Wednesday April 17, 2013

Read Luke 18:9-14

By the time of Jesus, fasting had become nothing more than a religious icon, a practice through which one could bolster and highlight one’s own piety. It was a marker of religious fervour that could be dropped into conversation to show one’s religious piety.

 

The Pharisee in Jesus’ parable looked down on everyone else and thought he was close to God because of his religious observances. He boasted about his Monday and Thursday fasting. He had a list of regularly completed performances that he could boast in.  The first of these was fasting. He was self-secure in his religious performance.

 

But to the utter shock of all the hearers, and especially the Pharisees, Jesus pronounces that the tax collector went home right before God, not the religious Pharisee who fasted twice a week.

 

Fasting shows our utter and total dependence upon God. Fasting is a self denial that allows us to depend on God and to know and experience intimately the vital truth that ’man does not live on bread alone but by every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord’ (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4). By fasting and calling upon the Lord we are driven closer to Him and learn to depend solely on Him. Food, water, clothing and shelter and all our wants are put in their proper perspective. You really open up to the Lord when you are literally starving and relying on God to carry you through the entire day.

 

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

 

Adoration:

 

Confession:

 

Thanks:

 

Supplication:

¥ Ask your God to provide all the needs for the Reformed Bible College in Burma. Ask the Lord to provide for their financial needs, their food needs and materials for the staff and students. Pray that God would bless the students as they study and that He would grow/stretch them and form them into formidable preachers of the gospel.

¥ Pray likewise that the Mustard Seed Orphanage would have all its needs met in Christ Jesus. Ask God to provide the daily needs for the orphans, widows and disabled people who are being supported through Mustard Seed.

Jesus Challenge: The early church fasted and prayed while worshipping God. it was during this time that the Lord spoke powerfully to the church and revealed His will for the church.

 

Plan for your cell group to fast and pray on each Sonday for the next month. See if you can plan to attend the 8am prayer service each sonday and, if possible, to meet again after the evening service to pray.