New Life Vistas

What are you hungry for? Probably not a fun question eight days into the fast, but it’s an important question for you to answer. Fasting is all about appetite. It’s not about making a list of all foods you are craving but deciding what you are most hungry for.

The writer of Hebrews says, “Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite” (Hebrews 12:16, MSG).

All of us will have battles in our lives. The question is, how will we respond in the face of these battles? In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat was confronted with a “vast army” who had the power to devastate his kingdom. He knew that he and the people needed to fast.

Have you felt distant from God? Maybe as you read this you feel as if you are in a spiritual desert. You are calling out to God, but it seems as if your cry is falling on deaf ears. You might even be thinking, “Why isn’t God responding?”

The better question is, “What is blocking the voice of God in my life that I am not hearing what He is saying?”

Things are always changing around us. We go from season to season in life – Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall – and just as the seasons change so does every other aspect of life. But even though we must accept that change is constant, it doesn’t mean it is easy.

Day 4

James River Church, in Nixa, Missouri, has a story to share with us about the power of fasted prayer.  One of James River Church’s campuses sits on a piece of property that had been owned by the same family since the Civil War. They had looked for land around the city and knew this ground was uniquely suited to meet the needs of our growing church family. The Church wasn’t the only ones who had noticed the property’s potential – major retail chains were also interested, but the family wasn’t interested in selling.