Daily Devotions

Posts tagged “fasting

Participate in Resurrection Life

MELISSA—Another way to participate in resurrection life is to speak what the Holy Spirit is telling you. This isn’t about having a microphone at church, this is about daily life. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” (Proverbs 18:21) Jesus is a perfect example of how powerful words are. We have that same power in us and it’s time to shift atmospheres with our words.


The Time for Sackcloth and Prayer

KATHY—Sennacherib made it plain to King Hezekiah that he intended to run right over Israel just like he had other nations (2Kings 18). At that point, Hezekiah put on sackcloth and went to prayer and sent runners to Isaiah the prophet with this message: it is a day of deep distress; for sons have come to birth and there is no power to bring them forth.  In other words, it’s time to pierce the darkness around us and change the future for generations to come, but we’re not strong enough to do it. We could add to Hezekiah’s message in our day:  most of us are too weary to even try to fight the darkness because for years we’ve seen morally depraved people blaspheme all things sacred! For years, we’ve watched wealthy bullies get away with murder and seen corrupt politicians cheat and blackmail and bribe their way to the top. We’ve watched media deliberately lie and deceive and brainwash the public with propaganda. We’ve seen technology kill people and engineered devices take their toll.  And we’ve seen injustice go unpunished.  All this has left us rattled and weary and weak. Hezekiah was aware they needed God, he put on sackcloth and went to prayer and He took action to begin sanctifying the nation and that was an obedience that led to the intervention of God for their nation.


Fast Fear

Melissa — Hey, you can fast fear! It’s true! Set your mind to it and watch how aware you become of fear in your life.  It’s amazing how interwoven that stinker is.  But when you become aware, you can do something about it.  You can take your rightful place in the driver’s seat by forcing fear out.  Ask the Holy Spirit to point it out, then you replace it with truth.  You replace fear with God’s original intent for your life, thoughts of peace to give you an expected end (Jer. 29:11).  This is not necessarily an overnight change, it takes time.  It’s a process well worth it, but you can still be an agent of change in the middle of your process.  How? By listening to the Father and doing/saying what He tells you (John 5:19).


Fast Fear

Melissa — Hey, you can fast fear! It’s true! Set your mind to it and watch how aware you become of fear in your life.  It’s amazing how interwoven that stinker is.  But when you become aware, you can do something about it.  You can take your rightful place in the driver’s seat by forcing fear out.  Ask the Holy Spirit to point it out, then you replace it with truth.  You replace fear with God’s original intent for your life, thoughts of peace to give you an expected end (Jer. 29:11).  This is not necessarily an overnight change, it takes time.  It’s a process well worth it, but you can still be an agent of change in the middle of your process.  How? By listening to the Father and doing/saying what He tells you (John 5:19).


God was Just Wondering

Of all the things God could possibly wonder about, the Bible tells us He was wondering where His interceding people were. Isa. 59:16—“And He saw that there was no man and wondered…” (“wondered” 8074  shamem- to be desolate, to be appalled, to stun, to stupefy; to be deflowered, to be deserted, to be appalled, causing horror [Brown-Driver-Briggs]). Could it actually be that this God who loved Israel so much felt “deserted” or that the Arbiter of the universe was actually “stunned” or maybe even “stupefied” that people who knew His precepts and had heard His voice so clearly through His prophets could possibly leave His beloved Israel uncovered from lack of prayer? While we have a great host of people who want to speak for God and prophesy (some eagerly volunteering to prophesy judgment and doom), where are those falling on their face and interceding? 1Tim 2:1 “I exhort therefore, that, FIRST OF ALL, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;” (KJV).


Fasting Fear

(Melissa) Last year was a year of getting the tools needed for the tool belt.  It was a year of starting to ask the wise, right questions instead of the fear-HandSayNodriven questions.  A fear-driven question already has an answer in mind and can’t hear anything but that.  A wise question is open to hear truth.  Asking those wise questions last year always got an answer.  A lot of answers were personal things that needed to be dealt with in me.  This even led me to go on a fear fast (that has not ended)! 
(This is the third excerpt from Melissa Gabler’s article “God-Cloaked Answers“. More excerpts will be posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Previous excerpts may be read by scrolling down this page.)


Read Melissa’s recent article in SEEC Magazine
CLICK ON LINK BELOW TO READ:
https://martygabler.com/magazine/