TODAY’S DEVOTION (SUNDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER 2022)
“Therefore, do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:8-13 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 254TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!
The LORD our God is mighty. He will deliver! He will save. He will keep rejoicing over us with singing. Day unto day our God has been faithful and doing wonders. To Him belong all the glory!
We have been on a 30-day journey of faith with the Cry of the Spirit on Biblical Fasting.
As spirits that are living in a human body, it is important that we understand this beautiful way of exercising ourselves unto godliness. It is important that we understand why fasting is a necessity for our faith.
The truth is, in every religion, there is fasting. There seems to be a general acceptance that fasting is man’s way of contacting the supernatural.
The three major religions in Jerusalem, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, all do fast from time to time. But from personal experiences, true Christianity is not a religion but GOD’s image and likeness restored to man.
Fasting in Christianity is basically to enhance one’s relationship with Jesus Christ and make sure His will is done in one’s life or on earth as written in Heaven.
In fact, Biblical fasting and everything we do with God is to get His will done on earth as written in Heaven.
THAT IS WHAT MAKES BIBLICAL FASTING ONE POWERFUL WAY TO LET THINGS DONE ON EARTH AS WRITTEN IN HEAVEN.
It is important to know that fasting does not make or force God to do anything in our lives. No fast can force God to do anything on earth. Our fasting only let God do things on earth or in our lives as written in Heaven.
The Bible says;
“Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.” (Psalm 119:89 NKJV)
If the purpose of the fast has not been settled in Heaven, the fast cannot make it to be established on earth. Our fast only make things that have been settled in Heaven to be established on earth. If you we therefore, think we can force GOD to do things with a fasting spree, we are mistaken.
You can only let God do things through fasting. The Let is to yield, accept, permit or submit. Meaning, you must sense what GOD wants to do and then use your fast to build or unleash a faith that will let Him do it.
Child of God, it is very important that we understand this aspect of Biblical fasting. Yes, it is important to understand that you do not use your fast to initiate a will for God to adopt and then prosper. That will be lawlessness. That is why many fast and get little or no results.
The fasting of most believers usually begin without the knowing of what the will of God concerning what they want to fast about is. They begin in ignorance of what the will of the LORD is, and continue in religiosity, leading to great frustrations after or during the fast.
It is very frustrating to fast in darkness of what the will of the LORD is. You will just labor in vain and bring forth for trouble. Which is one of the reasons why many lives are shattered by their fast.
The spirit of lawlessness is the governor of most of the believers who engage themselves in a fast. They engage in fasting regardless if they are in GOD’s will or not. In their minds God will hear them because of the pain the fast is generating, or how long or strong the fast is.
IN SIMPLE TERMS, THEY THINK THEIR FAST CAN MAKE GOD ACT EVEN WHEN HE DOES NOT WANT.
In other words, they think their fast can make what is not GOD’s will God’s to be GOD’s will. It is when one is lawless that one begins to think his or her fast can make what is not God’s will to be God’s will.
That is how many have used their fast to remain in marriages that are not God’s will, hoping things will change as they continue to fast and pray. Many do not understand that in marriage, nothing changes until the characters involved in it changes.
Husbands and wives must move from ungodliness to godliness to get things to work in their marriage and restore order. One goodly person can not just be fasting for the ungodly aimlessly, while the ungodly continue in wickedness. Except GOD show you something in His will about the situation, you may die fasting.
There are a lot of believers who may never agree with this Bible position.
There are some who will not believe that they need to stand on the revealed will of GOD to fast. They just believe in getting aimlessly into a fast and hoping that things will work out when God see the hunger, thirst or other pains of abstinence that they are enduring.
Our devotional text says;
“Therefore, do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:8-13 NKJV
THIS SCRIPTURE BEGAN BY TELLING US THAT THE FATHER KNOWS THE THINGS WE HAVE NEED OF BEFORE WE ASK HIM.
Meaning, if we want to seek the father to do anything in our lives, we must come to the place of revelation knowledge of what He knows we need at the immediate present.
Through revelation knowledge, GOD will declare the end from the beginning and use it to give us direction on the paths to follow with our fast. If we follow, we will get to the very end He declared from the beginning. That is how Biblical fast work.
What is the message of today? The message is simple. Do not start a fast aimlessly. Know what the will of the LORD is concerning what you want to fast about, maybe by studying the word, or spending time to listen to the Spirit of God, before declaring your fast.
You only need to sit in a spiritual atmosphere that is serving as a prophetic hearing aid to know what the will of the LORD is concerning what you want to fast about. Once you get it, you begin the journey. You will always return with results if you do.
When fasting is done standing on what the will of the LORD is, the results are sure. The Bible says in 1 John 5:19 that if we ask anything in His will, He will hear us.
Meaning, if we also fast according to His will, He will hear us. You will enjoy the glory of fasting only if you fast knowing what the will of the LORD is, and standing on the platform to ask Him to do it in your life.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
Therefore, He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.