- Bible Reading: Mark 9: 1-50
- Focus Scripture: Mark 9:24
HELLO, PEOPLE OF PURPOSE!
If you read the last article on Monday(Possible Outcome) you know I am breaking from the normal routine because…we are two days away from beginning the Daniel Fast!! I am so excited! I can not wait to hear your testimonies and how God reveals Himself to You. Knowing that so many have agreed to give up the junk food or what you normally eat, and change your attitude toward prayer and Bible reading, I could not be happier. With that said I also want to warn those of you that are new to fasting. You will be attacked. There is no way of sugar-coating it. People who have never invited you out for coffee or drinks will do so now. When you set aside time to pray, journal, and meditate with God you will be interrupted. This will not be easy. So I urge you to make a plan and stick to it. If you have an emergency or something you can not get out of it’s ok. Don’t let one misstep derail your commitment. If you haven’t already asked family, friends, or co-workers to join you please do so now. If they turn you down it’s ok. The focus is for you to deepen your relationship with God. There will be some that will laugh, think it isn’t worth your time or worse try to talk you out of it. But don’t be that person to yourself. This may be what God is leading you to do.
How do you prepare to Fast? Is it something special you need to do? Well yes and no.
Fasting will begin at 6 pm on November 30, 2018. You will need to follow the food list provided from that point until Friday, December 21, 2018, 6 am. This is spiritual. I can testify to hearing God clearer when I removed the junk from my system and quieted the fleshly desires. I am an emotional eater I would eat if I was happy and even more when I was sad. I still battle with those urges because it is comforting to me in those moments but when the plate was empty I didn’t feel any different. I began to think there had to be another way and I found God. He hadn’t left me I just stopped listening to Him. I put God out of my sight because I wanted to do what I felt was right in my own eyes. Even in my stubbornness, He didn’t let me get too far, He still loved and protected me.
Those who are more mature in faith will agree that fasting is as normal as breathing when it comes to gaining clarity. Food, caffeine, and alcohol can be self-soothers when we leave God out of the equation. For some of us not feeling God’s presence makes us feel alone so we look to “tangible” things to cope with loss or hurt. But I want to tell you that not only is God real He reveals himself to us in the most unlikely ways. This awareness opens up through prayer, reading His Word, and opening our hearts for God to increase our faith. I invite you to read Mark chapter 9 in its entirety because it tells us just how quickly life can change. We can experience wondrous awe-inspiring moments only to be smacked in the face with the reality of sickness, disease, and conflict. Christ had revealed himself to his inner circle during the transfiguration and once reunited with the disciples was met by a father desperately seeking help for his demon-possessed son. Mark 9:21-24, And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
“I believe help me in my unbelief.” God hears us and knows us. This may be the time you need to get to know Him. That will mean making a sacrifice and looking to God instead of the alternatives which will prove useless. Our idols, the things we give our precious time to instead of seeking God’s wisdom for ourselves will leave us broken, mute, and at the command of the enemy. I pray this will be the encouragement you need to find more time with God and apply His commands to your life.
~Torrie
Join in the Daniel Fast ↓
Growing Our Given Purpose Facebook Group
Watch the Intro Videos on YouTube
The Daniel Fast Video Playlist
Download your FREE E-Book
Interacting within the group is not mandatory, however, it will let others know you are involved and open up the conversation. Don’t block your blessing by being closed off. The enemy wants us to continue to hide behind the screens. We are a community of believers in private and in public.
Journal Prompts:(Daily Questions from the Journal)
- Have I prayed for myself and someone else?
- Have I prepared my food for the day?
- Did I workout?
- Have I posted in the Growing Our Given Purpose group?
© Torrie Slaughter, Torrie Slaughter/Torrie Dorschel Photography, http://www.ourgivenpurpose.com, and Our Given Purpose™. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Torrie Slaughter, Torrie Slaughter/Torrie Dorschel Photography, http://www.ourgivenpurpose.com, and Our Given Purpose™ with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
