DAY ONE
Welcome to a time of Prayer and Fasting! This is an intentional time where we set aside the natural and press into the supernatural. Where we look to God for revelation, relationship, and reliance. More than ever before we need to look outside of ourselves to Jesus for answers and as our example. Why should we fast? Because Jesus did!
Read Matthew 4:1-11
This is the story of the temptation of Jesus but to understand this story better, you need to understand when this story took place. It was immediately after Jesus’ baptism and before He started his public ministry. These are the few verses immediately before the ones we have just read:
Matthew 3:16-17
16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened* and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
The very next verse says THEN Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. What I love about this is that God says to Jesus, “I love you dearly and you bring me great joy,” BEFORE he is tested, BEFORE he chooses to pray and fast, BEFORE he has done any ministry, and BEFORE he proves himself.
Fasting isn’t a way to get God to love you more; it’s a RESPONSE to God loving you so much!
That’s the first thing I want you to understand about God today. That He loves you dearly and you bring Him great joy, BEFORE you fast, BEFORE you can do anything for Him, not BECAUSE you fast or BECAUSE of what you do for Him! Take a moment to just thank Him for his unconditional love.