Page 184 of 365: Fasting Troubles

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I'm honestly on the verge of giving up in my midyear fast, but
I know God will strengthen me.

While I'm participating in a short fasting period, I am now at a point where I begin to crave for other things. I am currently in a milk-and-juice fast, but I'm beginning to feel like I need to eat now. Fasting has never been this hard.

However, this is where God works the best. In times that we're losing the battle, He will lift us up and strengthen us to achieve the victory. 1 Corinthians 2:5 (NIV) says that "faith [should] not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." As we continue to pray and fast, remember that it's the Lord's power that will prevail.

 Read Acts 10:44-48, 19:1-12, Ephesians 5:15-20, 1 Corinthians 2:4, 5, and Isaiah 44:1-5.

Page 183 of 365: Prayer is Power

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Not even a power interruption will stop us from continuously praying to God.

I had to rush to our church's prayer meeting from my class, but the lights were literally out as soon as I came to the church center. But what I saw was something I liked a lot. Despite the power interruption, the prayer meeting was still ongoing, and everyone was do passionate in praying as if there's no blackout. It was a totally different story from the past times I attended prayer meetings. All I saw were people continuously praying despite what I believe is a threat from Satan to disrupt them.

In this time in which we are praying and fasting, we are expecting the sinister plans of Satan, but we know that the Lord has already beaten him. And even a very long power interruption will not stop us from praying.

This is one of the callings of the Lord to us. We will never cease in praying and believing for the breakthroughs to come. As what the apostle Paul said, "He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time... (2 Timothy 1:9 NIV)"

Read 2 Timothy 1:8, 9, Acts 13:1-12, Romans 8:13, 14, and Isaiah 43:6, 7. 

Page 10 of 365: WWJD?

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As we are about to finish fasting, we are starting to feel the Holy Spirit moving in our lives as we believe by faith for our breakthroughs, but I know that there are times that you think, "Will God really answer my prayer?" Whether you're a baby Christian or a believer for more than a decade like me, we just can't deny that we worry if God will answer our requests or not.

But God's Word earlier tonight really moved me as I continue to hold on to the Lord's promises. I was reminded that God never breaks His promise. In fact, He already swore to us like how He swore to Abraham. We are reminded that the Lord is greater than everything here on earth. He can answer all of our prayers willingly. Also, He will never change. The Lord "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)" Also, even "if we are faithless, He remains faithful... (2 Timothy 2:13)"

The question: WWJD or What would Jesus do? Everything! What we can do is that we should "not be afraid or discouraged... For the battle is not yours, but God's. (2 Chronicles 20:15b)" Also, be reminded of James 5:16-The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Do what Colossians 4:2 says too-Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Lastly, even if we haven't received our breakthroughs, remain in faith that God will answer them all.

Read: Colossians 4:2-6, Luke 4:22, John 4, John 8:3-11, Acts 16:24-34, Psalm 118:5, 2 Chronicles 20:15-20, James 5:13-16, Hebrews 6:13-18 especially the Message translation, Romans 11:33, Luke 18:27, Psalm 108-4, Hebrews 13:8, Psalm 102:25-27

Page 9 of 365: Being at the Middle of the Fast

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We may feel tired right now, but let us not stop consecrating
ourselves not for people but for God.

We have come to a point where we feel the hunger. Even I, who am doing a Daniel fast (fruits, vegetables, and liquids), feel the urge to eat meat and rice. This is the time in which we are considering giving up. But we still stand firm in consecrating, i.e. setting aside, ourselves for the Lord's revelations.

But Jesus warns us to not use this prayer and fasting period for glory-hunting. In sports, glory-hunting refers to the act of ending your support for one team looking for a strong team to support just to make you happy. Simply speaking, glory-hunting refers to the act of looking for means to brag yourself. Jesus calls those who just do the good deeds to seek approval from the other people as hypocrites. Christ is just telling us that we should not tell the world, "Look! I'm participating in the prayer and fasting!" just for their approval. In the first place, we can't please everyone. The Lord already knows that we're doing it to glorify Him, and He's delighted in that.

As we brace for the latter part of our fast, let us remember that we don't need to brag ourselves to others. God is already happy that we put Him at the center of our lives.

Read: Matthew 6:1-18, Mark 7:24, Proverbs 27:2, Acts 10:24-48, Acts 16-31, Luke 19:8-10, 1 Corinthians 16:15, 1 Timothy 2:3, 4, 2 Timothy 1:5, Joshua 24:15

Page 7 of 365: The Cool Thing About Fasting

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As we fast, we are telling the Lord that we are giving up our physical habits
like eating just to deepen our relationship with Him.

In our church, we set a period, usually the first week of January, to commit to fast and believe for God's calling for us this year. This year, we focus on believing for something beyond the normal. That is, we believe for the extraordinary breakthroughs for 2013.

It reminded me of Ezra and the people of Israel when they set their journey from the Ahava Canal to Jerusalem. Ezra asked the people to fast as they pray that the Lord will grant them the protection. You may think, "That's a usual prayer request." But check this out: Ezra did not ask for the king's army to protect them. In fact, the only ones who were tasked to protect them were each other. Ezra believed in faith as he and his people fasted and prayed. And God protected them!

It's OK if you don't have the feeling to fast. God will answer our prayers even if we don't fast. But fasting is a gesture of giving up everything just to be with the Lord. Fasting goes beyond not eating. You can opt to do an online fast (no internet, no computer games), no gimmick fast (the only places you can go are your home and office/school), or any non-food fast you can. As long as you're bold enough to tell the Lord, "I'm surrendering to You," you can fast. Fasting will also help you understand God's Word more. Ask God too that He will let the Holy Spirit fill you as you feel the physical hunger.

Prayer and fasting are complimentary to each other. As we fast and pray, we should remember that God will speak to us in a mighty way. Prepare your hearts and be like Ezra, who strongly believed in the power of the Lord.

Read: Ezra 8:15-36, Acts 1: 1-14, 21-2:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, Romans 12:9-12, Psalm 133:1, Psalm 70:1-4, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2