Awakening Day 35

So it's been a while since I have posted anything, sorry about that.  It's crazy that we only have five days left till the end of the fast. I know that it has been an awesome experience for so many of you. I talked to guy at church on Sunday who was so stoked about what God has been doing in his life since the fast began.

At the beginning of the fast he decided to fast from alcohol.This was a big deal for him. He told me that when he used to come home from work every night he would have a glass of wine to unwind.  Also, that he travels a lot for work and has go out to a lot of restaurants and bars with co-workers. This was going to be a hard fast for him, he knew that right from the start.

But, he told me that it has really refined his relationship with God. Everyday when he comes home now instead of going to a glass of wine to unwind, he goes to God.  And when he's been out with co-workers it has been an opportunity for him to witness. When he is offered a drink he tells them that he's not drinking. When they ask why, he gets to tell them about his fast and his relationship with God. It has really transformed his life and his desires.      

As you finish the fast this week, continue to follow God in where he is leading you and stay strong in Him. Thank God for how he has been transforming you.

Awakening Day 21

So yesterday was day 20 in our fast.  20 days! And just when I thought I had made it through my toughest trails, I faced my biggest ever: CUPCAKES!  I mean the first few days without coffee were rough but I made it through. My late night snacking binges were hard to fight off too. But nothing had prepared me for cupcakes.  Not just any cupcakes either, yellow cake with chocolate frosting, my absolute favorite.

My wife had made them for her class and was taking them to school in the morning. It was hard enough to smell her baking them. It was even harder watching my youngest daughter lick the spoon and bowl, but when I saw those delectable treats all frosted and sprinkled siting on the kitchen counter I almost lost my mind.  I could have scarfed all 20 of them in seconds and drowned them in a frothy glass of milk. I held fast. But, my hardest test was yet to come.

It's 10:00pm and everyone in my house is asleep but me and the cupcakes.  I am sitting in our living room reading, and I hear them calling my name.  "Paul" they say, "no one is watching. No one will miss just one." But I know that once one of those clouds of heaven touches my lips I will not be able to stop. Like the guy in that movie Chocolate, my family would find me in the morning sleeping in a pile of cupcake wrappers with frosting on my lips, shaking from the amount of sugar I had just ingested.

So, despite all of their beckoning and wooing, they could not entice me enough to break my fast.  I held strong and to tell you the truth that very day God revealed something to me that I had been praying about.  Thank you God for giving me the strength to hold off, but I tell you what, come day 41 there will be cupcakes at my house.           

Awakening Day 19

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” John 11:43, NIV

The story of Lazarus’s death and resurrection reflects the power of Jesus’ spoken word. Jesus was so in tune with the will of His Father that He already knew in His heart the miracle that was about to take place, but His words spoke the miracle into existence.

While prayer is our declaration of our dependence on God, our spoken words can be the manifestation of what’s happening in our hearts. There is power in our spoken words, whether they are used to build up or tear down. It is important to keep our heart filled with the truth from God’s Word so that our words will produce good fruit.

As you seek God in prayer ask Him for discernment to know a need and the words to help someone today. Pray that your words would be encouraging, edifying, and aligned with the truth of God’s Word. Building others up around us with our words allows us to be God’s instrument to accomplish His good work.

"The key to praying with power is to become the kind of persons who
do not use God for our ends but are utterly devoted to being used
for His ends." —John Piper 

"I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in
the school of Christ and the brightest evidences that He is indeed our
Master." —John Newton

Prayer Focus: As God continues to fill you through this season of prayer and fasting, He wants to take what is now in your heart and share it with others. How can you use the power of your spoken words to speak God’s truth in the livesof others?

Awakening Day 18

Questions Along the Way
“What if I stumble, what if I fall?”
“What if I mess up and eat something not on my plan?”
“What if I just can’t go without something—like caffeine—as I had planned to?”
“Will God still honor my fast?”

I remember the time a few years ago when someone asked me if I had ever “messed up” on a fast. I had to laugh because, of course, the answer was a huge yes. It has actually taken me years of developing a lifestyle of fasting to build up to where I am now. Over time, fasting does get easier, but this is a spiritual activity where it’s easy for condemnation to try and take root. Don’t let that happen!

Choosing to start a fast is quite similar to setting goals in life. It is good for us to challenge ourselves and set the bar high. Each time I prepare for a fast, I set goals that are typically beyond what I did the last time, and they’re always beyond what I know I can do in my own strength. When we set the bar high, sometimes the natural result is failure to meet the goal. But that should never stop us from trying to reach as high as we can. So what if you mess up? What should you do then? Proverbs 24:16 says, “For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity” (NIV).

This “fall down, get back up” idea has been a formative principle in my life in so many areas, and it’s no different in the arena of devotion to God. What matters is not that we stumble, but that we get back up! True failure only occurs when we let adversity keep us down.

Maybe you have tried to participate in this fast but have found yourself stumbling along the way. I want to encourage you to try it again during this last week. Don’t be discouraged by looking at the times you gave in to hunger or messed up. But be encouraged by this: when we draw near to God, He draws near to us (James 4:8). He wants to draw near to you, so keep it up! I am confident that you will be rewarded and blessed for your perseverance.

Awakening Day 17

"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." —Matthew 6:10

We have all heard the phrase, “just like heaven on earth.” When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9–13, He provided some insight into what “heaven on earth” might look like. In reality, heaven is a place where God’s will reigns supreme. If we want to have a taste of heaven on earth, then our prayer should be like Jesus’: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done…” The purest motivation for our prayers is that God will be glorified and that His will would reign supreme in our lives, just as it does in heaven.

On a more personal level, we can pray that His will be unhindered in our own life. Rather than imposing His will upon us, God gives us the choice to surrender to it with trust and gladness. As we yield to the Lordship of Christ over every area of our lives, we come into agreement with Him. We experience alignment with heaven and position ourselves to taste a little bit of heaven here on earth.

God’s will then becomes what we desire and the thing we most seek after. We enter into the incredible adventure of participating in God’s plan to move His kingdom forward on the earth. This is where we find the most fulfilling and joyous life, but it all starts with one personal “yes, Lord” on our part.

"All that God is, and all that God has, is at the disposal of prayer.
Prayer can do anything that God can do, and as God can do
everything, prayer is omnipotent." —R. A. Torrey

"Our prayers lay the track down on which God’s power can come.
Like a mighty locomotive, His power is irresistible, but it cannot reach
us without rails." —Watchman Nee

Prayer Focus: What does God’s will “on earth as it is in heaven” look like in your life? Do the desires of your heart line up with the will of God? As we seek God together, let’s pray as Jesus taught us, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.”

Awakening Day 16

"But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." James 1:6

What do you expect when you pray? When we pray with earnest expectation, we are exercising our faith. The earnest prayer of righteous people produces powerful results (James 5:16, NLT), and the most earnest prayers come from us when we recognize our need for God.

There can be a natural tendency to shrink back when praying for the seemingly impossible, but we must remember that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). If we know the promises that God has given us, and understand His character and the principles by which He works, we can pray with confidence and trust Him for the answer.

What has caused us to waver in our expectation with God? James reminds us that faith and wavering are actually contradictory—James says “nothing wavering.” Know that God never wavers in His love for you. You can trust Him completely.

"There is no way that Christians, in a private capacity, can do so
much to promote the work of God and advance the kingdom of
Christ as by prayer." —Jonathan Edwards

When we depend upon organizations, we get what organizations
can do; when we depend upon education, we get what education
can do; when we depend upon man, we get what man can do; but
when we depend upon prayer, we get what God can do. —A. C. Dixon

Prayer Focus: What are you trusting God for in this season? How can you line up your expectations with the Word of God when you pray? Find promises in His Word that answer your need and write them down today.

Awakening Day 13

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. Mark 1:12–13

Even Jesus disconnected from the world to fast and pray. Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell of Jesus going to the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. They also describe other times when Jesus pulled away from the demands of the crowds, His ministry, and even His closest friends to pray.

There are times that we, too, need to pull away from the things of the world and focus on God. “The things of the world” can certainly include more than just food. In fact, in our world they are more likely television, movies, Facebook, Twitter, cell phones, and the Internet. None of these things are wrong in and of themselves, but they are avenues for a mental and spiritual crowd to gather around us and drown out the Holy Spirit’s voice.

Fasting is a means of disconnecting from the distractions of daily life and consciously choosing to bring God into greater focus. Giving up physical nourishment is the first step in engaging that process. If you think about it, though, in day-to-day life we nourish our souls as well as our bodies. We do so through reading, talking, socializing, playing, and entertainment. When our souls are full of those things, we often don’t hunger for God.

During this time of fasting, we are sure to feel physical hunger, but let’s be intentional about cultivating spiritual hunger as well. Let’s draw away from the crowd and lay aside for a season the activities we use to nourish our souls. Instead let’s enter a state of spiritual hunger, a craving for righteousness. Jesus said that being spiritually hungry is a blessed state, because there we can be sure of being filled with food that truly satisfies our deepest needs (Matthew 5:6).

Prayer is reaching out and after the unseen; fasting, letting go of all thatis seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepens, confirms theresolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves, toattain what we seek for the kingdom of God. —Andrew Murray

Prayer Focus: During this time, you will find that being still before the Lord will set you in a place of increased strength, peace, and hunger for God. Are you disconnected from things that nourish your body and soul?What do you need to deny yourself to make this a powerful time in your life?

Awakening Day 12

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  — Romans 8:5–6

 One of the reasons for fasting is to know what is in us… In fasting it will come out. You will see it. And you will have to deal with it quickly or smother it again. —John Piper

Have you ever looked at the top of your refrigerator or in the deep recesses of your couch cushions and noticed the filth that has built up over time? Even though we might clean on a regular basis, there are times when we need to go…a little deeper. We realize that what appeared to be clean on the surface was in all actuality, quite filthy.
The same thing can happen spiritually. As we go about our daily lives, there are things that can build up over time.

Even if we worship, pray, and read our Bible regularly, the different temptations, pressures, and cares of this world can build up quietly and end up consuming our lives. Without even realizing it, we can lose our peace, joy, and passion for the things of God. Our service to God, which used to fill us with life and excitement, becomes a tiresome duty that we must fulfill.

Fasting is the deep cleaning that helps us take our minds off of the things of this world and instead have a refreshed focus on the things of the Spirit. Fasting offers an incredibly effective way to get into the nooks and crannies of our souls and bring all those dusty old habits, broken mindsets, and rusty attitudes out into the light of God’s truth.


Prayer Focus: As you pray and fast today, ask God to show you any areas where you could use a refreshed spiritual focus. Pray as David did in Psalm 51:10–12 that God will cleanse your heart, renew your spirit, and restore the joy of your salvation. Pray with confidence, knowing that He wants to fill you with His life and peace.

Awakening Day 11

"This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”… And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus." - Matthew 17:5, 8, NLT

On the Mount of Transfiguration three disciples had an experience that showed us the Father’s plan for the New Covenant. Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to the top of a mountain where He was transfigured into His glorified state. Up until this point, the Jews had related to God through the Law—represented by Moses and the prophets, one being Elijah. Inspired by what he was seeing, Peter eagerly offered to erect three tabernacles—one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Then a loud voice from heaven was heard: “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”

When the disciples looked up, they saw only Jesus.

On that mountain God made it clear that we will only discover His pleasure by following Jesus. God’s grace is freely given to those who receive new life in Him. Sometimes, though, there are areas of our lives where we do not fully embrace God’s grace. There may be circumstances or areas where we still try to earn our way to the Father.

You cannot earn God’s pleasure, but you can experience it to a greater degree as you follow Jesus Christ. As you seek God today, ask Him for a greater revelation of Jesus in your heart. Then will you be reminded that you are a beloved child of God. And that He finds pleasure in you.

If heaven were by merit, it would never be heaven to me, for if I werein it I should say, “I am sure I am here by mistake; I am sure this is notmy place; I have no claim to it.” But if it be of grace and not ofworks, then we may walk into heaven with boldness. —Charles H. Spurgeon

Prayer Focus: How does understanding the covenant of grace change the focus of your fast? As you pray and seek after God, let His be the loudest voice you hear.

Awakening Day 10

As we close out this week know that your fast can present a different level of challenge. Although you probably experienced a decrease in cravings after day three, you may now be experiencing a resurgence of those same cravings.Right around this time, a metabolic shift takes place in your body. If you are consuming significantly less calories than you were before, your body naturally shifts to its own resources to find sufficient fuel. These hunger pangs you are feelings right now are basically your body asking, “Hey, what’s up? Are you going to give me some more calories, or should I move on to the next available source?” That next source means reserves stored mostly in your fat cells and somewhat in your muscles.

During this week it is so important to remind yourself why you are doing this. This is when we truly realize how weak we really are, how much we need God’s strength and grace, and not only physically to keep us from eating.We need His grace to be more compassionate, slow to anger, less judgmental, more pliable, more forgiving, and more generous.

Over the next couple of days, if you stick to your fast, here’s what will happen to your body:

1. Your metabolism will slow down. In other words, it will shift to a mode of operation where it requires less energy—or calories to function.

2. A cycle of internal consumption will begin to use your energy stores in the form of fat—and some muscle. To minimize muscle breakdown, drink two glasses of whey protein a day.

3. Because toxins that we consume and don’t eliminate are stored mostly in fat, you will also hit a new level of detox as your body starts using up your fat reserves.

Hang in there! The best is yet to come.

Awakening Day 9

"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."  —James 5:16

Fervency speaks to our level of intensity, passion, and persistence. Many times, we can lose our passion in prayer or stop praying for certain things altogether because we lose heart or give up. But God invites us to keep them before Him and trust Him for an answer in His time (Matthew 7:7–11).

The Old Testament prophet Elijah practiced a lifestyle of fervent, intense prayer and witnessed incredible miracles in his lifetime. In the book of Kings, the story is told of a woman whose only son became ill and died (1 Kings 17:17–24). When Elijah heard the news, he quickly took action and did what he knew best—he fervently cried out to God. Elijah fully believed that God could bring the boy back to life, and he prayed not just once but three times that the boy’s soul would return to him. He prayed fervently and repeatedly and he was not going to give up. This was the result: “Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived” (verse 22).

Elijah’s prayer was answered through his persistence and fervency. God hears your prayers as well and will bring an answer in His perfect timing. But don’t be discouraged or disheartened if the answer takes time to arrive or is not exactly what you expected. Commit to praying to God with passion and persistence, trusting the answer will come in God’s perfect way at the perfect time.

We must never forget that the highest kind of prayer is never the
making of requests. Prayer at its holiest moment is the entering into
God, to a place of such blessed union as it makes miracles seem
tame and remarkable answers to prayer appear something very far
short of wonderful by comparison. —A. W. Tozer

Prayer Focus:  Continue to pray fervently for the main areas of concern in your life. Trust God to bring an answer as you journal your thoughts and inspirations through this time.

Awakening Day 8

"And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it."  - Romans 7:18–20, NLT

There’s an internal war that rages within each of us. Paul described this so well in Romans 7. Though we desire to do the right thing, we don’t have the power to do so in our own efforts and we mess up. The good news is that we don’t have to rely on our own strength to make right decisions. We don’t have to be dominated by our sinful nature and end up doing the things we don’t want to do.

But the only way we can live this kind of life is by yielding to the Holy Spirit and relying on the strength of Jesus Christ, not our own. When we’re facing struggles, we must rely on God’s power alive within us through the Holy Spirit. When we are born again, the Holy Spirit resides in us and places in us the desire to do what is pleasing to God (Hebrews 10:16). The Holy Spirit always wants to do what is right and to uphold the perfect will of God, pleasing the Father in every way.

Although it can be the quietest voice that we hear sometimes, the urging of the Holy Spirit is unmistakable. It calls to us when we know that we are doing the wrong thing. It encourages us in the midst of our struggles to stay strong and follow God.  As you fast listen to the still small voice that God has put voice.  It is our job to lay down our stubborn fleshly will and yield to the will of God. In that moment, the Holy Spirit will be there to help us. Let’s learn to yield to and become totally reliant upon the Holy Spirit.

[Prayer] turns ordinary mortals into men of power. It brings power. It brings fire. It brings rain. It brings life. It brings God. - Samuel Chadwick 

Prayer Focus: Are there areas in your life causing an internal struggle? Make a decision today to yield to the Holy Spirit and lean on His strength, not your own, and to overcome obstacles of sin and selfishness in your life. Surrender and release those areas to God, knowing He will help you.

Awakening Day 7

"And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Matt 6:7-8

One night in college I was hanging out in my RA Karl's room.  He was a Junior and wore hippie shirts and smelled like patchouli oil. It's the oil that hippies wear so they don't have to shower every day. Needless to say, as a freshman, I was in awe of him. He had invited a number of us to his room to hang out and pray together, so I went expecting a lot of hanging out and maybe 5 or 10 minutes of prayer. I was wrong. Karl started the prayer time by just sitting there in silence. I did not know what to do.  I thought maybe he waiting for one of us to start, but right when any of us was about to, Karl would start praying. Just a few well thought words or phrases and then silence again. His pauses between words were so long I thought a few times that he might have fallen asleep. I would open my eyes and peak around to make sure that we were still praying and catch the eye of a friend as he nervously peaked around too.  We both looked at Karl, who looked deep in thought, shrugged our shoulders and closed our eyes and went back to waiting for Karl to say something. Finally I realized that in those long and almost uncomfortable moments of silence, Karl was carefully choosing his words. When he did speak they were the most honest and thought out phrases that I had ever heard anyone pray. There was a casualness about it for sure, but more than that there was sincerity of heart that came out with every carefully chosen word.     

More than the babbling or repeating of words, prayer is about sincerity of heart. Saying the same words over and over like a magic incantation is no way to ensure that God will hear our prayers. Now, it's not wrong to come to God many times with the same request - Jesus often encouraged persistent prayer. But he condemns the shallow repetition of words that are not offered sincerely. We can never pray to much if our prayers are honest and sincere. Before we pray we should, like Karl, make sure we mean what we say.

Prayer Focus: As you pray today, consider your words carefully and be as sincere and honest with God as you can be. Don't over think it either, just come to God honestly and with right motives. Spend the right amount of time thinking about what you say and quietly listen to what God is stirring in your heart.  

Awakening Day 6

Today I woke up and the first thing that entered my mind was that I needed a cup of coffee. Not just any cup of coffee, but an enormous, hot, steaming cup of black rich coffee. The kind that actually tastes as good as it smells. But, as soon as the thought entered my mind I remembered that I am fasting coffee for 40 days. So, i trudged on got out of bed and tried to turn my yearning for some "wake up" juice into a desire for God. It worked pretty well too, until I got to work.
 
As I entered the doors of the church this morning the familiar and fragrant aroma of coffee hit me right between the nostrils. I actually wished that I still had my cold from the previous week so i would not have to smell anything. But still I held fast. Until, one of my fellow pastors ordered the largest most beautiful cup of coffee right in front of my face. I knew that I was being tested.  It's Monday after all right? How can I face a Monday without my "go juice"?

Needless to say I have held strong and not given in to the countless temptations that have bombarded me since waking this morning. And I will continue to focus my desire fully on God and seek Him for his will in my life, family, and His church. Even if i can't keep my eyes open while doing it.

Prayer Focus: Pray that as we enter into this week that you would stay the course for the fast that he has guided you to.  Focus upon His goodness and faithfulness in your life and seek his eternal will for your life today.      
 

Awakening Day 5

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." 
John 1:17

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a personal visit with God? What would He say about the state of humanity? about religion? about our propensity toward sin? There is no need to wonder about what God is like or would say, because to know Him, we have only to look at Jesus. In Jesus we have received grace, but there is even something more we have received: truth.

The kind of truth John spoke of in today’s scripture is not a list of laws and rules such as were given to Moses. Make no mistake—the revelation of God through the word of the Law was glorious. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai after receiving the ten commandments, his face shone so brightly with the glory of God that he had to wear a veil (Exodus 34:33-35). But the word of the Law cannot compare with the word of life that has been revealed through Jesus Christ!

In John 1:18 we learn that no one, not even Moses, has ever seen God. But Jesus has not only seen God—He is God. The truth that John was speaking about is a clear and unveiled vision of the true nature of God.  Looking at God through the lens of legalism and religion is like looking at Him through a veil. Only when we see Him though Jesus Christ can we truly get a glimpse into His heart. It is from a state of grace, not legalism, that we will find real and lasting transformation (2 Corinthians 3:7–18).

"I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not
what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once
used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am." —John Newton

Prayer Focus: Have you been looking at God through the veil of legalism and religion? In Jesus, we see the full revelation of the nature of God: His love and holiness, mercy and justice, compassion and power all perfectly and beautifully expressed. Pray that the Holy Spirit will help you see God through the eyes of grace and truth given to us in Jesus Christ.

Awakening Day 4

"Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" Amos 3:3

In the heart of every believer is the desire to walk closely with God. We know that He, too, desires a close relationship with each one of us. A key to having a strong level of spiritual intimacy with God is living in agreement with His will for your life.

In Genesis 5:22, we read of Enoch and see that his life modeled a long journey, walking consistently with God, for it says, “Enoch walked with God three hundred years.” Enoch lived a powerful life. He was a man who walked in agreement with God’s will and lived a life pleasing to God (Hebrews 11:5).

It is one thing to know God’s will for our lives; it’s another to live in agreement with His will. In order to enjoy the best life that God has for us, we must first understand that God does not change, but we sometimes must. Let’s earnestly seek to know and agree with God’s will. The level of our agreement with God will determine the degree of closeness in our walk with Him.

"I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and
selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God’s law,
the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of
pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for
the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled." —D. L. Moody

Prayer Focus: Pray today that you can walk in agreement with God and enjoy the life He desires you to have in Christ.

Awakening Day 3

"Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very
hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have
faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will
move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except
by prayer and fasting.” - Matthew 17:18–21

When we pray and fast, we don’t do so to change God or His will; by praying and fasting, we are the ones changed. Coming into alignment with God helps us curb our doubts and fears. When we pray and fast, the thing that leaves—the thing that goes out—is our unbelief. It is when we have faith to believe that we can pray with confidence and know that “nothing will be impossible.”

Ask God to strengthen your heart to fully believe Him and His Word. It is okay to recognize and acknowledge if you struggle with unbelief. That’s the first step in allowing God to strengthen your faith and bring you into alignment with His plan for your life.

"Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not
 only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do.
 Expect…“above all that we ask or think.” —Andrew Murray

Prayer Focus: What do you need faith to believe for? Align yourself with God’s Word and will during this fast. Release your unbelief. Pray with confidence, knowing “nothing will be impossible” for you.

FASTING TIP: On the third day of your fast, you may experience a headache, flu-like achiness, intense sugar or carb cravings, slight nausea, or fatigue. This is a normal response to detoxification, so make sure you allow yourself some time to rest and keep your fluid intake high. The fourth day is usually much better physically, so hang in there!

Awakening Day 2

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." - John 10:27

"The danger is that the soul should persuade itself that it is not hungry. It can only persuade itself of this by lying." - Simone Weil


In our hectic lives in can become increasingly difficult to distinguish God’s voice from the deafening static noise of life. Fasting enables us to tune out the world’s distractions and tune in to God. And distractions are the most powerful drug on the market today. As we fast, we deny our flesh and in turn focus our hunger for distractions into a hunger for God. When we deny our flesh, we become more in tune to the Holy Spirit and can hear God’s voice more clearly. If you truly listen for God’s voice, you will hear it. And when you hear it, your faith will increase.

If you desire to tune out the static of life and really tune into the voice of God, come to Him first and foremost with ears willing to listen and a heart ready to obey what He says (Psalm 34:18; Isaiah 66:2). The more we practice being in His presence, the clearer and more recognizable His voice becomes. Push away all distractions and feed your soul with what it needs most of all; God and His loving presence.

Prayer Focus: In this time of fasting, what is your mind tuned to? What distractions do you need to remove so that you can focus on God? Prepare your heart to hear the voice of God, and ask Him to help you remove distractions that keep you from focusing on Him and hearing His voice clearly.

Awakening Day 1

“Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and

weeping and mourning.”  Joel 2:12, NIV

"Desire gives fervor to prayer.  The soul cannot be listless when some great desire fixes and inflames it . . . Strong desires make strong prayers." (E.M. Bounds: Man of Prayer)

At sundown tonight we begin our 40 days of prayer and fasting as a church.  As you fast and pray ask God to awaken in you a desire to follow Him in your personal life, in your family, and in our church.  Remember that whatever God has called you to fast (i.e. food, sugar, coffee, T.V. etc.) for the next 40 days replace the desire for those things with a hunger for God and reconnect with Him.     

Know that as we walk with God, there are times that we feel far from Him or disconnected. Joel’s words above resonate with us, “return to me with all your heart.” There are times we realize that though we have chosen to follow Jesus, the flame of our love for Him has grown cold. Your time spent in prayer each day of the fast can result in a new richness, a rewarding connection with the Father.

No matter where you are on your journey with Jesus, you can always take a step closer toward Him.

I believe the power of fasting as it relates to prayer is the spiritual
atomic bomb that our Lord has given us to destroy the strongholds of
evil and usher in a great revival and spiritual harvest around the
world. —Bill Bright


Prayer Focus: As we begin this time of prayer and fasting, let’s turn our hearts toward God. Make a commitment to seek Him daily. Pray that your love for Christ will be increased and your passion for Him will be reignited over the next 40 days.



For detailed fasting info click below. . .
http://www.river-rock.org/media/images/stories/40days.pdf
To view this weeks message click below. . .
http://www.vimeo.com/20754851