Category Archives: Spiritual Growth
Why Fast: Part 5
‘Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world’ James 4:8.
Personal Spiritual Development: For personal spiritual development. ‘He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name’ Ps.23:3. There are things that you cannot delegate or ask people to do for you. You cannot delegate praise and worship of your God; knowing your God; intimacy with your God; and personal spiritual growth. There are levels that God has for you that you have to work out by yourself. No Pastor can know God for you or read the Bible for you; no one can grow in fasting and Read the rest of this entry
Why Fast: Part 4
‘Then I pray to you, O LORD. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life’ Psalm 142:5.
Building a Refuge: When you fast, you are building a refuge around yourself. The best time to build a refuge is when there is peace. Fasting [building a refuge] is being proactive; it is like saving for the rainy day. Fasting increases spiritual activity. ‘For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear Him’ Ps.34:7. When you engage in fasting you build a wall of protection around your life, career, family, destiny and even your future. ‘The LORD is close to all who call on Him, yes, to all who call on Him in Read the rest of this entry
Why Fast: Part 3
‘And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven’ Matt.16:19 [KJV]
Breaking Strong Holds (Contd.): The potency of this scripture [Matt.16:19] is in taking it as it is. We have the keys because we have Jesus Christ and this translates to having influence over the heavenlies. One way of exerting that influence is by fasting. There are forces that are gathered against us [Read Ps.35:1-8]; and one way of breaking their backs is by prayer and fasting. There are times in your life when you will take steps that you are sure that God has asked you to take and you attract affliction. I have had one of such encounters Read the rest of this entry
Why Fast: Part 2
‘Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls’ Matt.11:29
Fasting Releases Favour: Esther was faced with the challenge of speaking for her people before the king. She needed favour to enter the presence of the king and not be killed. And also to save the Jews who were to be wiped out. Esther took out three days to seek God, to fast and pray [Read Est.4:16-17]. She went to obtain God’s favour first in the spiritual and she obtained favour before the king. Do you need favour in any area? Do some focused thinking about your life and take it to God in fasting. God will arise and favour you in Jesus Read the rest of this entry
Why Fast: Part 1
‘Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust’ Acts 14:23
Your motive provides you with the motivation to engage spiritually. Fasting is a spiritual exercise which when embarked on with the right motives yields bountiful results. Why are you doing what you are doing? Over the next few days, we will be outlining eight reasons every Christian should engage in whole hearted fasting. Today we will examine the first two reasons. Why fast? Read the rest of this entry
Seeking God
‘So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and fasting’ Dan.9:3a
Seeking God is crucial to our love walk. It is in seeking God that we discover why we do what we do and get the understanding to live according to His purpose. Seeking God requires humility and sacrifice. Fasting is seeking God; a choice to abstain for the purpose of seeking God. The primary reason why we fast is to seek God and be still ‘in His presence where there is fullness of joy’. In other words, when you put certain things aside to make God priority and go deeper, He sorts you out. ‘That is why the LORD says, “Turn to me now, Read the rest of this entry
Our Motives
The LORD’s light penetrates the human spirit,exposing every hidden motive. Prov.20:27
‘People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives’ Prov.16:2. Motives are a very powerful emotional force capable of taking you through any commitment from start to finish. It is your motive in any endeavor that keeps you going even in the face of challenges. Your motive reveals your heart. Take marriage for instance; if your motive for getting married is so you can display your husband at social Read the rest of this entry
Chastisement
‘For the LORD disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child’ Heb.12:6
An earthly father’s love translates to favour, a multitude of gifts and occasional punishment when the child steps out of line. Punishment, because his love leads him to protect the man that boy will become. How much more our Heavenly Father who is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His acts. A number of times we are led to equate God’s love to blessings and good times alone. While all of these are expressions Read the rest of this entry
The Fire
‘Look! Nebuchadnezzar shouted. I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!’ Daniel 3:25
Fire is not without purpose especially in the Christian walk. The function of the fire varies, according to God’s purpose. It could be for refining purposes. Refining could translate to a number of things and not limited to cleansing, purifying, humbling, detoxing, and teaching. God could allow the fire in your life to accomplish any of these purposes. God reserves the right to prune the branch and His pruning tools are solely His choice. Say you have this habit Read the rest of this entry
Understanding Sovereignty
‘But even if He doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up’ Daniel 3:18
The Sovereignty of God is something Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego understood so well. God is Sovereign; He can choose not to deliver us because He is God. This is an aspect a lot of Christians do not understand about God. You have heard a lot of faith preaching that attempts to rubbish the Sovereignty of God. God is Sovereign; He can choose to fold His hands and watch. Does that change the fact that He is God? Not at all and everything He does is in Read the rest of this entry
