Today we listen to The Creator’s heart and pray in accordance with His will for the nation.
I am going to talk about a subject I hope to revisit many more times in future podcasts. If we are going to storm the gates of heaven with prayers that make a difference and turn back the enemy, this is one of the most powerful weapons in our arsenal.
I was just listening to Lou Engle. His familiar raspy voice was etched with passion as he called for a forty-day fast. If you are familiar at all with Lou Engle, who is head of an amazing prayer ministry called “The Call.” It is no surprise he is inviting Gods people everywhere to join him for a forty-day fast. How that man has lived through so many forty-day fasts is beyond me! In 1999, Lou Engle asked God how he could shape a nation and Lou has been leading thousands of young people in fasting and prayer ever since.
Lou declared “ When there is no hope for a nation, no remedy, God still has a Holy prescription: Blow the trumpet in Zion, call a sacred fast.”
The fast Lou called for already began September 2nd, but I would encourage you to jump in however God may lead you. I, for instance, could not be completely food-less for forty days. I prayed and for this first week, at least, I will be forgoing bread. Sometimes I shift into a new level of sacrifice as God directs with each passing week.
Which takes me to our subject today. Fasting.
In the previous episode, I shared how God has been issuing a warning, through a number of prophetic voices, that hard times are coming to America this fall. Two people I focused on were Pastor Dana Coverstone and Liberty of Spirit Move Ministry. The links can be found in the notes for my previous podcast.
Both Pastor Dana and Liberty heard the Lord say “Brace yourself.”
How do we do that? Last time, I spoke of tying yourself to Jesus as both an immovable rock to keep you steady and a flotation devise, for when the waters get high! Jesus is kinda cool that way. Rocks don’t usually double as flotation devises, but most rocks aren’t Jesus!
Let’s look at another way to Brace ourselves from troubled times.
Fasting.
I am a big proponent of fasting. I have seen more answers to fasting than I have to verbal prayers. A fast, or denying ourselves food for a season, is in itself a prayer. It lets God know the thing we are asking is more valuable to us than our appetites and cravings. It’s a cry of hunger for our God, the only one who can truly save us.
Back in June, when I first heard Pastor Dana’s dreams I had to go outside and clear my head of the fearful images. Could this be real? I asked myself. Who is this guy? He was interrupting my peaceful life as I awaited the final lifting of Covid restrictions. Wasn’t all the Covid craziness bad enough? Now you’re telling me it’s just the beginning of sorrows??!
Yet I couldn’t shake the sense deep within me that Pastor Dana’s warnings resonated with my spirit as true.
I sat in the warm June sunshine in my backyard. There, on my little patio, surrounded by my colorful flowers, life still felt ok. Peaceful. Sunny.
“God,” I prayed. “Is this real?” I had yet to listen to Liberty’s remarkably similar message. “And if it is… can it be avoided?”
In the quiet sunlight, God spoke to my heart.
“This is a Jonah moment,” God whispered.
Jonah.
I understood right away, but nonetheless grabbed my Bible and perused the book. Jonah gave a dire warning to Nineveh. “Yet forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed!” Why would God send a prophet? Was it just to rub the evil city’s certain destruction in their face? That was Jonah’s hope. But No. A warning is just that. A warning that if you do not turn about and change your ways destruction is sure to meet you! I warn my kids all the times of things to come: “If you speed down Road A you will get a ticket for sure.”
“Keep drinking that soda pop and you’ll have a ton of cavities.” I do it because I love them. I care about their readiness for the future and want them to avoid disasters.
Would God go through all the trouble of sending a reluctant prophet that gets caught in a storm at sea and then needs a big fish to swallow him if He had no intention of relenting? No. God sends a prophet because He longs to save a people! He is calling us to repentance and prayer.
What did Nineveh do?
Fasted. A crazy fast. No food. No water. Everyone wore sackcloth. Even the goats and the cows!
What also struck me was who called this fast.
Let’s pick it up here in Jonah 3:6 “When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.”
The King.
One reason the fast of the Ninevites prevented God’s judgment is that it started at the top. This king, who surely partook, condoned, and encouraged the evil which led to God’s declaration of judgment, put aside his robes! King’s robes represent his authority and power! Yet this king stripped himself of all his pride and bowed to the God of heaven in true humility. He called the entire city to do the same.
“People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence.”
I felt God say to me that day: The extent to which those in authority will humble themselves and pray and seek my face is the extent to which these judgments will be averted from the land.
It is my prayer that our president will call for not just a day of prayer, but of repentance. And as God places each of us in authority in our communities, churches, and families, we must fast and pray that the devil’s schemes and God’s judgments are averted. Do not rely on someone else to do this for YOU. God has given you a place to stand and pray. And by “pray” I mean fast. If you mean business with God you will fast!
I wonder how long Nineveh fasted?
Because Jonah gave the message saying “Yet forty more days,” I tend to think they lay in sackcloth and ashes waiting and wondering if they would live for forty days! And at last, the fortieth day came and went. No new word from the prophet who was scowling on a hillside wishing they’d been nuked by heaven. Just the simple silence of freedom. The Ninevites slowly opened their tightly shut eyes and removed their arms from covering their heads. A collective sigh of relief was heard before a massive celebration begin!
A-hem. Except for Jonah. Who was pretty ticked off that God sent him all that way just to let those murderers go free!!
The last words in the book of Jonah are God telling the disgruntled prophet “And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left-and also many animals?” God even cares about our fur babies!
The prophets are a gift of love from a God who has no desire to harm the humans He made. He feels immeasurable depths of compassion towards us. His heart yearns to bring people close to himself. It is up to us to cast aside our robes, that are really rags, of stubborn pride. Pride often parades as excuses. Give in to Gods call and give up something that you will miss each day. Something that will show you mean business with God.
His reward is coming.
His presence will surely touch you in that place of humility.
And it is there he will reveal Himself as provider and protector.
as you fast and pray you will meet with God. He will meet with you. As he does, He will assure you He loves you and will direct your path.
My husband heard of Dana Coverstone’s dreams and decided he would wake up a half-hour early to pray and listen to God. He was entirely focussed on what steps we should take to prepare. As we prayed each morning it seemed God was simply saying “pray.” Pray for the nation. So we did.
Nothing more seems to be expected of us, as of yet. Though honestly, I have chosen to fill empty shelves in the basement with extra beans, rice, and water. Why not? Perhaps one day I’ll just donate it to a shelter. Or perhaps one day I’ll thank the Lord I had it!
“Unless the Lord watches over the city the watchmen stay awake in vain.” Psalm 127:1 So we also watch. “Watch and pray.” We are called watchmen because we are vigilant, especially in a night season. We are ready to move when God speaks.
I don’t know what misfortune or fortune will be our lot. I don’t need to know. I only need to tie myself to Jesus, then hold on tight for the ride ahead!
Let’s pray together.
