Tag: Prayer

In the Wilderness: Learning to Fast

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“Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordon River. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.”

– Luke 4:1-2

After his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. This is an important detail of Scripture. First, that the wilderness came after the baptism. After Jesus made his public confession, the first thing God did to prepare Him for public ministry was lead him into the wilderness. He led Him at just the right time, when He was full of the Spirit, because the Spirit would be His strength. This is important to note because our times of greatest spiritual strength will be the times we are most vulnerable to attack from the enemy. We are susceptible in times of strength, because it is in our times of strength, when we are most full of the Spirit, that we pose the greatest threat to Satan and to his plans. When Scripture says Jesus was “led” it uses the Greek word “ágō” which means “to lead, or to take with one.” He doesn’t lead us into the wilderness alone, He goes with us. The word ágō means “to lead by laying hold of, to lead by accompanying, to lead with one’s self, or to attach ones self as an attendant.” Jesus being full of the Spirit when He was led into the wilderness was God’s way of attaching Himself and laying hold of Jesus as He began His earthly ministry. The Spirit had just descended on Him like a dove. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – Three in One – went into the wilderness to fight for us. They did what we could not do. When the Spirit leads us into wilderness seasons, He does not lead us where He has not already gone before. He prepared the way for us. He goes before us, and He goes with us. No matter how lonely and desolate it feels, we are not alone in the wilderness. Knowing this, believing this, and trusting this is the key to our survival.

In the wilderness, Jesus fasted for forty days. He ate nothing at all during this time, and Scripture says He became very hungry. It’s important to note that it says He became hungry. It does not say He was hungry while He was fasting, but after the fasting had ended. He was not hungry while He was fasting, because He was filled with something other than food. He was filled with the Spirit, and that’s what He drew from for His nourishment. That’s what sustained Him and satisfied Him for those forty days. When Scripture says the fasting had ended, it uses the Greek world synteléō, which means “to end together or at the same time.” The Spirit did not leave Him or forsake Him during those forty days. It sustained Him until the day of completion, until the day when He fulfilled the purpose He had been led into the wilderness for. Luke 4:13-14 says, “When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left Him until the next opportunity came. Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the spirit’s power…” Jesus was not depleted when He left the wilderness. He was not empty; He was still filled the Spirit. He did not lose anything, but instead gained power through the Spirit, because of His wilderness experience.

One of the few plants that is able to not only survive, but thrive, in harsh wilderness conditions is the cactus. One of the few animals that is able to do so is the camel. They are both suited for these conditions because they can store water. They can carry what they need on the inside. They draw from within. They are not dependent on external circumstances for their survival. This is why we, too, should be filled with the Spirit – because only the Spirit can sustain us in the wilderness.

Most cacti live in dry areas. They often have short growing seasons, followed by long periods of drought, but they are able to survive the periods of drought because they have adapted to be able to store and conserve water. They react quickly to rainfall when it comes, quickly expanding and contracting to absorb the water through their shallow root system. They are succulents, which means they are able to store water in their stems. Water accounts for 90% of their total mass, and they retain this water in an interesting way.

Transpiration is the process of water moving through a plant and evaporating – only a small amount of water is taken up by the roots and used for growth and metabolism. Transpiration usually occurs during the cooler, more humid, night hours, so in order to reduce the water loss that occurs through transpiration, cacti store the carbon dioxide they take in as a malic acid until daylight returns, only using it in photosynthesis.

Carbon dioxide is present in the air we breath. It is absorbed by plants in photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process used by plants to convert light energy into chemical energy through cellular respiration. It can then be released to fuel the plant’s metabolic activities. Photosynthesis comes from the Greek word phōs meaning “light” and sunthesis meaning “putting together.” Through photosynthesis, oxygen is released into the air. It essentially supplies the energy necessary to maintain life on earth.

Malic acid, on the other hand, what the cactus stores the carbon dioxide as until daylight, is what contributes to the sour taste of unripe apples and other fruits.

The word for Spirit in Luke 4:1 is the Greek word pneûma which means “a movement of air.” When take in the Spirit, we take in the pneûma as a breath of air, as oxygen in our lungs.

When God created Adam and Eve, He breathed life into them. He breathed His Spirit, His pneûma, into their nostrils and they became living beings. They were filled with the Spirit. Then Satan came, just as He did with Jesus in the wilderness. And Satan tempted them with food, just as He did with Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus was tempted with bread; Adam and Eve were tempted with fruit. They saw it and desired it, and they gave into the temptation that Jesus resisted. They took it and ate it – and they stored it within. The pneûma was replaced with a malic acid – a bitterness, a sourness. Instead of being filled with the Spirit, they were filled with sinfulness. And they navigated the darkness of this world with that bitterness inside – until the daylight, until the day the Son Rose. Until the day Jesus came and took that sinfulness and transformed it into light, and released it into the world, to sustain us until the day of His return, to energize us for the work of the Kingdom, and to maintain our eternal life in Him.

Nature is truly fascinating! There is so much we can learn through the intricate details of how God has created and designed this earth. Just as we can learn from the cactus, so can we learn from the camel.

Throughout history, camels have been used to transport people through the desert because of how well suited they are to endure the dry conditions. They don’t store water directly in their humps as is commonly believed, but the humps are used as reservoirs for fatty tissue, which yields water when it metabolizes. The process of the fat metabolizing also releases energy which causes water to evaporate from the lungs. When the camel exhales, water vapor becomes trapped in their nostrils and is reabsorbed into the body as a means to conserve water. Even their long legs serve a purpose, helping keep their body farther from the ground, which can heat up to 158°F. Camels rarely sweat, even in the intense desert heat, and when they do sweat it evaporates at the skin level rather than at the surface of their coat. While other livestock can lose 20-40 liters of water per day, a camel typically loses only 1.3 liters. Because of these adaptations, they can survive long periods of time without any external source of water. In fact, dromedary camels can drink as little as once every 10 days and can lose up to 30% of its body mass due to dehydration. In comparison, other mammals can usually only withstand losing 12-14% before cardiac failure results. Camels also have oval shaped red blood cells that make them better able to withstand the flow of blood during dehydration and allows them to drink large amounts of water in a short amount of time without rupturing. For example, a 1,300lb camel can drink up to 53 gallons of water in only three minutes.

Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

Jesus had hidden God’s word in His heart, and He drew on it for His strength so that He might not sin when He was tempted in the wilderness. For every temptation, Jesus counteracted with a word of Scripture. For every lie, He came against it with Truth. He was prepared. He was girded with Truth, and the Sword of the Spirit was His weapon of defense. He knew the Word. He had stored the Word in His heart, so He could draw it to remembrance and speak it into life when He needed it the most.

 In John 4:13-14 when Jesus encounters the woman at the well, He tells her, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

Psalm 42:1-2 says, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God.”

We should pant after God as a deer panteth for the water, and we should lap it up as a camel laps up water from a stream in the desert. The blood of Jesus has changed us from the inside out. The blood of Jesus has given us a capacity that goes beyond human understanding – a capacity to love and be loved by the Creator this Universe. That love bubbles within us, and never runs dry. We can return to Him time and time again, and He will fill us to overflowing.

After her conversation with Jesus at the well, Scripture says the woman “left her jar beside the well” (v. 28) and ran back to the village, telling everyone to come and see Jesus, to taste and see that He was good. She left what she had brought to carry her water in, because she had been filled up on the inside. The jar was not enough to contain what she had received. She had drank to overflowing. She was filled, and she was pouring herself out to draw others in, so they too could draw nourishment from this stream of living water who’s name was Jesus.

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

– Romans 15:13

Not only was the woman filled through this experience, but Jesus was filled too. Scripture says the disciples later came to Jesus urging Him to eat and He responded by telling them, “I have a kind of food that you know nothing about… My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing His work” (v. 32-33). True nourishment comes from within. It comes from the Word of God. It comes from the Will of God. Only He can satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts.

Jesus knew what it meant to be hungry. In Luke 4:2, the word hunger means, “to suffer want or to be needy.” It can also be interpreted to mean, “to crave ardently, and to seek with eager desire.” Because Jesus was hungry, that’s where Satan attacked first. “If you are the Son of God,” Satan said, “tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.” By starting his question with “if” Satan was attempting to get Jesus to question His very identity. But Jesus didn’t fall for his scheme. Jesus responded and told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.'”

Jesus had not only studied the Word to know this, but He had lived the Word to know this. Because He had fasted, He had feasted on God. He had been spiritually fed though His physical stomach was empty. He had been spiritually nourished, though physically famished.

What is it that you are hungering for? What are you thirsting for? Be aware of these desires, because they will be your point of weakness in the wilderness. As Max Lucado writes, “Bring your weakness to God before Satan brings them to you.”

It is no coincidence that both the temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden and the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness revolved around food. This is no coincidence because there is a clear correlation between food and sin when it comes our self-discipline. Food is necessary for our survival, but is also desirable for our own personal pleasure. In the same way, our sin is often instinctual because it is driven by our fleshly desires and pleasures, but we have to remain in control of it in order to avoid it controlling us. This battle of flesh vs. spirit is a battle of the mind.

When Jesus teaches on fasting in Matthew 6, He does not say if you fast, but when you fast. It was implied that fasting was already a part of the regular routine for those He was speaking to. Fasting is an essential spiritual discipline. It is vital to our spiritual growth and development. It is how we fight our battles – we starve the flesh to feed our spirit. We hunger and thirst for righteousness. Through fasting, we empty ourselves to be filled with the Spirit. In John 6:35, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Fasting is a way for us to disrupt our daily rhythms and set our minds on things above where our true satisfaction comes from. Fasting is a way for us to shift our focus so we are not dependent on bread for life, but instead are dependent on the bread of life. It is a way for us to break free from unhealthy patterns of eating and an unhealthy relationship with food. When we fast from physical bread, we feast on spiritual manna that comes from above. We trust God to provide enough manna for each day. We look to Him to satisfy the deepest longings and cravings of our hearts.

This is not easy, but this is necessary.

I heard a Pastor say recently that the first sign of a culture that is turned away from God is that the body becomes a new locus point of worship. How present is this in our society? Do we not see it in our culture’s obsession with sex, with food, and with physical appearance? We have to break free from this. We have to resist the urge to fit in. We have to stand up and stand out. We have to become counter-cultural. Our body is intended to be a place for the presence of God to dwell. Instead, we have made it a place of pleasure and performance. We allow it to dictate to us its desires, rather than us reminding it of it’s purpose. With fasting, we regain control over our bodies. We remind our bodies that they were created for God, and not the other way around. Fasting and prayer is a way for us to turn our bodies from an enemy into an ally in the fight against the sinfulness and principalities of this world.

“…God did what the law could not do. He sent His own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”

– Romans 8:3-4

In Scripture, fasting is almost always accompanied by prayer. In Matthew 6:5-18 Jesus teaches us about prayer and fasting. He doesn’t just teach us how to pray, He shows us how to pray. He tells us prayer should be private, personal, and purposeful. “When you pray,” He says, “Go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private” (v.6). Jesus lived this out. Throughout Scripture, we see Him “going away” to pray.

Mark 1:35 says, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”

Matthew 14:23 says, “After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.”

Luke 5:16 says, “ But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.“

The wilderness is a dry, desolate place. The Greek word “érēmos” means “a solitary place” or “a lonely place.”

Because the wilderness is a place of solitude, it is a place well-suited for prayer. But what we fear most about the wilderness, even more than the lack of food, is the loneliness. We fear being alone. That is why “solitude confinement” is one of the worst forms of punishment. We are afraid to get alone with our thoughts, alone with our fears, alone with our anxieties – but that’s exactly where God wants to meet us at. There is a deep internal work that sometimes only the wilderness can bring to light, and only prayer and fasting can work to transform.

In her book, Braving the Wilderness, Brené Brown writes, “True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness.”

It’s important for us to remember that being alone is not the same as be lonely. We may feel lonely in the wilderness, but we are never truly alone. The Spirit always accompanies us where He leads us. He will not leave or forsake us. Still, we fear going into the wilderness, into the silence and solitude, because we know that just as sure as Jesus is there – Satan is also there, waiting to attack. We know that in the wilderness, our weakness will be exposed.

We could not survive the wilderness on our own – that is why we must learn to pray and fast. The keys to physical survival in the wilderness are fire, shelter, and water. The keys to spiritual survival in the wilderness are the Holy Spirit, Fasting, and Prayer. This is how will endure. This is how we will not only survive, but thrive. This is how we will learn and grow. This is how we will make the most of our wilderness experience. Eventually we will come to love the wilderness, because we will find it is the place where we fall in love with Jesus, where we build intimacy with Him. It will become our hiding place, our space space, our place of refuge. He will call us back to this place time and time again. As He says in Hosea 2:14, “I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there.”

There is a song by Elevation Worship called Great Things and the lyrics provide such a beautiful perspective of the wilderness. It says, “Thank You for the wilderness, where I learned to thirst for Your presence. If I’d never known that place, how could I have known You are better? Thank You for the lonely times, when I learned to live in the silence. As the other voices fade, I can hear You calling me, Jesus. And it’s worth it all, just to know You more.”

Rest assured, the wilderness season you are living in now will not last forever. The Spirit led you in, and the Spirit will lead you out. But while you’re there, embrace this season for all that it is and all that it has to offer. Learn how to fast and pray, and allow these practices to draw you close to the Father. Allow these practices to shape you more into His image. Allow these practices to strengthen you and empower you for the spiritual warfare you are sure to encounter there. Don’t allow this wilderness season to leave you unchanged. Leave your mark on the wilderness, and allow the wilderness to leave it’s mark on you.

“Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.
The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.
Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers
and singing and joy!
The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.
There the Lord will display his glory,
the splendor of our God.
With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
and encourage those who have weak knees.
Say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you.”

And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
and unplug the ears of the deaf.
The lame will leap like a deer,
and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,
and streams will water the wasteland.
The parched ground will become a pool,
and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.
Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish
where desert jackals once lived.

And a great road will go through that once deserted land.
It will be named the Highway of Holiness.
Evil-minded people will never travel on it.
It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways;
fools will never walk there.
Lions will not lurk along its course,
nor any other ferocious beasts.
There will be no other dangers.
Only the redeemed will walk on it.
Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
They will enter Jerusalem singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
and they will be filled with joy and gladness.“

– Isaiah 35

Fasting & Prayer

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“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose they will be heard for their many words. So, do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

– Matthew 6:5-8 NASB

Prayer is personal and private. It is a conversation between you and God. Corporate prayer is important as well – praying collectively as a group is powerful and it is vital for our churches and communities to grow and thrive, but it can’t replace our time alone with God. We need to listen closely to the instructions of Jesus and heed his advice. It is just as relevant now as it was then. We need to enter into our prayer closets and get alone with God in a secret place. We need to examine the motivation of our hearts. Are we praying to be heard by others or to be heard by God? Are we repeating meaningless words, or are we being intentional with the words we are praying?

What is the purpose of prayer?

  • Communication – When we pray, we’re having a conversation with God. We’re talking to our Father. We’re talking to our Best Friend. It’s not intended to be impressive. We don’t need to overthink it or try to say all the right words. God knows what we need before we ask. He just wants to hear from us. He just wants to commune with us.
  • Submission – Prayer is about humbling ourselves before God. It is how we ask Him for a specific need or desire. It is how we confess our sins. It is how we honor Him and give Him reverence. We can’t take for granted the immensely undeserved gift it is to be able to enter His presence. We don’t need to physically bow down knees or lay prostrate before Him every time we pray, but we should be aware of the posture of our heart. We need to enter His presence with humility and respect, because He is God and we are not. He is worthy, and we are not. We need to surrender ourselves before Him.
  • Intercession – The Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t have the words to pray. Romans 8:26 says He intercedes for us “with groanings too deep for words.” We pray in the name of Jesus, because it is through the sacrifice of Jesus that we have access to God. We don’t need to make a blood sacrifice to enter His presence, because Jesus became our sacrifice. We don’t need a priest to forgive us of our sins, because Jesus became our High Priest. The veil has been torn. We can enter into the Holy of Holies because of Jesus. Jesus is our intercessor, and because of His intercession, we too can intercede for others. Have you ever considered that maybe you are where you are in life right this moment because someone at some point in their life interceded for you when you were far from God?
  • Transformation – The purpose of prayer is to transform us from the inside out. The purpose of prayer is to shift our focus from the object of our fear to the object of our faith. Our prayers are not intended to change God’s mind, but to change our hearts. When I pray, it puts things into clearer focus. My perspective changes because I am looking up instead of looking around. We are transformed by the power of prayer.

Jesus didn’t just tell us how to pray, He showed us how.

“Pray then, in this way: Our Father who is in Heaven, Hallowed be Your Name. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”

– Matthew 6:9-13 NASB

“Our Father who is in Heaven, Hallowed be Your Name.”

In the first two words of this prayer, Jesus shows us how to address God in prayer. We come to God because of the relationship we have with Him. We come to Him as a child coming before their Father. Prayers in the Old Testament often addressed God as Lord, but in the New Testament He is addressed as Father. Our relationship with Him is more personal because of Jesus. Prayers in the Old Testament often addressed Him as “The God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of Abraham, etc.” but the New Testament refers to Him as Our Father. We are adopted children. We are prodigal sons and daughters. We are heirs to the throne. He is not only the God of the patriarchs; He is our God. He is our Father.

He is our Father who is in Heaven. With these words, Jesus shows us where our prayers should be directed. Our prayers are directed upward, towards the Heavens. Looking to Heaven allows us to reflect on the greatness of God. It humbles us and magnifies Him. Looking toward Heaven puts our thoughts into perspective. Isaiah 55:9 says, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

The inclusion of the phrase “Hallowed be Your Name” shows us that prayer should be entered into with a heart of worship and reverence. “Hallowed” means to be holy and set apart. His name is YHWH – a name too Holy to even be written or spoken in the Hebrew language. YHWH means “becoming one.” He becomes who we need Him to be. He is El Roi meaning He is the God Who Sees. He is El Shaddai, the Almighty God. He is Jehovah Jirah, our Provider. He is Jehovah Nissi, our Banner of Victory. He is Jehovah Shalom, our Peace. He is Jesus. He is Yashua which means “The Lord has become our salvation.” He is Immanuel, God with us. In Exodus, God told Moses, “I am who I am.” In the book of John, Jesus issued seven “I am” statements. I am the Bread of Life. I am the Light of the World. I am the Gate. I am the Good Shepherd. I am the Resurrection and the Life. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I am the True Vine. He becomes what we need. He is all that we need. He is the I Am, and His Name is Holy.

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.”

Kingdoms represent royalty, power, and dominion. The Kingdom of God is a Monarchy. A monarchy can be trusted when the King can be trusted, and our King is worthy of trust. Matthew 6:33 tells us to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Jesus prays for God’s Kingdom to come – meaning it must move from one place to another. Jesus prays for God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. It’s important that Jesus included this, because our human will is often in opposition of God’s will. Jesus Himself in the Garden before His death prayed, “If it be your will let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will but your will be done” (Luke 22:42).

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

A prayer for bread is a prayer for provision and nourishment. Our physical well-being is an important part of our spiritual well-being. Pray for what you need, but know that it may not always look like what you think it should. When the Israelites were hungry in the wilderness and prayed for bread, God sent manna down from the sky. It wasn’t any kind of bread they had ever seen before. It was flaky and appeared like dew on the ground. The word Manna in Hebrew means “What is it?” because they had never seen anything like it before. But it was God’s provision, and it was exactly what they needed. God gave them enough for each day and told them not to store it up. They took only enough for that day, and trusted God to supply it again the next day.

Jesus prayed, “Give us this day our daily bread.” He didn’t pray for a week’s worth of bread, or a month’s worth of bread, or five-year supply of bread. He asked only for today. In Matthew 6:34 He tells us, “Take no thought about tomorrow for tomorrow has enough worries of its own.” We should pray for daily provision, and trust for divine provision tomorrow. Jesus asks God to give us the bread. That tells us that God’s provision can’t be bought, and it can’t be earned. It’s given. It’s a free gift of grace.

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

A debt is that which is owed. It is justly and legally due. Romans 6:23 tells us the wages of our sin is death. Your wage is that which is earned. When we work for sin, when we focus our time and energy on sinful thoughts and activities, then the payment we are due is death. A debtor was often tormented, thrown into prison, or sold as slave until the debt was paid. Jesus lived a perfect life. He was without sin, but He died to pay a debt He didn’t owe. God gives because He loves. As He loved us and forgave our debt, so should we love and forgive those who sin against us.

This is the only part of Jesus’ prayer that He expounds on later. In verses 14 and 15 He says, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” This tells us that we should pray with sincerity. We shouldn’t pray a prayer if we aren’t willing to do what needs to be done to make it a reality. We can’t pray for forgiveness if we aren’t willing to forgive. God knows our heart. He knows our intentions. Forgiveness is no easy task. It is so much easier said than done, but it can be done. We can forgive because we have been forgiven. True forgiveness is a powerful force of love. It is a powerful demonstration of the love God has for us.

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Jesus covers past, present, and future needs in this prayer. The prayer for daily bread covers the present, the prayer for forgiveness covers the past, and “lead us not into temptation” is a prayer for the future. Jesus is asking for God’s leadership and guidance. He is asking for deliverance from the traps of the enemy. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to withstand. It tells us God will provide a way of escape. This is Jesus praying for that escape. If we pray for it, then we have to be willing to look for it. When we’re caught up in the moment and temptation is right in front of us, it’s easy to put blinders on to any escape sign God may be trying to direct us towards. That’s why we have to be alert, be attentive, and pray without ceasing. We have to always be watching for God’s leadership, and we can’t allow ourselves to get into situations that will try to pull us off the path He has us on. When we do fall into temptation, we have to know that true repentance means turning away. It often seems that we’re in an endless loop of prayers for forgiveness and deliverance. Once our sin has been forgiven, we have to turn away and not look back. We have to focus on where God is leading us so we won’t be led astray.

“For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”

Jesus opened the prayer with a heart of worship, and He closed the prayer with a heart of worship. In the beginning, and in the end, He acknowledged the greatness of God. He acknowledged the Holiness and reverence of God. By closing the prayer in this way, Jesus is closing the prayer with comfort, confidence, and peace in who God is and in what He is able to do. He is closing the prayer on a note of hope.

Jesus didn’t say if you fast, but when you fast.

“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

– Matthew 6:16-18 NASB

Fasting as a Spiritual discipline is implied in Scripture. It wasn’t commanded, because it was already expected. Fasting should be a habitual, integral part of our Spiritual lives. Jesus was prepared for the wilderness because He had practiced the disciplines of study, silence, and solitude – but he fought and endured through the wilderness because He fasted and prayed. Fasting requires Self-Discipline, Self-Denial, & Self-Control. It’s a learning process. It is a way for us to exercise the power of our spirit over the power of our flesh.

What is the purpose of fasting?

  • Fasting starves the flesh to feed the spirit – The first ever temptation was a temptation to eat. Food is a foundational part of our humanity. Eve was tempted because it was pleasing to the eye. She saw it, and she desired it. Our fleshly desires are those human characteristics that instinctively draw us toward sin. We crave it. Fasting breaks up our habitual cravings and regular routines. On a regular day, we will eat 2-3 times per day without a second thought. When we fast, it redirects those thoughts and focuses them on God rather than on satisfying the needs of our flesh. Fasting and prayer move our fight from the physical realm to the spiritual realm.  Fasting from food is a way of feasting on God. We must be emptied to be filled. In Matthew 4:2-4, Jesus hungered in the wilderness. And when Satan tempted Him to turn some rocks into bread, He quoted Scripture saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the word of God.” In the next chapter, during His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:6, He declared, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
  • Fasting shifts the carnally minded to the spiritually minded – When our minds are set on carnal and fleshly things it leads to death, but when our minds set on the Spirit it leads to life and peace (Romans 8:6-7). The strongholds we face are a battle of the mind (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) and fasting allows us to take our carnal thoughts captive and replace them with positive, life-giving, spiritual thoughts. Fasting gives us a kick-start, a reboot, to cleanse our mind and focus our thoughts on things above.
  • Fasting strengthens us through weakness – In Psalm 109:24 the Psalmist said, “My knees are weak from fasting…” When our knees are weak, it puts us in a better position to hit the ground and pray. When our knees are weak, we’re more dependent on God and leaning on Him to hold us up and strengthen us. Without weakness, we wouldn’t know what it felt like to be strong. Without hunger, we wouldn’t know what it felt like to be filled. Our weaknesses point us to Christ. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 the Words of Jesus say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Our weaknesses demonstrate God’s strength.

In Matthew 17:14-21 Jesus encounters a boy with a demonic spirit. The disciples tried to drive on the demon, but they could not. Jesus cast the demon out, and afterwards the disciples came to Him asking why they could not do it. “Because of the littleness of your faith,” he said. “For truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Fasting and prayer gives us the power to do what only Jesus can do. Fasting and prayer gives us the power to move mountains and drive out demons. It gives us the power to do the impossible in the name of Jesus.

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Beautiful in Time

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“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”

– Galatians 6:9

Have you ever grown weary in doing good? You’ve planted in faith. You’ve watered the soil of that faith in tear-soaked prayers – and you’ve waited. And waited. And prayed. And fasted. And prayed some more. And waited. And waited. And still nothing. Years pass, and yet you’re still waiting with empy hands and a poured-out heart. It seems like that hope, that dream, that vision, may never come to fruition. It seems like time is running out. It seems like life is passing you by, and you’re just running in place. It feels like you’re fighting a losing battle. It feels like you’ve been looked over, forgotten, and left alone in the wilderness. It’s spiritually draining, and emotionally exausting. But the Apostle Paul says, “Let us not get tired of doing what is good.”

This word “good” or “kalos” in the original Greek language means “beautiful… eminent… useful… excellent in its nature and characteristics, and therefore well adapted to its ends… beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life, and hence praiseworthy… affecting the mind agreeably, comforting and confirming” (Thayer’s Definition). The good thing is the necessary thing. The good thing, that may not feel so good in the present moment, is affecting your future in ways you can’t see or understand yet. The good thing is going to make the difference. Your situation may not be changed, but your mind is being changed. You’re being prepared and positioned. So don’t grow weary, because the good thing is needed; the good thing is beautiful, and your beautiful harvest is coming… in time.

The word “time” that Paul uses in this verse is the Greek word “kairos” which means “a time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action: the opportune and decisive moment” (Mirriam-Webster Definition). Some translations say “in due time” which means “pertaining to one’s self” or “belonging to one’s self” (Thayer’s Definition). We are all created by God. We all have unique callings, and positions, and purposes within the Kingdom of God. Someone else’s due time may have been five years ago, but your due time may be five months from now. It’s your time. It’s your story. It belongs to you. And your time is coming. Maybe God is still writing it. Maybe there are missing pieces yet to be filled, character arcs yet to be developed, or settings yet to be discovered. Whatever the case may be, you can rest assured that you are not forgotten. You’re just in process. A true artist will not release an incomplete piece of art. A true author will not publish an unfinished book. Our God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Asking him to release the answer to our prayers before the time has come, is asking Him to do what is not in His nature to do.

As I was reflecting on these thoughts this past week, I thought of the gardners and the farmers who plant their crops and wait patiently for the harvest. I thought about what might happen if the plant started to sprout before the right time. The fragile plant, not prepared for the bitter coldness of a lingering winter would likely wither and die shortly after breaking through the soil. And the hardwork of the farmer would be in vain, because the harvest that could have been would never fully come to be. So in order to avoid this heartache, the farmer may wait later in the season to plant the seed, and may dig deeper in the ground to place the seed. And the seed, unaware of the farmer’s true intention and purpose, may grow weary of the seemingly endless darkness. But, in due time, the harvest will come. And the season when the seed sprouts will be the season necessary, not only for it’s survival, but also for it’s growth and bounty.

Sometimes what we interpret as God saying “no” is actually God saying “not yet” – We have to trust God is a good Father who always has our best interests at heart and withholds no good thing from us. I recently heard it said that at the root of all our sin is the suspicion that God is not good. We grow weary and frustrated and feel like our prayers aren’t being heard, so we turn way and look to other sources for fulfillment. But God, in all His love and mercy and goodness, is just saying “The time is not right, the time has not yet come.”

Time is good. In the beginning, the first thing God created was the light. He seperated the light from the darkness. He called the light day, and the darkness He called night. The first thing He created was the way we track and measure time. And He said it was good.

I once heard Beth Moore teach a message on this subject, and she made the point that time does not pass like a timer counting down to a defining moment, but more like a stopwatch leading up to that defining moment. She made the point that we are not losing time, because scripture never talks about time going away, but rather always references the time to come (Luke 2:6, Galatians 4:4, John 7:8).

In this message, she also made the point that Satan is fully aware of this time yet to come, and the closer it gets, the angrier he becomes. So that battle you’re fighting, that uphill mountain your climbing, that resistance you feel – it’s because the enemy knows your victory is within reach.

One of my favorite verses in reference to time is Proverbs 31:25. There are several different translations, and I love them all equally. The King James Version says, “Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.” The New American Standard Bible says, “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.” The New Living Translation says, “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”

She rejoices. She smiles. She laughs.

Without fear of the future.

In time to come.

When you study the original language, this smile or this laughter, is described as being in jest or play. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Definition says it is “usually in contempt or derision” and is “to laugh mockingly.” My roomate and I used to play pranks on each other all the time. So when I think about this definition, I think about that joy you feel when you’ve laid the trap and you’re just waiting for the other person to fall for it. I think about that joy, that laughter at their expense, when all your planning and preparation has paid off. I think about when you’re playing a card game with friends, and you look down at the cards in your hand and you see that one card that’s exactly what you needed – you know the next hand you’re about to lay down is going to ensure your eminent victory, so that smile creeps across your face. I think about football players when they dance in the endzone, rubbing that victory in the face of their opponent. Maybe they haven’t won the game yet, but they’re one step closer than they were before. So they smile. They laugh. They rejoice.

This is the same word used in 2 Samuel 6:2 when David danced before the Lord. In the New Living Translation, David says, “…so I celebrate before the Lord.” It’s an act of worship. David did not care how foolish he appeared to the onlookers. The woman in Proverbs 31 did not care what the future held, because she fully trusted God.

What I find fascinating is this word – which has been translated as to smile, to laugh, to rejoice, to celebrate – it is used more frequently in the book of Job, the book of suffering, than in any of the book in the Bible. When we are found righteous by God, when we are trusted by God to endure the testing of our faith, then we can rejoice despite our circumstances. We can smile through our discouragement. We can laugh in the face of adversity. We can celebrate our eminment victory. Because we trust in the goodness of God, we can trust in the goodness of the time yet to come.

“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of God. Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood… Perfect submission, all is at rest. I in my Savior am happy and blessed. Watching and waiting, looking above. Filled with His goodness, lost in His love… This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior, all the day long.”

– Fanny Crosby

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Wrestling with God

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“During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking! But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ ‘What is your name?’ the man asked. He replied, ‘Jacob.’ ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob’ the man told him. ‘From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.’”

Genesis 32:22-28 NLT

Jacob wrestled with God.

And won.

This passage of scripture has always been one of the most difficult for me to wrap my mind around. It’s confusing. It doesn’t make sense. I have so many unanswered questions. Mainly: How do you wrestle with God… and win?! How did Jacob have the authority to demand a blessing of God? I’ve never been able to fully comprehend it.

But guess what?

Lately, I’ve found myself relating to Jacob. Living my story has felt a lot like reading Jacob’s story – I can’t wrap my mind around it, it’s confusing, and it doesn’t make sense. But nevertheless, there are seasons in our lives when our past seems to chase us into an unknown future. And in this period of transition, in the darkness of the night, before the dawn breaks – there is an overwelming sense of fear and loneliness. And in the holiness of this moment, so shrouded in mystery, my Spirit wrestles with God.

And guess what?

It’s okay.

In fact, it’s more than okay. I’ve come to learn that God delights in our wrestling, because wrestling with God means being real with Him. It means we stop pretending everything is okay, and start being honest about our worries and fears, our doubts and discouragment. He already knows. He is truth, afterall. We can’t conceal our heart from the One who created it. He has just been patiently waiting for us lay down our facade and welcome Him into our internal struggle. It’s not that we’re wrestling against God, it’s that we’re wrestling with Him. And we are never so close to Him as we are in these moments of wrestling.

I’ve come to realize that the only reason I’m uncomfortable with the concept of wrestling with God is because it means I have to lay down my pride. It means I have to lay down this false image of holiness and reverence I’ve constructed in my mind about myself and my relationship with God, and I have to get down in the dirt from which I was created and wrestle with Him. Wrestling with God means I have to get to the root of my fears and motivations. It means I have to be honest about my hopes, dreams, and deepest desires. Wrestling with God means I have to open myself up and risk getting hurt. Jacob won the match, but he didn’t leave without scars. So the question I have to ask myself is this: Is the risk worth the reward? And is that a risk I’m willing to take?

I think it is. And I think it’s one you should take too.

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Maybe there is a longing in your heart – a desire that has not yet been fulfilled, a prayer that has not yet been answered. Maybe your life has not turned out the way you hoped, dreamed, or imagined. Maybe you’re confused about your calling and purpose. Maybe you’re experiencing doubts you never thought your faith would come up against. Or maybe you’re still struggling with a particular sin you thought would be far behind you by now. Whatever this wrestling in your heart looks like, whatever it feels like, you can rest assured that you are not alone. Maybe, like Jacob, you’ve found yourself alone in the wilderness. Maybe, like Jacob, you’re running from your past. Maybe, like Jacob, you’re scared about the future. And maybe, like Jacob, you’ll leave this battle with permanent scars. But maybe, like Jacob, you’ll also leave this battle with an eternal blessing.

When you look at the definition for “wrestled” in Genesis 32:24, it means “to grapple” or “get dusty.” It’s important for us to recognize that this was not a boxing match as many of the images of this scene often depict. This was indeed a wrestling match. They were on the ground, rolling around in the dirt, stirring up dust.

Dust.

Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.”

Mankind was formed from the dust of the ground.

We are formed in our wrestling with God.

If we really want to grasp the magnitude of this statement, we have to look back at Jacob’s past.

Jacob’s name literally means “heel holder” or “supplanter” because from the time of his birth, Jacob was always trying to take what was not rightfully his. He was known for his deceptive tendencies. He was born holding on to the heel of his twin brother, trying to usurp the power and authority that came with being the firstborn in that time. Later, Jacob would take advantage of his brother in a weakened condition and essentially rob him of his birthright. Then, in his father’s last days, Jacob would take advantage of his father’s waning eyesight and deceive him in order to gain the blessing that was originally intended for his brother. When Jacob was old enough to marry, he got a taste of his own medicine. After working seven years to marry the woman he loved, he was deceived by her father, and tricked into marrying her older sister.

Lies and Deception – that was the joint and marrow of Jacob’s story. Every blessing in his life was achieved through deceptive means. But here, in Genesis 32:22-32, when Jacob is on the run for his life and finds himself in a battle for his life – He demands a blessing. He demands a blessing that is real and genuine. He demands a blessing that is freely and consciously given to him. He proves he is willing to fight for it. He proves he is willing to suffer for it and sacrifice for it. He leaves the wrestling match with limp that he will walk with for the rest of his life, but he also leaves with a new name that will carry into future generations to this very day. In Genesis 32:28 the man says, “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.” The name Israel means “God prevails” because this battle was one Jacob had to fight in order to prove to himself and future generations that deception is not the way to true victory – and even when we win the battle, it’s only because of God’s prevailing power and graciousness.

What I find most fascinating about this name change is something I read in Isaiah 43:1, which says, “But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, ‘Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.'” In this verse, what stands out to me is that Jacob was created, but Israel was formed. This is a small detail that we often skim over, but it carries with it a much deeper message.

Typically, when I have read this verse in the past, I have always imagined that “Jacob” was referencing the individual person and “Israel” was referencing the nation of people. Jacob was the created person, Israel was the formed nation. However, it’s important for us to remember that the nation of Israel was named after the person of Israel. The 12 Tribes of Israel were the 12 sons of Jacob. Jacob and Israel were the same person, but with one significant difference. The blessings of Jacob were obtained through deception, but the blessings of Israel were obtained through wrestling. Israel was Jacob’s new name, his new identiy. Israel was formed in the dust stirred up by wrestling with God and with man.

Just as Adam was created by both the dust of this earth and by the breath of God, we are made of both flesh and spirit. Where the flesh meets the spirit, there is bound to be wrestling. It’s a natural part of our spiritual formation.

So wrestle.

Don’t hold anything back.

Ask the hard questions.

Be persistent in those prayers.

Don’t relent. Don’t let go.

Press through the crowd until you feel His garment in your hand.

Cry out. Scream it out loud if you need to.

Pour it out like a broken box of precious and pricely oil at His feet.

He already knows your heart. He withholds no good thing from you.

He’s not intimidated by your requests. He’s not overburdened or annoyed by your questions. He is strong enough to bear the weight of every doubt and fear. His ear is inlined to your every cry, and He collects every tear because He cares for you. He is waiting expectendly for you to draw close to Him. If you pound your fist into His chest in your anger and frustration, you will feel He is strong enough to bear it. And soon after, you will feel His outstretched arms embrace your surrender. When the battle is finished, when the dawn has broken, you’ll receive the blessing He’s been waiting to give you.

We have the victory. We have the victory because He prevails. And just as a potter may have to break apart the clay to mold it, sometimes we’ll experience the displacement of a hip to remind us of that this blessing isn’t one we lied and deceived to receive, but one that was given to us with grace and compassion from the God who prevails over sin and breathes life into dust.

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