’t desire to meet every one of our needs, but because we either aren’t asking or we’re asking in error. We don’t fast to beg God for things or to try to show him how good and deserving we are of whatever it is we’re seeking. Fasting is a spiritual discipline that brings our hearts into alignment with God. We give up food, something we physically need, to receive from God what we actually need to live! In Daniel 10, we see one of the key facts in the Bible. Daniel had come across a prophecy and was grieved that it had not come to pass, so he set himself to fast and seek God for 3 weeks. At the end of the fast, he got his answer in the form of an angel who said to him, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come” (Daniel 10:12-13). We see here that as Daniel fasted, powers of darkness were actually fighting to keep heaven’s answer from reaching him. It wasn’t that God waited until the end of the 21 days to decide Daniel had proven he was good enough to receive the answer. It’s absolutely key to realize that we don’t fast to get God to answer us. If you think you’re trying to convince God, you won’t pray in faith! We fast in obedience to align ourselves with heaven’s mindset. Fasting and prayer push back the powers of darkness and strengthen the church to receive from heaven! If you feel like you haven’t yet received anything as you’ve fasted these last couple of weeks, don’t be discouraged. Push through to the end and keep your heart and prayers focused on God’s word. His answer is on the way!
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