David Mathis begins this blog post here with a quote from Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Admittedly, that’s a bit of a stretch, but it does ring true to a degree. Time alone with God ought to be a priority for us, but we seem so often distracted. Consider what David writes there in the blog, but more importantly consider the biblical truth that he is pointing us to.

Here is this week’s prayer and fasting guide.

Worshiping the Lord and Fasting

(Acts 13:2)

For the entire month of August, we, as a church family, will be before the Lord in a special time of worship. We have called for a corporate commitment to fast and pray, as each is able in an effort to not only recover a neglected spiritual discipline but to position ourselves to see God work in amazing ways in and through us as a church family. While the focus is primarily on church planting, as you will see we are not limited to that topic. The elders will publish a daily schedule each week so that we can be together as we move through the month. This is only a guide so feel free to move beyond what is suggested. We hope you find the guide helpful. If you have any questions, please contact your elder.

Day 16

Target the Heart: Rest

Augustine is famous for the line, “Our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee.”  Where are you restless?  What area of your life keeps you up at night and stresses you out?  Stress and anxiety are rooted in heart issues which are resolved as we learn to trust in God.  What about with food? Isn’t there a lot of work that is involved in eating?  Perhaps fasting is a way of not being concerned about that work for the moment, so that you can trust in God for you daily bread too.  Fasting teaches us to rest in God so that we are not busy eating the bread of anxious toil.

Target the Word: Hebrews 4:11; Psalm 127:2

Target God: Worship

God created the seventh day as a day of rest so that we would enter into his presence and worship him.  We were made for worship.  We were made so that our complete dependency would be on God alone.  As you step away from normal routines, make sure you don’t just fill up your time with more work.  Stop working, stop everything else you’re doing so that you can devote that time to God alone.  Worship is our singular devotion to God.  Fasting teaches us that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Day 17

Target the Heart: Retreat

Have you ever wanted to just get away from it all? We fantasize about vacation because for a few moments we don’t have to worry about some of the cares of this world.  Jesus made getting away from it all a habit too.  He wasn’t just go, go, go, all the time.  His purpose was to prioritize time alone with his Father in heaven.  Yet sometimes, the cares of the world followed him.  Sometimes they follow us on vacation too.  We must remember, that the retreat is not for our sake, but to prioritize the Father’s will.  If it is God’s will that your retreat be interrupted, we ought not get grumpy.  The point of our retreat is to seek his will, so be glad when he’s shown that to you.

Target the Word: Matthew 14:13-14

Target God: Obedience

Many times we can assume our conclusion, thinking that God will answer our prayers in one particular way.  But the point of our prayer is “not my will, but yours be done.”  God is sure to surprise you with how he decides to answer your prayers and fill your time.  Our obedience to God requires us to be flexible.  He may ask you to do what you don’t really want to do.  Fasting and getting away from our regular routines should be a challenge to us that maybe we have been doing what we’ve been doing because we’ve just been following our own wills.  We don’t follow our stomachs, we follow our Lord who might call us to be hungry for a time.

Day 18

Target the Heart: Solitude

Jesus went out to a desolate place to pray.  The point of solitude is not to be completely alone though.  The point is to be alone with God.  Our world is full of distractions that constantly spend our attention on less worthy things.  As you fast, you should also consider removing whatever else distracts you so that you can be alone with God.

Target the Word: Mark 1:35

Target God: Devotion

Since God is worthy of our full attention, we should at times give that to him.  Nothing else is worthy of our full and undivided attention.  God alone is the one true God, the creator of the universe.  All of creation is subject to him, therefore none of creation is worthy of the attention that is due to God alone.  God deserves our entire lives, and giving him a short time in prayer and fasting is not the extent of our devotion to him, but representative of what he deserves. 

Day 19

Target the Heart: Humility

One of the main reasons that we will not pray and fast is that we are proud.  Pride is the great root of all sin.  Take a moment as you are praying and fasting today to examine your heart, search your soul.  Where might you be living out of pride or entitlement?  Where might you think that you deserve more than you have?  As we consider planting a church, how might our pride hinder our fulfillment of the Great Commission? 

Target the Word: Isaiah 66:2

Target God: Fear of the Lord

One idea that is often paired with humility in the Bible is the fear of the Lord.  Our posture of humility before God is a recognition of his holiness and power.  Humility begins to see reality as it is, that God is God in heaven. When we see the Lord for who he is, we will tremble before his word.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Only when we turn to the Lord and know him for who he is will we then begin to rightly see ourselves for who we are.   

Day 20

Target the Heart: Motivation

Why do we do what we do?  When we fast, we have an opportunity to stop doing things like we have normally done them and step back and evaluate our heart motivations.  Many times we don’t know why we have been doing what we have been doing.  When those things are taken away from us, what we are truly worshipping is revealed.  We may be surprised to find the idols of our hearts, how much we love something when we all of a sudden don’t have it anymore.  Food represents the physical needs and desires of the body.  When we are hungry we are motivated to eat.  But God teaches us to hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Target the Word: Matthew 5:6

Target God: Hope

If we are hungering and thirsting for righteousness and we are seeking to find that in God through the gospel, we have good news!  God promises that we will be satisfied.  Hope is the longing for satisfaction, and the joy of knowing where to find that satisfaction.  We hope for what we do not see.  As we pray we acknowledge that we do not yet see Jesus as we desire.  We do not see the desires of our hearts as we would hope for them.  Yet, the promise of his word is enough for us.  Our hope is our true motivation.  What are we motivated to pursue?  Satisfaction in God, or something else.  In faith we are confident that we have received from afar what God has promised, whether that be our hopes for planting a church or seeing the Great Commission fulfilled or whatever godly desire we have.  It is all ours in the Lord! 

Day 21

Target the Heart: Love

We always pursue what we love.  We always work hard for that which we love the most.  If we love our comfort, we will find ways to be comfortable.  If we love a certain hobby, we will make time for it in our week.  Our love for the Lord should be our motivation and desire.  Because we love the Lord, we’re willing to forego food.  Because we love the Lord, we’re willing to do the difficult but necessary tasks in pursuit of the Great Commission.  Discipleship is messy work, but because we love the Lord and the people that he has placed in our lives, Christ imitating self-sacrifice becomes second nature to us.

Target the Word: 1 Corinthians 12:31-14:1

Target God: Love God

The second command goes with the first.  To love God means that we will then love our neighbors.  Of course we must love God first in order to rightly love our neighbors.  Our love-filled worship of God is the greatest evangelistic tool we have.  To show the world that we love God is our brightest light we can shine.  It is most loving to the world for us to love God the most. 

Day 22

Target the Heart: Community

After we move ourselves away from it all and withdraw, we are then restored in our restful worship of God.  We grow in our love for God and others, and can now be rightly motivated to go back out into the world and work with all of our might in the work that God has given us.  Our time of fasting will come to an end, and just as we withdraw in our fasting, we are then called to reengage with others.  The community of believers should be first in our thoughts.  We should expect that God will show us his will as we submit everything to him with prayer.  And who will you share that with first but the ones you know will be excited to discover God’s will with you?  Believers are to join together in our common prayers.  So, while we are in our closets praying and fasting, apart from others, we should not remain that way.  We are called to end our solitude with community.

Target the Word: Psalm 22

Target God: Gospel sacrifice

Jesus quotes psalm 22 on the cross.  And as he remembers his Father’s rejection of him, in his mind is the joy set before him that motivated him to endure the cross – the in-gathering of all believers through his sacrifice.  Jesus died so that the church would be saved and brought into fellowship with God.  This too should be our motivation, not that the sacrifices of our lives are salvific, but that in imitation of Christ, we too suffer for the sake of the elect.  Leaving what is familiar to us and going out on the Great Commission in a church plant can be painful, but let us have the mind of Christ, loving the elect believers that he has and will call us to disciple, some of whom have yet to hear and be saved.  We can be confident that God will save them, so we can be confident that all of our efforts are worth it.