Day 1 Devotional: Fasting to Hear and Be Heard

Day 1: Fasting to Hear and Be Heard

Then he said to me, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. (Daniel 10:12)

Be encouraged that wherever you are and whatever you are looking for, God hears you. From the first day you set your heart towards Him, you can walk with confident expectation that He is watching over you, He has fresh insight for you, and He loves simply to BE with you!

As we kick off this 21-day devotional, take a moment to inventory of your hopes, requests, and desires for these next three weeks.

You can also be confident that although you probably won’t end up where you currently think you will on day twenty-one, God has some great surprises in store for you.

Every step we take to pursue God, know Him more intimately, and be obedient to Him will transform us, and in this transformation we care less about what we want and more about what He wants. Our aim can be the same as Daniel’s: to set our heart on understanding.

Not on demanding, but on understanding.

Being confident that God hears us is foundational for a vibrant prayer life. You may feel stuck and disappointed because you’ve repeated the same prayers for years, but they seem to be hitting the ceiling.

It’s easy to get frustrated when it feels like nothing is changing. We can assume prayer doesn’t work and give up altogether. But maybe we’re stalled because we haven’t “turned our listening ears on” as we say to young children.

Sometimes we are like the little one who is going to a restaurant with our mind made up to order a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with French fries. We don’t want to look at the menu and we don’t want to hear about the specials because we’ve already decided what’s best for us and how we want it delivered.

What if there is something even better for you than what you think you want? We can be confident that God hears us and that we will hear from Him . . . but maybe it won't be in the way we expect!

Relationships involve two parties, so in our relationship with the Lord we can’t always be the one talking, we also need to stop and listen to what God is saying to us.

Over the next three weeks, we will be exploring the book of Daniel and what fasting empowers us to do and to become.

Each day will focus on a chapter from the book of Daniel and end with a “Your Journey” section with a prayer/journal prompt, a song you may choose to listen to in your worship time, and Bible verses to meditate on.

You can utilize the Daniel Fast Journey book (available on Amazon) for more information about the Daniel Fast along with a 21-day meal plan and recipes. Take some time each day to read through the Bible verses, meditate on the questions, and listen for God’s direction.

Your Journey

I have been impacted by the following question from God: Who has eyes to see and ears to hear? Are your eyes and ears open? What can you do to ensure you see what He has to show you and hear what He has to tell you?

Song: Speak to Me by Kari Jobe (YouTube)

Daniel 10:12

Mark 4: 23-25

Revelation 2:7

www.danielfastjourney.com