Verses nine and ten of Isaiah 58 are faith-building tools. Fasting gives you confidence to cry out to God with the kind of attitude that says: “I will not be denied! I cannot be denied! I know that I know that the thing I’m asking God for is aligned with His will.”
This holy boldness comes when your life has been cleansed through repentance. This cleansing of soul allows you to confidently cry to God for help. His response is to say: Here am I.
Fasting should have allowed you some reflective time so that you can “right the ship of your life”. Living in a more Christ-honoring way should now yield greater compassion for hurting people in addition to gaining a greater level of wisdom regarding your own life.
Is there anything in the past 12 months that you were afraid to ask God for? Can you now revisit that need? You should not be hesitant because of your newfound place of spiritual strength and confidence. Go for it!
Post a description of your newfound confidence and boldness in the Lord.
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ReplyDeleteI am so thankful for this fast. I belive the holy spirit has allowed me to be more sensitive and compassionate toward others. I have ceased from judging and moved to encouraging and praying for and with my hurting famiy members. When I woke up this morning my emotions were so raw. I just started humming a tune and journaling and then I began to cry out for my church and my family and others. God allowed me to see the hurting and pray for some I had not prayed for in sometime. He also raised a spirit of confidence to believe him to set the oppressed free!
ReplyDeleteHello Everyone,
ReplyDeleteWhile I am never afraid to ask God for anything no matter how awkward it may sound - as I consider this year’s fast, I decided to let bygone be just that and move on. Letting go is what I consider my newfound confidence and boldness to know that regardless of my previous expectancy, God is greater than my hopes. What this fasting has done for me is that it has allowed me to renew my covenant with God to keep this discipline not only when it’s asked on a corporate level but to basically follow up on it personally. I already have a day set aside for fasting but I would let other things be mixed with the fast where it’s no longer a day solely given to prayer and fasting. Earlier in my fast today, I read psalm 73:26 that says to me that God is my portion forever – and when I looked at portion it has a great and powerful meaning that God is my all in all and that I totally have to rely on Him. I have tested God’s promise that He is my portion, it has been proven true to me and I will take this as a new conviction that whenever things don’t go as planned, to remember He is my portion, my strength and my hope forever; and that I should never put my trust in my flesh and my heart because they will always fail me - but God is my all in all.
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Working in special education, I am fortunate to serve and empower students with disabilities on a daily basis. It's work that I love and have been divinely designed for. However, I have often found myself frustrated by my co-workers' lack of compassion, immoral actions, or too business-minded decisions which has caused me to speak and think negative thoughts. In the past year, God has challenged me to boldly advocate for my students and start creative, new projects to show off my students' abilities and build relationships between staff. These spirit-driven endeavors have brought great results. God has challenged me yet again during our current time of fasting. He has directed me to start a prayer group at work. Starting and leading a prayer group is definitely out of my comfort zone, but I'm being obedient to his direction trusting that He'll lead me. He is prompting me to speak positive, hopeful words into my workplace through prayer with other fellow Christians and reminding me that I need to let the Holy Spirit lead me in my thoughts and actions in my daily work. I'm expecting a powerful, result-filled year at work!
ReplyDeleteWhen speaking with others I have often felt God giving me things to tell them and urging me to pray for them and I have often questioned myself and not felt confident about whether or not it was God and if I should move forward. Well, since I have been fasting I have found a new boldness and confidence to "flow" with it and realize that the Holy Spirit is in fact speaking. I am praising God and humbled that He would use me this way.
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