Hello Friends,
Yesterday I along with several of my teammates decided to spend the day fasting so that we can truly focus on God and His plan for us.
Now in my spiritual growth and upbringing fasting is not a discipline we taught, discussed or practiced. It wasn’t condemned, but it wasn’t taught either as in how and why you should. We were taught that it was done in biblical times and that was really about it.
So I decided to do some research on what fasting is, how to do it, the purpose behind it and really how to make it meaningful.
One of the first things I came across was this quote from Kristen Feola with FaithGateway. “Fasting prepares you for the works God has ordained for you to do.”
So like any foodie I ate big late on Sunday before midnight and then prayed and went to sleep. The next morning I woke a little later than normal and it felt great and finally rested. I had some ice to crunch on for my pills and then rewatched the devotional I had made for my team the night before. Then I went about my day.
I knew that food was a crutch for me or I wouldn’t be in the shape I am today and in need to lose some weight, but I didn’t realize just how often I thought about food. I never really got hungry and my stomach really only growled a couple of times, but I thought about eating a lot. So each time I did I went to God in prayer. It was the first time I ever felt like I understood the scripture in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.“
Being at my job was probably the hardest because I work at the front desk of a local hotel and there can be long stretches where I have no guests to check in and so when I am bored I tend to eat. But all it did was make me pray more and it felt really good.
At the end of the day I was glad that I made and saw the amazing rewards of spending the day with God on your mind. I really believe that this is a spiritual act that needs to be taught, discussed and practiced more often. I urge you to pray about it and try it out, the important thing is the discipline of putting God first in your day and everyday.
God Bless You My Friends!
Michael
PS I also urge that if the Lord is calling for you to assist me as I prepare for this mission journey that you do so by clicking on the donate button at the top, or just message me at [email protected] Thanks in advance! MB
