This weekend I had the privilege of attending a time of prayer and fasting that was held by the Women's Ministries at our church. When I saw it was being held on my weekend off, I knew that I was meant to go. I knew that if I went I would be blessed, however I was worried about going without sleep and food for that length of time (6pm Friday to 3pm Saturday). I was also being selfish in not wanting to give up a good part of my weekend off. As I was praying about it before I went, I heard in my head "can't you even give up one weekend, willingly for me?" It brought me back to reading about Peter and John in the garden, being asked if they could stay awake and pray. As I knew I would be, I was blessed by being there. We enjoyed a great time of fellowship and prayer. We were still feeling alert when we finished on Saturday, despite the small amount of sleep we got, and none of us felt very hungry or had problems with headaches or nausea. This was obviously an answer to prayer.
It was impressed on me that I have a problem with pride. We had a form to fill out with characteristics of proud people and humble people and there were things on the pride side that surprised me and really confronted me with this issue. Pride can be seen in things like being concerned about what others will think of them, wanting to cover up mistakes and dealing with generalities instead of specifics when it comes to sins, just to name a few. We decided that pride is something that is at the root of many sins, and is the cause of many issues in our marriages. God calls us in Colossions 3:12-13 to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle patient, forgiving, loving, in unity with each other, peaceful and thankful. He also says in 1 Peter 3:4 that we should have a gentle and a quiet spirit. It is very difficult to truly be any of those things when we are harbouring pride. It's something that can sneak up on us so frequent prayer and confession is needed.
We spent time studying, praying; both individually and together and sharing. We also did a little sleeping and goofing off. We left, tired and a little hungry, but refreshed and happy.
We spent time studying, praying; both individually and together and sharing. We also did a little sleeping and goofing off. We left, tired and a little hungry, but refreshed and happy.
Wow Mari. Even though I am disciplined (mostly) with my diet and exercise, fasting and not sleeping can be a real challenge for me. Again I am blessed by your tender heart and your willingness. What a witness you are, and it sounds that it was a time of real blessing. Mari, you are a blessing indeed! I am so glad I found your blog.
ReplyDeleteKaren - Thanks for the kind comments but I only was able to do this with God's help. I was resistant to going as I wrote and my self discipline is not good on my own, so making it through without being really hungry or extremely tired was certainly an answer to prayer!
ReplyDeleteI think you explained yourself very well! Thanks for sharing and blessing us all (aka - your faithful readers)! I am sooo glad that you had such a precious time. You sharing your thoughts and what you learned is truly a precious little nugget of knowledge for me and I am sure others as well!
ReplyDeleteSweet blessings!
Renee
So true Mari! It was amazing what God showed us about ourselves through the night! Praise Him, Praise Him, give Him the Glory! I hope to write about my time soon too! I'm still processing it all! It was amazing though that we were all so O.K. by the end. God provided in so many ways!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad it went so well for you and the other women! I know I, for one, am extremely blessed by the women of our church! Thank you for being my prayer partner this year and for getting me through so many things. Just knowing you're there praying me through helps more than you could know! I trust the feeling is mutual in that you can feel my prayers daily for you! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing it all with us!
I'm so glad you went and were blessed by it. I'm sure you were a blessing to the others that were there as well. Thanks for the reminder about the sin of pride.
ReplyDeleteI also am overly concerned with what other people think. Glad it was a good experience for all.
I am glad that the Lord graced your time to Him.
ReplyDeleteBoy, that PRIDE is a tough one, eh? I struggle with that so much too.
Very good post. You have pricked a corner of my own heart this morning.
ReplyDeleteMy sister talked me into fasting earlier this year over an issue. I was surprised at how cleansed and uncluttered I felt afterward, and even stronger as a person for making it through.
I'm so glad that it went well for you. I remember reading about pride in C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity." He talks about why it is the greatest sin (although all sins are equal in God's eyes) but he explains why it is the sin that leads to all other sins, and the fact that it caused Satan's fall from Heaven, and the first sins in the garden. It's hard reading, but if you haven't read that book, it's got a lot of really interesting thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad it went well. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it went well. I know you were a little concerned about being tired. I was thinking about you.
ReplyDeletethe not sleeping part would make me grumpy ... :o?
ReplyDeletei'm so glad you were able to attend the conference - and that this experience was a blessing to you, as you willingly surrendered to the Lord!
Sounds like a wonderful experience even if the flesh fought hard against it. It's that putting down of our flesh that is a daily thing.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Mari. Thanks for sharing your heart. It was a great reminder to me to daily seek His face.
What a great way to reach so many of your faithful readers, (including me) Pride is a tough item to deal with, your post is another way of letting us know we have to trust in our Great Loving God to test us with His fire to refine us for HIM...
ReplyDeleteFasting and Prayer. cleansing and refreshing. we all need to do that.thanks for sharing your heart.your awesome Mari:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post Mari. I love the way you are able to put pen to paper ( uh, fingers to keyboard ? ) and really express yourself ! I've been to a few all night prayer meetings ( not fasting, just praying ) and they are some of the most "charged and energetic " prayer meetings I have been to. I wonder why that is ? Anyway, I'm glad you decided to go and that you were open to what God wanted you to learn.
ReplyDeleteYour concerns were my concerns for 30 hour fast for famine. But I had the same results you did 2 years in a row. God is sufficient! I couldn't make it to this past weekend because of football and soccer. I am glad to hear it went well.
ReplyDeleteSmiles!
This post was very touching. I am constantly amazed at how God finds ways to speak to me. Sometimes I will be sitting in church wondering what is going to touch me that day, and then something will speak directly to my heart!! Amazing!!
ReplyDelete