Good Friday to you!
Thank you for joining us here on the “Cup.” I’m Shonda Savage an inspirational writer at FGGAM.org and I’m filling in for Dewey today.
We thank God for what HE is doing and working through this ministry and we thank you, our faithful readers and supporters of the ministry for taking part of what God is doing here at FGGAM.
Today grab your cup and let’s drink in some of God’s word this day.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we need to be praying members in the body.
Yesterday, April 30, was a National Day of Repentance. If you missed, no worries, it is never too late to repent or to pray for our nation to repent. And this week leading up to the National Day of Prayer on May 7, many believers are fasting and praying. Even our friends down under in Australia are joining together in fasting and prayer for the USA.
The National Day of Prayer organization has posted this information on How to Pray for America with downloadable forms.
Our country needs prayer! If you’ve been reading the news here at FGGAM.org, you’ve seen the disturbing things that are happening. It really stirred me up when I read Pastor Dewey’s post about a baseball game without any fans. (Click here to read that post.) I can’t imagine a player being able to play without the noise. Or a umpire being able to make calls without somebody shouting, “Come on blue!” It’s just not right.
So let’s join together this week fasting and praying for our nation.
What does it mean to fast?
Biblical fasting is going without food. The Hebrew word for fast is “tsom,” which literally means “not to eat.” The Greek word for fast is “nesteia,” which means “no food.”
Fasting is a means to bring the flesh into submission to God, so He can strengthen us in mastering ourselves. It makes us stronger to stand against the temptations of the flesh. Temptations very often deal with food.
Adam and Eve fell into sin by not mastering temptation over food (See Genesis 2). The Second Adam, Jesus Christ, mastered the temptation of food by going for 40 days without and He overcame the Devil (see Luke 4).
Fasting implies that we give up something that causes our soul affliction, which is usually and primarily food, and replace it with prayer.
In our 21st century lifestyles, our souls have become accustomed to, and perhaps even addicted to, other things besides food. We may even forget to eat if we’re caught up in our gadgets.
Contemporary forms of fasting may be giving up such things as: entertainment, athletic events, reading materials other than the Bible, computer, phone calls, or social functions, for a period of time to focus on prayer.
Fasting is always accompanied with prayer. Otherwise, it’s not fasting, just affliction.
Let’s join together in setting aside our personal desires with a stronger desire to seek God for our nation this week.
God bless you! And God bless the USA!
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12).
