Our church is going to start the new year with “40 Days of Prayer and Fasting.” No, I won’t be fasting from food, as I am still nursing Sarah. But Tim shared this quote with everyone at church today: “Fasting is abstaining from anything that hinders prayer.” (I can’t remember who said it.) What hinders me from prayer? I could make a long, long list, but honestly, what hinders me from prayer is distractions. The dishes that need to be washed, the toys on the floor (even worse than usual since Christmas), the laundry that piles up faster than I can run a dry cycle. The idea that “If I can just do this first…or just get that done…then I will be finished, and can do XY or Z.”
So for the first 40 days of the New Year, instead of fasting from food, I am going to “feast” on the Word of God. Here is my confession. I am an avid reader, and I love novels. But I do not read the Bible very much at all. I will be honest here. It has been weeks since I read the Bible on my own outside of a church setting. So for these 40 days, I am fasting from novels and will devote the time I normally would spend reading books, to studying God’s Word and prayer.
Also for these 40 days, I will be fasting from desserts, which is going to be very hard for me since I probably eat dessert multiple times a day. I am going to try to move my focus away from food and unto God. I also admit that I am doing this for health reasons. I may not be overweight, but I do not eat well. I suspect I’m addicted to sugar, and I want to break that…I want to feel more energy, and to model good eating habits for my kids.
I hope all of my friends and family will help me with this period of fasting by holding me accountable. If you talk to me, ask me what I read in the Bible that day!
I don’t plan on being legalistic. I am in a women’s group at our church, and we may choose to do a book study this January; therefore, I will be reading something besides strictly Scripture. My point is to take time when I normally would read (“me” time, time I usually don’t give to God), and spend it in prayer and Bible study.
I am excited about these 40 days, even if I am nervous about how I will really make it through the day without even one cookie.
