Today, we catch up to day 15 and conclude our time on the practice of fasting.

(You can catch up on Day 1, Day 2 , Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, and Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12 if you missed them)

“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the LORD Almighty. Zechariah 4:6

This week has been a doozy for us, and I’m catching us up today. I lost a couple of days of our challenge to injuries, website problems, and stranded getting a car fixed between two countries. We’ll have to consider today’s posts 13, 14, and 15.  I’m asking the Lord to make up for it in your lives and bring us all along in the challenge.

How about you? How have the last two weeks been for you?

Interference

In each 40-Day Challenge, we know that interference increases, and we focus in prayer for the warfare that comes from growing in Christ. Each year, we need prayer for our outreaches, our volunteers, and the people we serve, our family, the website, technology, and each of you doing the challenge with us.

But this year, I’ve had an increased burden for all of you and the warfare you’ll face. I know what transformation comes during these times of focused prayer and the interference that comes with it for each of you. We have many people who are new to Christ and many who are new to practicing the Ways of Jesus, and I feel that burden in prayer. But I went into this challenge naively more focused on the interference you would face than we would.

I’ve been doing this a long time, and in ministry, we face consistent interference, so my primary focus has been on all of you and the increased interference you will face in this. My failing in this was thinking too small with Jesus. And some spiritual pride, thinking I didn’t need as much prayer as I do. But it never was an either/or. It should have been a both/and focus! Focusing on you doesn’t mean I can’t ask for prayer for us as well. The power of Jesus isn’t limited! We don’t have to choose. And, praise God, because of His grace, we can always adjust at any moment. And so today, I’m asking for your prayers.

During our challenge last year, I got a concussion, and we had such heavy rains that the roads flooded, and we were stuck on our dirt road hill with no power, internet, cell signal, or running water. We were stranded with no way of communicating, no way of updating you all on the challenge, and no way of reaching our outreaches here or in India. Praise God, we moved last year, into the community we serve, and while the power, internet, and cell signal are still unreliable, we can’t get stranded up a dirt hill anymore! This year seemed less of an issue just by comparison.

But with our Challenge this year, we’ve had consistent injuries/issues. I injured both knees (one scraped up badly, and the other swelled up like a baseball) when I fell hard onto rocks. My 85 lb dog pulled the lead when she saw a strange man across the street while on a walk. (She is the sheriff of the neighborhood, and he was suspicious.)

Aidan has been volunteering with our crew, building and repairing homes. He injured his knee and then his back in the first week. This week, he hit his head hard on a metal support while loading the work truck, and split his thumb open while hammering the metal flashing on Dinora’s roof. He began volunteering while we built the house for Arelis, but he reminded me the other day that every injury has been since we started this challenge. During this, we also realized his passport expired (!), and because he was a minor when we renewed it last it has to be renewed in person. Our car broke down in San Diego while we were on the way to his passport appointment. I thank God that none of these are extreme, and in each one, there has been grace and provision.

At a different time, on their own, none of these would really stand out—injuries, issues, and inconveniences happen. But looking back, we can see a pattern and a consistent need for protection and guidance. And I can see we need more prayer, not less. We consistently need the Lord’s input to interpret what happens and what needs to be done.

How about with you? Can you see things you might have brushed off that you need prayer for?

Back to fasting

And now, we wrap up our time on the practice of fasting. Fasting is a powerful practice in the life of a believer. If you’ve experienced increased interference this week, don’t let that discourage you from fasting. Let it encourage you to make sure to follow through. There is blessing and growth on the other side.

Because Jesus gave instructions for when we fast, not if (Matthew 6:16-18), we know we are to live a life of fasting. We fast on the physical to feast on the spiritual. Not to earn any points with God. We do not earn our righteousness. But life in apprenticeship to Jesus takes effort. Not earning, but effort. We follow our Rabbi, doing what we see Him doing.

Reflection for prayer and/or journaling:

Looking back over the last couple of weeks, are there things that you might have brushed off that you now see you could use prayer for? Have you and your family/community had any consistent or persistent things that, on their own, might not cause you to seek prayer? Let us join you in prayer for them. We aren’t even halfway through this challenge yet. There is so much more the Lord has for you in this time! What a gift to be able to continue together, to adjust when we need to, and to lift each other up in prayer.

Action steps:

Many of us live a life of fasting, choosing a day weekly or monthly, to fast and pray for specific things. Some instead fast in response to difficult events and circumstances, and in gratitude for blessings and prayers answered.

For the rest of our challenge, I encourage you to choose specific days and specific times to continue fasting.

Some ideas:

• For those who are new to this, you might choose a meal each week to skip and spend with the Lord.
• Choose one day each week to fast until the end of this Challenge on Easter Sunday.
• Choose something in your life to give up each day of the challenge (excluding Sundays,or the Sabbath day you choose, where we feast). Something that you need freedom from, that you feel has too much a hold on your attention or focus, and place that focus on the Lord instead. Some fast stimulants like coffee or sodas, or sugar, or activities like social media or shopping. Some fast complaining or saying things they know are opposed to the Lord’s will for them. Anything that has more of a hold on you than it should is a good option.

Prayer for all of us and GTF:

I like to word the prayers in ways we can all pray together, which feels awkward when I include prayers for myself, so as you pray each day, please pray for my family and myself, for protection, guidance and wisdom. ♥

Father, thank you for this group and for this time together with you. Lord, we ask for your protection and provision for each person in this challenge, all the volunteers and workers with GTF, and all who we serve. We ask you to protect Aidan and each man in the crew as they build a home for Dinora. Keep them safe on the job site and in their lives. We pray for the marriages and families of all in this challenge and all the volunteers and workers with GTF. Give them a spirit of grace and forgiveness and unity. Strengthen each person, blessing them abundantly in their chosen fasts, guiding them to what you have for them in this practice. Bind the work of the enemy in each life, each family and all areas of this ministry. We pray for you to prepare our hearts for all you have for us in this time with you. In the name of Jesus, we pray together, amen.

♥ Samantha