Matthew 4:1-4
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
Embarking on a period of fasting and prayer, whether for a short or long period, is something that I now embrace with great anticipation to see what God is going to teach me through it. When I have done so, the results have differed. One long period of prayer and fasting resulted in a positive answer from the Lord lifting a burden of doubt in my heart, providing the confidence to start my Tea business.
Another example was a fasting experience during the Lenten season seven years ago when I undertook the rather daunting commitment to write a new devotion each day over a forty-six-day period, an undertaking that depended on an undergirding of prayer. The result was quite unexpected. After just a few days, a fog had lifted from my brain allowing deeper sleep during the night and better concentration during the day. The most remarkable result was how God provided ideas, phrases, scriptures, and memories, sometimes waking me up in the night to jot things down and then sending me right back to sleep. During the entire period, He was never late, and each day the deadline for posting the devotion was met, thanks be to God!
One experience was totally different—God answered but not in the way I had hoped, and the result had more to do with my response to God’s answer of ‘no’ rather than the way He answered. I came to understand that what God desired was for my heart to align with His heart and to see that my fasting and praying was not for God to change my circumstances but, rather, to prepare me to move beyond the initial devastating disappointment, to an attitude of acceptance and trust in His sovereign will. And this is especially true for how we respond to the results after this Election. If we receive the results with disappointment, we as Christians must respond by aligning our will with God’s, for He is sovereign over all of it and has a plan. Whatever side we are on, we must respond with grace.
Dear readers, as we prepare our hearts for 40 Days of Prayer for Our Nation, which begins on September 25, God is calling us to adjust our lives to what He intends to do next. He may be calling you to fast and pray to accomplish that in your heart. But, whether you choose to fast or not, may all of us always “hunger and thirst for His righteousness and be filled.” Mt.5:6.
Heavenly Father, during this time of fasting and praying, prepare the way for us to receive You with fresh, renewed hearts, uncluttered by the sins that so easily entangle us. We pray 2 Chronicles 7:14 today, “Search my heart, O God, if there is any wicked way in me. Create in me a clean heart and turn me from my wicked ways.” In Your name and for Your sake we pray. Amen.
