One Desire Fast is HMCC’s annual fast so we can start off the year hearing from God, both individually and as a church. This year’s theme is Witness.
Scroll down to download Editable PDF version and Spotify Audio version
1 Peter 2:2 – “Desire God’s pure word as newborn babies desire milk. Then you will grow in your salvation.”
The Father desires us to be personally connected to Him in the same way Jesus is connected to Him. One of the ways we get to know God and to trust Him is through knowing and understanding His Word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work”. Scripture is where His Word is made available to us. We cannot say we know God without knowing His Word through the Scripture.
Jesus showed His intimacy to the Father by demonstrating how much He is rooted in His Father’s Word – He knows the Father very well from His Word, and He trusts and lives by this Word. After Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights, He was hungry and physically vulnerable. At His weakest, the devil came and tried to tempt Jesus. However, Jesus held onto the Scripture and fought the devil by quoting it (Matthew 4:4, 7, 8). When Jesus was challenged by the Pharisees for having a meal with the tax collectors and other sinners, He was not swayed by their opinions since He knew the Father’s heart (Matthew 9:13).
Reading, meditating, understanding, and even memorizing and enjoying the Scripture are essential to grow in our relationship with God. As with any other relationship, building a connection with God requires consistency and dedication. It needs to be done daily. By being in the Word every day, we intentionally choose to meet Him, allowing His Word to penetrate and transform us daily and realign our hearts with His. Especially as we are fasting, our end goal is not solely to abstain from something but to seek God and replace whatever we are removing with God’s Word. This year, let’s make a habit of meditating on His Word by reading the Scripture, and be in awe of how much God will reveal Himself to us!
Reflection and Application
- What are your main hindrances that keep you from hearing from God and meditating on the Scripture?
- Take time to read Scripture and do SOAP (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer) today. Share your SOAP with your accountability partner.
Prayer Requests for Covenant
- A deeper spiritual hunger for God’s Word and His presence as individuals and families
- Greater dependence on the Lord and joy in Him in the midst of the busyness of life (i.e. work, investing in marriages & raising children, etc.)
- Greater burden and obedience to loving and being a witness to those around us, and unity and partnership as a Covenant ministry to reach out to more families
Please refer to below links for Editable PDF version and Spotify Audio version:
Subscribe for daily emails on this devotional here