Seeking His PresenceSample

No doubt prayer is the first and most important step in the journey of seeking God’s presence, but there is another key to encountering the presence of God and going deeper in your relationship with Him, and that is fasting. Now fasting is something we don’t talk about much because we don’t like the uncomfortable thought of not eating. Fasting is about more than just not eating food for a period of time; it’s about laying down the desires of our flesh so we can emphasize and feed our spirit. We see the power of prayer and fasting together in seeking the Lord all through the book of Acts, and we see Jesus teach on the power of fasting in Matthew 9:16-18. Wine in the New Testament speaks of revelation. Jesus is teaching us that if we want to encounter fresh revelation, if we want to go deeper and experience the presence of God like never before, then fasting is what we need to do. Now you might ask, How long? What do I do? Do I take a day off work? All of these are valid questions, but the answer to these questions needs to come from the Holy Spirit, for He knows what we need and what He wants to achieve through it. We do want to challenge you to take one day and set it apart to fast and seek the presence of God. There is something powerful that happens spiritually when we make a decision not to prioritize the desires of the flesh, but to fast from them and seek the presence of God through worship and prayer. (Tip: Make sure you drink lots of water!) As we finish this devotional, we pray that you will have come to understand that you were made for the presence of God and that God wants to reveal Himself to you. And as you cultivate a lifestyle of prayer and fasting, as you seek to encounter the presence of God, that you would experience the transformational influence that His presence has on our lives. ### TODAY'S REFLECTION Fasting is about more than just not eating food for a period of time. It’s about laying down the desires of our flesh so we can emphasize and feed our spirit. Jesus teaches us that fasting prepares us for an encounter with God's presence. When prayer and fasting become regular parts of our journey with God, we develop an intimacy and relationship that allows us to experience the presence of God in our everyday lives.