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Hungry?
Part Two - Hungry for Change
March 17, 2024
21 Days of Fasting & Prayer (https://bit.ly/fandp21days)
"'We have fasted before you!' they say. 'Why aren't you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don't even notice it!' 'I will tell you why!' I respond. 'It's because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me....' No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people."
(Isaiah 58:3-4, 6 New Living Translation)
HOW DO I SHOW GOD THAT I AM HUNGRY FOR CHANGE?
- Admit your failures.
"The people of Nineveh believed God's message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow." (Jonah 3:5, NLT)
"Everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us." (Jonah 3:8–9, NLT)
"When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened." (Jonah 3:10, NLT)
- Plead for God's mercy.
"So I turned to the LORD God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed." (Daniel 9:3-4 NLT)
"We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy. 'O LORD, hear. O LORD, forgive. O LORD, listen and act!'" (Daniel 9:18–19, NLT)
Mercy means we don't get what we deserve!
"Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing.'" (Luke 23:34, NLT)
- Take your next step of obedience.
"[Saul] remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink." (Acts 9:9, NLT)
"What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16, NLT)
"Instantly something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength." (Acts 9:18–19, NLT)
"I want to be baptized on Good Friday!"
"That is why the LORD says, 'Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.'" (Joel 2:12, NLT)
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