Today our church begins 21 days of prayer and fasting. I’m not excited. Prayer and fasting doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. There must be some better way to start the year.
I guess the question is why do this. Don’t get me wrong I could sure stand to lose a few or a bunch of pounds. I suppose that should be reason enough.
Participating in a group activity with my brothers and sisters at church seems like a good idea. That’s a pretty good reason.
Everyone else seems to be doing it. Lots of churches are starting the year with prayer and fasting. It’s very in. For me that’s a reason not to do it.
I could pretend to participate, look hungry and holy then do whatever I want at home. That doesn’t seem very spiritual.
I’ll tell you what I need. I need to know what God is up to. I know he’s up to something. 2015 is going to be very different. I’m just not sure how. I need 21 days of listening very carefully to God. That will involve more focus on him and less on other things. You might call it prayer and fasting. I’m just going to call it focused listening. Your way may sound holier. Mine sounds more practical.
I don’t need a fancy spiritual exercise. I don’t need a fast with complicated rules. I need some real practical direction. Enjoy your prayer and fasting and I’ll let you know if I hear anything.
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