Monday, January 11, 2010

My Fasting Reflections

(This blog entry is alittle heavy, so let me warn you of my inmost feelings ahead of time!)

Saturday night, I traveled to Topeka Baptist Church outside Jayess. I've never been to Jayess and neither had my GPS! In fact, my GPS said the town and the church did not exist, so I knew I must have been in the right place. What an awesome night with those ladies! It was a sold out crowd and one I will not surely forget in weeks to come. It became apparent to me why I had fasted the week before as more and more ladies would come up to me and tell me what I had spoken about was just what they had been dealing with. Now THAT is a God-thing!

That was topped off by our worship service yesterday. Our pastor never got the chance to give his sermon, only because the Holy Spirit was falling on us all. I like to joke that I'm a good Baptist girl, but I was about ready to run the aisles! Don't you just love it when you step out of your comfort zone and let the Holy Spirit lead?

I've done quite a bit of personal reflection on last week's fast and, boy, have my eyes been opened. I read Isaiah 58:1-12 and was floored by my own lack of fasting and prayer. I think we have abandoned fasting and praying because we didn't seem to get the desired results we wanted before. Is the problem with God? When we pray and fast and don't get a breakthrough, there is something in our life that needs to be dealt with.

John 14:12 says, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." Notice Jesus promised "greater things", not lesser works. So we should expect and receive "greater things"!

My purpose in fasting should be what is spelled out in Isaiah 58:6-7, to "loose the chains of injustice", to "untie the cords of the yoke", to "set the oppressed free", and to "break every yoke". This is the heart of God. When we begin praying the heart of God and fasting for the desires of the heart of God, we see results. If I can only fast for a new car, a new job or house, my motives are wrong and I will be disappointed with the result of my sacrifice of going without food. If we really put God first, He will never fail to put us first. But if we put him third, He is not obligated to answer our every whim and fancy. If having fun is more important to us than having God's favor on our lives, there isn't much hope for our spiritual futures.

God is saddened because He knows that prayer and fasting can make us powerful in the Spirit. Meantime, Satan is thrilled because, without the power of the Spirit of God, we can never stand against him.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What was the scripture that you prayed for 6 months?

Barbie Bassett said...

Ephesians 1:17-23

K Storm said...

Have you heard that same kind of service happened at our Baptist church up the road in Madison too...back in September. Exciting to see God working in our midst!

K Storm said...

Not singling out Baptist, but if you have been raised in that denomination you understand how unexpected the Holy Spirit moving in that way can be.

Anonymous said...

I have read that for fasting to "work" you should not tell anyone. Is this true? I have been wanting to fast but did know if I could explain it to the ladies I eat lunch with everyday.

Barbie Bassett said...

The Bible says your face should not look downtrodden and depressed while fasting. That wouldn't make for a happy fast, now would it? That goes along with not announcing it to everyone you meet. However, I've told select people that I'm fasting only so they could pray for me and give me encouragement. When I've been faced with similar circumstances at lunch time, I just casually tell them when offered food that I'm fasting and will gladly drink some juice and enjoy the visit with them. Most of the time, I've never had to explain myself any further. For those who have asked questions about it, I think it's a good way to witness when you explain what you're doing and how you are expecting God to come through for you. Your friends get to see your faith!

when_life_hands_you_a_fairytale said...

I was at Topeka Saturday night, and was so blessed by your message! I'm 17 weeks pregnant, and been on bedrest now since 14 weeks and had a rough pregnancy before since the beginning. It was such a blessing to get out of the house and to be so uplifted by such a strong message. I've struggled so much throughout this pregnancy with the "why me". I've found as I've been on bedrest and spending more time with Daddy God, that God has a purpose for this time in my life. Even with an active 3 year old to take care of, just being still more of the day and talking to God like the best friend that he is, has opened my eyes so much to how He will lead if only we let Him.

Thank you so much for your words. I'm so happy to have stumbled upon your blog tonight :)

In Christ, Melissa

Anonymous said...

Thanks Barbie I appreciate you answering my question about Fasting. You are so wise. You should write a book. lol

Nishant said...

Exciting to see God working in our midst!

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