Over the next 21 days, our goal is to Pursue - to pursue Jesus through fasting and prayer. Each day we will provide a devotional guide centered on a promise that seems too good to be true. "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." This is God's promise for those who set their hearts and lives in His direction, not looking back! When we seek God with all our hearts, we not only encounter Him but we are changed by Him in the process. What a promise, especially considering that the Lord has never broken or failed to fulfill His Word!
Today we begin our days of prayer and fasting by standing on the firm foundation that we will never be disappointed in or PURSUIT of God (Isaiah 49:23). During these valuable days of pursuing God, I believe you are going to discover things you've never known; you are going to receive new revelations, you will grow in your intimacy with Jesus, and you are going to encounter the power of God like never before.
GOD INITIATES DESIRE
I believe you have chosen to set aside this time of fasting and prayer because the Spirit of God has drawn you. Let me be clear that it is the Lord who initiates our PURSUIT by drawing us first to Him and then giving us the desire to respond. Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father draws them" (John 6:44). First He draws, then He initiates desire, and by His grace, we respond.
Today - take a moment - and thank God for drawing you to this place, this season of pursuing Him. Ask that He would increase His "draw" of you over the next 21 days; that there would be a deep longing to please and accomplish His will in your life. Just as Elisha asked for a double portion, be so bold as to ask for twice the hunger and thirst for His presence. According to Philipians 2:13, ask and believe that the Lord will create in you a deep and sustained longing to know and do His will.
"[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight." Philippians 2:13 (AMP)
SEEK & FIND
Jeremiah tells us that we will seek & find HIM when we seek HIM with all of our heart. Two key words: SEEK and FIND.
To SEEK is to search for and not stop, to continue a quest until the object of our seeking has been obtained, and to create a well-worn path to the person or object we are in search of." We are embarking on a "with all your heart" journey. My prayer during these 21 days is that you would develop a spirit of seeking. That it would become such a part of who you are, that you will never again be satisfied with a lackluster approach to God or a casual prayer life.
To FIND is to be encountered, lighted upon, discovered. To run right into, gain possession of and find sufficient. God promises that when we create a well-worn path to His presence, asking and seeking, we will, inevitably and most certainly find Him.
Is there anything greater than finding God? When we encounter Him, we discover new insights; receive answers, healing, and direction; are filled with passion and joy. THIS is the very essence and fullness of who God is! There is nothing we need more in this life than to find and know God. This is the quest you have embarked upon and the PURSUIT you have started today.
The nature of faith is persistence and the language of faith is asking and continuing to ask "until."
STAY THE COURSE
There are going to be moments, hours, even entire days during this time that you will question whether you are making headway, when you haven't received the download from heaven that you were expecting, and truthfully you won't feel emotionally pumped up about what you've committed yourself to. At times like this remember you are a man or woman of faith - who does not walk by feeling but by faith - we are not moved by what we feel but by what we believe (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Prepare your mind and heart to ask and keep asking, seek, and keep seeking, knock, and keep knocking. The moment you position yourself with this kind of resolve, you qualify to be one who will receive answers, discovering the deeper things of God, and moving through open doors!
MEMORY VERSE for DAY 1: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you." Jeremiah 29:13
PRAYER DIRECTIVE for DAY 1: Start out your prayer time by asking God to give you a new resilience and determination to "seek Him until." Pray Matthew 7:7 and Jeremiah 29:13 out loud. Declare that you are stepping into a new season of whole-hearted PURSUIT and you don't plan to back up or back off! Pray for a fuller revelation of His amazing promises and that a greater faith for this time of PURSUIT would fill your heart and mind like never before.
Adapted from "Pursuit" by Dave Patterson, 2019, The Father's House.
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