Today I want you to consider and pray for an increase of the activity and presence of God in your life. Consider and declare your need for an increase. As I said, you are doing this because you want and need more of God in your life - more healing, intimacy, miracles, breakthrough, finances, clarity, power, and gifting than ever before. There is a spiritual principal that declares if we are to see more - if we are to see an increase, a decrease is required. God moving in and filling our lives with all that is "more" requires a neccessary removal of other things. When John the Baptist was at the peak of his ministry, Jesus' public ministry was quickly becoming the talk of the land. John's disciples werer alarmed that they might lose their stats and influence, so they came to John saying,
"Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us." John 3:26John recognizing their desire to protect their corner on the market and the human tendency toward jealousy responds by letting them know that he was not the BIG DEAL. Jesus was. John was there only to prepare the way, and then get out of the way. John made the now famous statement, and the spiritual priciple that guides today's thought:
"He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30 (NKJV)The key to having more of God in our lives is the displacement of self, ego, and everything else that desires to be first. Fasting and prayer are spiritual weapons that God has given us to accomplish this monumental task of defeating the "me monster." Fasting diminishes the soul and elevates the Spirit. Fasting reveals wrong motives and deals a death blow to our appetites and temporary desires. Fasting, with prayer, is the purest and most certain path to walking in the Spirit. Fasting and prayer brings an increase of God and a decrease of self!
Paul wrote of a very real spiritual battle, not with Satan or demons, but with our flesh:
"Here’s my instruction: walk in the Spirit, and let the Spirit bring order to your life. If you do, you will never give in to your selfish and sinful cravings. For everything the flesh desires goes against the Spirit, and everything the Spirit desires goes against the flesh. There is a constant battle raging between them that prevents you from doing the good you want to do." Galatians 5:16-17 (VOICE)In the writings of John, we are commanded to, "Not love the world or anything in it" (1 John 2:15). This verse is not talking about the inhabitants of the world (humanity) or the beauty of creation (the planet), but is talking about the "kosmos," the fallen systems, priorities, and wickedness of a fallen world - a culture that exists for self and not for God. John goes on to say:
"For the world (ksomos) offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world." 1 John 2:16TAKE A MOMENT - Reflect and consider how going after what you wanted, apart from the leading of the Holy Spirit, has only led you to places you didn't want to be, ending in frustration and futility. Then meditate on those seasons of your spiritual journey when all you wanted was God's will, His nearness, and His highest call for your life. Would you agree that your "hungry days" were your best moments that led to the greatest seasons of your life? Thank God that there is more to come and our past delays and derailments in no way eliminate the possibilities of walking into all God has for us in the future. This season for prayer and fasting will set you on the path of new hunger for God. releasing new levels of success and fulfillment.
1. USE THE WEAPON OF FASTING TO DEFEAT THE ENEMY OF SELFISHNESS
King David said, "I humbled my soul with fasting." Psalm 35:13 The "soul" is the seat of our will, emotions, and passions. Through fasting, we can diminish our own desires and receive God's. We dethrone our will and discover His will. We decrease so that He will increase in us!
2. GET LOW
Literally, bow down. One of the seven Hebrew words for praise in the Old Testament is "barak" which means to kneel down and bless. Psalm 66:8 says "Praise (barak) our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard." Humility is an invitation to move into the greater things of God. It's up to us as to how often we take the "humble road" and make a greater space for God to show up in our lives. Bowing is a simple and profound way of humbling ourselves before God on a daily basis. As you go about your day today be aware of and take the opportunities, to take the low road, give someone else the credit, make it about others and think of yourself less, not less of yourself.
"Humble yourslevs (with an attitude of repentance) in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. He will lift you up, He will give you purpose." James 4:10 (AMP)3. CAPTURE YOUR THOUGHTS
This is where the war for your future is one or lost. "Our thought life is te real battle ground." Variations of this quote have been accredited to different authors, but the truth comes straight from the word of God.
"We can demolish every deceptive fantasy[a] that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One." 2 Corinthians 10:5 (TPT)
"Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny." Ralph Waldo EmersonThrough fasting and prayer, we can take captive every thought that "exalts itself against the knowledge of God"; that is, every thought that tries to sit at the highest place of our priorities and passions. Once these selfish ambitions and rogue imaginations have been identified and brought down, we can begin to dream and meditate on the thoughts that God will give us for our future. These divine or "sanctified" thoughts become the runway for the increase of God's purpose in our lives. Today, let's dream about what God wants us to do as we get ourselves out of the way and ask Him to increase our spiritual hunger, our influence and our capacity to change our world!
MEMORY VERSE - "He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30 (NKJV)
PRAYER DIRECTIVE - What's your prayer posture? Some sit, some stand, some pace, some kneel or a combination of all the above. Today I would encourage you bow low. Kneel or lay before the Lord in a posture of humiility. Let God know how much you need Him to be big in your life today. Ask God to reveal anything that exalts itself against the knowledge and authority of God in your life, and then pray this out loud, "Lord, I ask that I would decrease and that you would increase. As I bow down in your presence, I am asking that my desire to be first would be displaced and that you and you alone would be on the throne of my heart. I want people to see you, hear you, and know you through my life, so I say, 'you must increase, and I must decrease' in Jesus Name!"
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