These last few months have been such an incredible journey for me! I just want to share some of the multitude of things that God has been teaching me. When God is working in our lives, I believe that He wants us to share with others the things that we are learning. This is one of the many ways that He can work to change lives. After all, isn’t that what a lot of the letters in the Bible are? People writing to others about what God has inspired in their hearts and lives?
Anyway, if you read my last post, you’ll remember that I did a deep dive into the spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting. This has opened up an entirely new facet of my spiritual walk that just wasn’t there before. Either that, or I just didn’t have my spiritual eyes opened to see what was right in front of me!
Let me share first, about what the discipline of fasting has done to change my life physically. The most obvious, of course, would be weight loss. Since February, by using a combination of Whole Thirty and intermittent fasting, I have lost 45 pounds and I am down 3 clothing sizes. I have struggled with iron deficient anemia for many years and now my iron levels are consistent with no supplements needed. I have also struggled with hypothyroidism for a long time, and I am no longer on medication for that either! I have a consistent sleep pattern and my energy is at a higher level than it’s been in a long time. I also can see that I am thinking with more clarity.

Even though my physical changes might be more noticeable to those who aren’t around me constantly, it’s the spiritual changes that I am most excited about. I mentioned in my last post that my quiet times had become more productive and meaningful. This has only increased with time.
I used to get up with my husband at 4:30 and get coffee and breakfast for him and pray with him before he left for work. I would then try to go back to sleep for an hour or two before getting up and squeezing in my quiet time before jumping into life with my kids. Now, I still get up with my husband at 4:30, but instead of being excited about jumping back in bed and sleeping for an hour or 2 more, I am excited to jump into God’s Word and to spend time in worship and prayer. By being up that early, I usually have 2 hours alone in a very quiet house before any of my kids are up.
Something else that I’ve noticed, is that I am much more sensitive to the Holy Spirit guiding me throughout the day. My decisions, my thoughts, and my actions are becoming results of His leading instead of my own. Instead of looking to find some way to be helpful, I ask God to show me how I can best serve. I turn to prayer so much quicker than I have in the past, and I have seen answers to those prayers come about time and time again. It’s becoming a normal occurrence for me to ask if I can pray with someone right then and there instead of telling them that I will and then doing it in private or not at all.
With all these changes, I feel like God has given me much more responsibility in my walk with Him. By His leading, I began a women’s prayer and fasting ministry that grew from 12 – 120 in less than 2 months! I also helped to initiate a church wide 24 hour prayer and fasting event at my church. I have been asked to share at several different events and there are new ministry opportunities being placed before me all the time.
None of these changes have ANYTHING to do with ME and EVERYTHING to do with GOD. All of these changes have come about because of obedience to His command to pray and fast. Practicing these two disciplines hand in hand opens up access to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit within us. He has always been with me, I just never understood the full potential of the gift that I was given when I trusted Christ as my Savior.
If you have never practiced the discipline of fasting, I would encourage you to do so. If there are areas of your life that you struggle with, whether they are physical or spiritual, I believe that you will find answers to these issues by fasting and praying. I’m not talking about just skipping breakfast for one or two mornings — although done with the proper heart attitude this can definitely be affective. I am talking about making a commitment to fast for an entire day or longer if God so leads.
I haven’t personally done a fast for longer than 24 hours yet, but I believe that after the New Year that is something that God might be calling me to. My desire is that through my obedience in practicing these disciplines, I will, like it says in Galatians, “keep in step with the Spirit”, and according to 1 Corinthians 2, would have “the mind of Christ”.
I can’t even begin to fathom what an extraordinary gift this is to actually have the mind of Christ, yet it is gifted to us if only we will tap into it by denying the flesh to make room for the Spirit inside of us.
Here is what the rest of that passage from 1 Corinthians says:
“These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things  of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to  be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
When we are in tune with the Spirit of God living in us, everything about our lives becomes richer and deeper. Our worship, our conversations, our thoughts, our prayers and every single action that we take begins to be “in step” with what God wants for us.
I have seen first-hand what this can be like! I have experienced that still small voice speaking to my heart giving me guidance throughout the day. I have been overwhelmed in worshipping Him, I have seen Him answer prayers in ways better than I could ever ask or imagine and I have felt his presence in my life grow stronger every day since I began this journey of fasting and prayer.
I would love to talk to anyone who is thinking about starting on this journey. If you have any questions about it or simply want someone to pray for you as you begin, I would count it a privilege to be that person.