For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. Colossians 2:12 (NLT)
I found out a week or so ago that a dear friend of mine has been really sick. He’s been struggling with the results of two strokes for a year and a half. I knew he had the strokes but I didn’t realize he was still having such difficulty. My heart hurt for him.
I called, we talked on the phone and afterward I decided to really lean into praying for him. I am more and more convinced that prayer is the key to so many things. And I recently have become more convinced that while praying for things and plans and troubles are fine, praying for people is what God really wants us to do.
So I started. Every time I thought about him I prayed. I spent time in prayer for him each morning and also in the evening. One night, I woke up in the middle of the night and I thought about him. I started praying. And I heard “Fast.” And that is where I hit a road block.
You see, I have never been able to fast from food. I have fasted from lots of other stuff like TV and social media. I’ve eliminated types of food, like sugar, but I’ve never been able to do a complete food fast. I’ve tried. When I try I get horrible migraines and become very .sick. It shuts me down.
When I heard God say “Fast” I said, “We can talk about it in the morning. You know my body can’t do that.” I went back to sleep thinking tomorrow he’d realize I can’t do this. (So funny how we try to put God in a box.)
The next morning, I asked God about it. He said “Try.” Now I want to make something clear. I knew this was God. How? Because I would never, ever on my own think that I should fast at 3 a.m. out of the blue. Heck, it doesn’t matter what time of day it is. I would never think I should fast. My experiences have been super negative.
So I said “OK. I will try tomorrow. Tomorrow would be Saturday. It was going to be a busy day.
The next morning I woke up and as I headed downstairs I could smell the coffee. It was super inviting. I went into the kitchen looking forward to getting a cup and then I remembered. I was fasting today. I stood there and debated in my heart whether I was going to listen to what I knew God said or not. I didn’t want to. I knew I was going to end up really sick. Maybe I could fast tomorrow? Then I remembered my friend and God’s invitation. I decided to try.
What happened next I believe was a miracle. I fasted for 24 hours without food. I did drink water, black coffee and herbal tea (unsweetened). No food. No migraine. No nausea. A couple times I got a tiny headache which I prayed through. I spent a lot of time praying for my friend.
I don’t know if God is going to heal my friend. I am still praying he will. But here is what I do know. Something changed in me. First, I saw his power at work. He spoke to me, encouraged me and delivered on what he said. And He controlled my body. The awe I felt and the marvel at how Great God is, I can’t adequately express.
Why am I sharing this story? Because I want to encourage you to step out in faith and do what God is asking you to do. We need to “try” it when he tells us to do things we think we can’t do. We need to trust him. I believe God speaks to each and every one of us. We don’t hear him because we think he doesn’t and when we do hear him we doubt ourselves (and him). It’s that putting him in a box thing.
God does not fit in any box. What if seeing miracles requires us to step out of our comfort zone? How many of us will miss them? Following God’s leading is a life changing experience. I want to spend my life in awe. Don’t you? How is God asking you to step out in faith today? What are you going to do about it?