Daily Office Day 1 - Fast with Purpose...to strengthen prayer

Daily Office Day 1

Fast with Purpose…to strengthen prayer  *

1 ) Silence, stillness, and centering before God (2min)

2) Scripture Reading – Ezra 8:21-23

“There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, ‘The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.’ So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.”

3) Devotional
When Ezra was about to lead a group of exiles back to Jerusalem, he proclaimed a fast in order for the people to seek the Lord earnestly for safe passage. They were to face the many dangers without military protection during their nine-hundred-mile journey. This was no ordinary matter to be brought to God in prayer.

There’s more to a biblical fast than abstaining from food, without a spiritual purpose for your fast, it’s just a weight loss fast. “Whenever men are to pray to God concerning any great matter, “ wrote John Calvin, it would be expedient to appoint fasting along with prayer.”

There’s something about fasting that sharpens the edge of our intercessions and gives passion to our supplications. So it has frequently been used by the people of God when there is special urgency about the concerns they lift before the Father.

The Bible does not teach the fasting is a kind of spiritual hunger strike that compels God to do our bidding. If we ask for something outside of God’s will, fasting does not cause him to reconsider. Fasting does not change God’s hearing so much as it changes our praying.

4) Questions to Consider

Will you consider fasting with purpose?

Are there self-centered reasons or fears you need to confess about entering into this fast?

Are there changes you need to make in your prayer life or in your prayers?

5) Prayer

LORD, help me to fast with a purpose. Fasting is not about what I cannot do or what I cannot eat. This time is about You – about who You are and what You care for. Holy Spirit continue to lead me to give up what I must in this time of fasting in order to strengthen my prayers this day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

*portions of today’s Daily Office have been taken from “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life” by Donald S. Whitney

Intro to the Daily Office

As we enter into the series of Spiritual Rhythms, we want to share a new devotional tool called the “Daily Office”.

The goal of the Daily Office, as with a “quiet time,” is to pay attention to God throughout the entire day while I am active. This is the great challenge for all of us. Both the enormous pressure of the world and our own stubborn self-wills make it easy to live most of our waking hours without any consistent awareness of God’s presence.

The word Office comes from the Latin word, opus, or “work”. For the early church, the Daily Office was always the “work of God.” Nothing was to interfere with that priority.

The Daily Office normally takes place at least twice a day, and is not so much a turning to God to gets something; it is about being with God, about communion with him.

You choose the length of time for your offices. The key, remember, is the regular remembrance of God, not the length of time. Your pausing to be with God can last anywhere from 2 minutes to 20 minutes to 45 minutes.

We will be emailing you 1 devotional each day (Monday through Friday) that you can use during your time with God.

Each devotional will have the following elements:

1. Silence, Stillness, and Centering

This is the essence of a Daily Office. We stop our activity and pause to be with the Living God. Scripture commands us: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a). We move into God’s presence and rest there; that alone is no small feat. Each Office begins and ends with 2 minutes of silence. Give yourself lots of grace here, studies suggest that the average person or group can only bear 15 seconds of silence.

2. Scripture

The important thing to remember here is “less is more.” Read slowly – aloud if possible – chewing on different words or phrases. Be attentive in your heart to what God is doing inside of you. There is no need to finish all that is provided for each Office! Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you.

3. Devotional Reading

The purpose of these devotionals is to stretch you in your Journey. These devotionals are meant to be read slowly and prayerfully. There are times the devotionals will speak powerfully to where you are. Again, remember – the purpose of the Daily Office is to commune with God, not get through all that is written!

4. Questions to Consider

Each devotion ends with a question to consider. You may find it helpful to write your answers to God down in a journal or notebook.

5. Prayer

You may want to pray the words as written or perhaps take only the direction of the written prayer and pray your own words.

So watch your inbox for your Daily Office as we all get into a new Spiritual Rhythm.

Brent