21-days in January

The last 21-days in January was a time of huge sacrifice. My husband and I joined our local church in a 21-day fast. We were both excited to do another fast together, this time the fast was longer and we were both determined to shed major distractions and focus on growing a deeper relationship with Jesus.

Our heart’s desire was to draw closer to the Father. Every fast should be that way… FYI. but in this fast we had specific things that we wanted to see come to pass. We wanted to remove those things that hindered our relationship with God, we wanted to get to know Him more, we wanted more intimacy with the father. We wanted His will and His heart imprinted in our lives!

This 21-day journey was a journey of stripping away. We needed to strip away all earthly desires and ask God to clothes us with a desire for Him, for His word, For His will. 

Taking the time to eliminate certain foods from our diet, like Daniel did was NOT easy. 

Daniel 10:3 “³ I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.”

I began to sit back and think about how Daniel did it. There were not pins on Pinterest to look at or Vegetarian or Vegan Restaurants to quickly stop by and order a dish. Nope it was food straight from the ground that he was able to eat. Daniel was committed. He was ready, he was HUNGRY for Jesus! 

I am reading a book by Michael Dow called “Fasting” and beautifully stated: “Only the truly hungry will fast.”  Daniel was not satisfied. He wanted to seek the face of his Creator because he understood who he was and who God called him to be. Many times we miss the mark on that one piece. We don’t fast because we are not assured in who we are and who GOD says we can be. We avoid fasting because it is too much sacrifice or too much work, the inconvenience may outweigh what we feel the fasting will produce. When we can know who we are and the authority we have…man the enemy will need to run! 

I commend Daniel because he wanted change. He wanted more of Jesus and he understood who he was. He was not willing to align who he was to the King’s expectations. The fact that he understood who he was allowed him to fast in the manner that he did. He was not afraid of taking this time to strip his body from the finest wines… no, no, no. He was willing to say Yes. He was willing to go deeper; he was willing to make himself accessible to hear the heart of the Father. That has been my prayer for quite some time, I only want to do the will of the father. In order for you to do his will you need to know his heart! You need to know the vision; you need to know what you are aligning to. If you don’t you will be like the Israelites that were taken out of Egypt by Moses. In a split second the returned to their idol worship of a golden calf. They were not willing to go up to the mountain and separate themselves. 

This year my heart is aligning with the Father’s heart. There will be a lot of painful sacrifices, a lot of separation, a lifestyle of fasting not an annual thing that one does because they church does it. I want to go deeper and understand His heart and will for my life, my marriage, my children, my ministry. I believe that you have the capability to do the same. You too can fast and make it a lifestyle that will only remove distractions and noises. You too will be so available to Jesus that you will keep knowing the heart of the father and knowing who you are called to be. You too will build a limitless faith in what God can do for you and through you!

Lord I only want to go deeper – Whatever the cost. The greatest prayer that we can model from Jesus, the most Dangerous one was found in

Luke 22:42 “Yet, I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Can you honestly sit in a place to say this? Are you willing to, without holding back? I have and will! It is the most rewarding thing that has ever come out of my mouth! A word of surrendered to my Lord and Savior, Jesus! 

-Lioness