Think I’ve now mastered how to keep track of the weeks in the title without confusing myself! Took long enough…
Anyway, I’m sure you’ve been eagerly awaiting to find out what I’m fasting. So I prayed and I think the best thing for me to say here is I think God wants me to fast from sweet snacks and things, which is where I usually turn for comfort. But I also felt like I needed to give up using my phone for non-communication purposes because I also use that as a distraction and find I waste a lot of time cycling through games on my phone or scrolling through social media, and almost run out of time to spend with God.
In her book, Jo Swinney gives up 4 different things for 1 week each. I felt I would get more benefit out of giving up these things for 4 weeks in order to seek God deeper. So that is the aim. And I will be honest with you about every biscuit (none so far) and every slip-up on my phone (once!), also secure in the knowledge that God is forgiving and a small slip is not an excuse to give up. Instead it is an opportunity to pick myself up and carry on.
So, what have I discovered so far? I have discovered that when I stop using my phone as a hiding place distraction there are a lot of hours in a day when I can seek God. And I have discovered I have a lot of chocolate scattered around my flat!
On a more serious note, the last week has been amazing for me. I am a novice at fasting so I have looked into some devotionals, but essentially I have just said “Ok God, this time is yours. What do you want to do?” I have used the book by Becca Dean (Be Live Pray) to explore some more ways of praying and encountering God.
Apparently there are four main reasons for fasting: closeness with God, receiving direction, receiving provision, and restoration. In the last week I have definitely had moments of feeling incredibly close to God, I feel I have heard more clearly from him (partly because I may have been hiding from a particular direction…) and I feel like over the rest of this time of fasting I will have breakthrough in an area I have been struggling with as I spend more time with God building up foundational truth about my identity instead of listening to the little inner voice telling me lies about my worth.
Hebrews 6: 11 says God will reward those who earnestly seek him. This may seem strange (believe me, I’ve been called worse), but I am actually excited to meet with God in this period. I may feel differently in a weeks time when it’s Easter Sunday and I see everyone tucking into chocolate eggs…
The important thing I have learned this week is to use the time I would be playing/scrolling to focus on God in prayer and worship, and to seek comfort from God by honestly praying instead of looking for a sugar pick-me-up.
My month of prayer brought me closer to God. My first week exploring fasting taken me further. I have experienced more and longer periods of peace in my heart to replace anxiety and worries. At times, not being able to fall back on my phone has left me twiddling my thumbs, but my hope is that I will be able to build on the patterns I had started to form during the prayer month and create a lasting pattern of drawing close to God.
Please note, as I have previously stated, I am a novice fast-er. If you are reading this as an experienced fast-er, please forgive the bits I’ve got wrong. If, like me, you are a beginner, my advice is don’t let small slips discourage you. Keep going. God is patient and cares about intentions. Maybe 4 weeks (or 40 days) is too long, so be kind to yourself while seeking God. Oh, and everywhere I’ve read it is very clear: don’t jump straight in to a 40 day full food fast unprepared!
Anyway, more from me next week (unless I have a major breakthrough or breakdown mid-way)
The Reason for my Hope Blog 