Update on the Week of Prayer and Fasting

We had a fabulous week of Prayer and Fasting, February 10^th-17^th, here at our church!! I was greatly challenged by my personal fast and I was encouraged by the corporate fast that went on throughout the Body of Christ here at our church.

Our Sr. Pastor began the week with a powerful sermon on Matthew 5:6 where he challenged us to consider those things in our lives that we hunger and thirst for and to consider how these things satisfy, or don’t, satisfy us. The questions he asked were penetrating: Is righteousness our only spiritual food? Are we constantly longing after the “greener grasses” in this world rather than after God? A quote from Richard Foster continues to haunt me, “fasting reveals the things that control us.”

As the week of Prayer and Fasting unfolded it was encouraging to hear testimonies of people who were fasting for the first time. Jesus assumes all believers fast when he said in Matthew 6:16, “when you fast, do not …” The key word is “when,” not “if” and so it was great to hear that kids from the age of 8 to adults in their late 70s all chose to fast in some significant way so to pray, read scripture and seek the Lord. I was blessed to hear that an 8 year old child decided on their own that they needed to fast from their favorite math website, all without the prompting of the parents! Adults ranging the age spectrum fasted for 1-3 days, others only ate vegetables and fruit (the Daniel Fast diet) while others sacrificed Facebook, sweet treats of all kinds, coffee, etc. One woman felt challenged to not read any novels for the week so that she could spend that time reading in scripture. Whatever people decided we know that, “the Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him” (Lamentations 3:25).

The week of Prayer and Fasting ended on Sunday the 17^th with a Sunday full of powerful and encouraging services. At the 8:45 service we focused on the themes of confession, contrition and repentance and I preached on Nehemiah 1:1-11. The highlight of the service was the Open-Mic prayer time, for sure. In the second service at 10am we focused on the themes of consecration, dedication and transformation and our Sr. Pastor preached on Peter’s amazing release from prison in Acts 12 and he challenged us to expect great things from the Lord. Thanks to the Table Service’s Worship Team for leading us in wonderful times of singing in both of these services! At the 11am Traditional service we focused on the themes of Intercession and Supplication and I preached on the persistent, prayerful widow in Luke 18. Then at the 12:15 segment we closed with a time of singing and prayer, focusing on the themes of thanksgiving and praise. Again, the time of Open-Mic prayer was powerful!

It only seemed fitting to “break the fast” with the Lord’s Supper at the 11am service, followed by a simple soup and bread lunch at 1pm. Thanks to a couple of wonderful cooks we had a delicious Potato-Leek soup and a tasty Cabbage and ground beef soup made from their very own grass fed cows.

Our hope for this week was to labor in prayer and to seek after the Lord for his direction for our church. Thanks to all for participating and may we continue to seek after the Lord with the same passion, fervency and urgency that we had during the week of Prayer and Fasting.

Vows and Fasting

As I read Numbers 6 this morning I was struck with the sense of importance that these men and women had, and were called to, when they took the Nazarite vow. It got me thinking about my own "vows" that I have made for this week of prayer and fasting at our church. How seriously am I taking these? How am I setting myself apart to the Lord? Are these routine acts or am I doing things that will challenge the normal patterns and habits of my day and my life?

This quote on Numbers 6:1-2 was a real challenge to me, "In our passage, as in Lev. 27:2, the verb is used of an extraordinary vow of a devotee of Yahweh. This vow, then, does not describe a routine matter or even an expected act of devotion one might make from time to time. It is an act of unusual devotion to God, based perhaps on an intense desire to demonstrate to the Lord one's utter separation to him" (Ronald B. Allen, Expositors Bible Commentary: Numbers, pg. 749).

With whatever we decide to do for prayer and fasting I encourage us to be prayerful yet cautious with what "vows" we commit to doing this week. Remember what Proverbs says, "Don't trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost" (20:25, NLT). And remember what Jesus said, "But I say, do not make any vows! ... Just say a simple, 'Yes, I will' or 'No, I won't.'" (Mt. 5:33-37, NLT).

With this said though, don't be afraid to step out in faith and challenge yourself to seek God! Remember the words of the Chronicler, "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive theirs sins and restore their land" (2 Chr. 7:14).

God bless you this week!