FASTING. O LORD, feed me…
[True Fasting ] “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. …Isaiah 58:6-11 (NIV)
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
& untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Joel 2:12 [Rend Your Heart ] “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Matthew 6:18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Acts 13:2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Acts 14:23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
I put my trust in You, Lord God Almighty.
Thank you. For ~~
You loose the chains of injustice & set the oppressed free
You provide, so we can feed, clothe & shelter the needy
Your light, healing, righteousness
Being my rear guard
You answer, Here am I, when I cry for help
IF
I do away with oppression
Do no more pointing finger
Do away with malicious talk
THEN
The Lord will guide me
He will satisfy my needs
He will strengthen my frame
I will be like a well-watered garden—fruitful.
Oh Lord, be with me when I fast. Show me when and how to fast–to honor You, Lord God. Please strengthen my frame and make me like a well-watered garden. Hear my weeping and mourning and the deep need for YOU, O LORD. For You, You alone, are my reward Father. What work have you called me do?
Lord, there are many
seeking You
asking You
to show Your will to us.
Lord, walk with us and guide us to YOU, Lord God. Feed us, with Your word as we learn to hear You—only YOU–as You reveal Your will to each one of us.
In Jesus name. Amen