• 
  

  

  
  

  Scripture: 

  
  

  Psalm 10:1 and Acts 13:2-3
  Psalm 10:1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
  
  Acts 13:2 "While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

  
  

  Observation:

• As I've said before, I love that Psalms pours out the breadth and depth of the human experience to God in prayer and worship. It is a hard fact of life in faith that God's presence is not always clear or obvious to us - particularly during times of struggle and strife. When we are walking through periods of "spiritual dryness", as my favourite Christian mystic (Theresa of Avilla) refers to such times, it is encouraging to join our cries and laments for God's saving presence to break forth with those of the psalmists and generations of persons of faith.
  
  But, that is not what God is saying to me here today.
  
  Today, between the Psalm and passage from Acts (and the prayer in the Moravian Daily Texts that are the starting point for these devotions) I am hearing something like: "I am not standing far off. You are looking in the wrong places." What strikes me most clearly is the connection in Acts between worship, fasting and prayer on the one hand; and, receipt of a word from the Lord on the other.

  
  

  Application:

• Maybe, not always, but sometimes; maybe, God's silence is an invitation to dig more deeply into the disciplines of our faith. Digging deeper into discipleship invariably yields gold for those who dig patiently and consistently.
  
  I suspect this is exactly why God is coming to me with challenge instead of encouragement in today's passages. Of late I have been struggling to find a sense of direction and purpose. Today, I still don't have it. But, I have a much better idea where I will most likely find it.
  
  So, does anyone have any good practical advice about fasting for a beginner?
  

  Prayer:

  God, I hear you challenging me to take up the discipline of fasting. I trust you to guide me along the way you would have me go. I ask that you would place people in my path that can help me as I seek to do your will - in this, as in all things. Amen.