Why Fast? part 1

In the past couple of months, I’ve heard a couple of different Missionaries share their call to places we know as “restricted” or “sensitive” countries (countries where it is against the law to convert from one religion to another, especially to Christianity). In these testimonies, I hear a fairly common theme arise: they all seem to share about what it took for God to get them to the mission field and how after arriving there, they felt their ministries were unfruitful - until they began to fast and pray. Often times, they shared how it was after a time of fasting (it generally seems to be a three to seven-day fast), they found their ministry enhanced and/or expanded.

Thinking about this recently, I felt the Spirit speaking to me about emphasizing Prayer and Fasting in the devotional. Since this week is our annual Week of Fasting and Prayer, I felt this would be an opportune time to do so.
 

It’s been some time since we challenged our church to a fast, but I feel that the days in which we live are calling us as Christians to a deeper commitment, especially in the area of fasting and prayer combined. We have never lived in such a time as this, where we can watch, on a daily basis, our nation changing from its Judeo-Christian roots, over to a completely secular society. And secular societies, quite honestly, do not like the Christian church. 

The question needs to be asked: how did the Church lose its influence on society? How did we get to the place where the one nation on earth that used to have the most freedom to preach the Gospel is actually poised to lose that freedom? Simply put, I think we have grown soft. We have had it so good in America for so many years that we’ve forgotten what it means to live a life totally dedicated to Jesus and His glory. I have often said that it is very difficult to get an affluent society to seek God. As long as there is food on the table and our bills are paid, we tend not to make our commitment to the Lord the priority of our lives. 

Part of one of my Bible readings this past week, was in Isaiah. In that passage we read about Isaiah the prophet challenging Israel to get back to her pursuit of God. And then in chapter 29, Isaiah talks about those who return to God. Isaiah 29: 23-24 “And these children will honor me by living holy lives. In holy worship they’ll honor the Holy One of Jacob and stand in holy awe of the God of Israel. Those who got off-track will get back on-track” The Message.
 

The word “holy” is used four times in these two verses. In Isaiah 6, the seraphim are before the throne of God crying out, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord!” Did you realize that the Bible says that “God is love” once, but three times, is His holiness declared: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord!” The current trend today is to overplay the love of God and downplay the holiness of the Lord. That does not mean God’s love is insignificant; it means we are to follow the whole counsel of God, not just the parts we like the best. Certainly, God is love; but God is also holy and we honor God by living holy lives, in holy worship, and standing in holy awe of who HE is.   

I’m hoping I can encourage you to get back on track if you need to. That’s how our Missionary’s words hit me: it’s so easy to get away from these spiritual disciplines and yet they are the essence of our relationship with our Lord.

Continued tomorrow