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In Daniel 10 the prophet is troubled as he contemplates God’s will for his people and the future.  So he devotes himself to prayer, employing a certain type of fast for the purpose of focusing his attention on the Lord.

 At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks.  I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips. (Daniel 10:2-3)

At the end of this three week time of prayer and fasting an angel showed up and gave him encouragement and understanding. 

Over the last couple weeks I took some time away from message prep, staff meetings, and office work to study, pray, reflect, and write.  I’m working on my doctoral dissertation which involves seeking God’s will and direction for Grace Place.  I decided to do a three week “Daniel’s Fast.”  For me it meant drinking nothing but water (which will get your attention if you are a coffee drinker like me), no meat, and no “choice food”, which I decided would mean no sweets, fried foods, rich foods… eating just simple healthy foods like fruits, nuts, vegetables, and grains.  I have found this to be a very helpful spiritual discipline to help me give serious focus to seeking the Lord and also sort of a physically cleansing experience. 

There should be nothing legalistic about fasting—like we’re trying to get God to notice us or earn his favor.  But it is a time honored, biblical, spiritual discipline that can be helpful for focusing our attention on the Lord.  And there are different types of fasts—not just abstaining completely from food, but also a Daniel type fast.

My dear friend, Richard Fredericks (pictured here with his wife Sallie), is senior pastor of Damascus Road Community Church (www.damascus.com) where I served as associate pastor before launching Grace Place.  Richard recently began an email to his congregation with some incredibly inspiring words.  I hope these paragraphs challenge you the same way they did me!  Thanks Richard.

Jesus didn’t die on the cross to make your life safe.

Jesus died on the Cross to make you dangerous for God.

Asking for God’s protection is fine.

But when was the last time you begged God to make you dangerous and bold, for Him?

Or asked that along with staying safe, your children would grow up to be dangerous difference makers and not just mediocre materialist?  God knows, the world doesn’t need more of those—folks whose only real passion is to stay affluent until they die.

Praying for your home and job are good things, but Jesus called us to pray for passion: Father, Thy will be done in me as it is in heaven—even if it leads me to a cross. I’m Yours, all in, all the time, in every way.  A disciple.

We follow the One so passionate that His last days on earth are called: The Passion.  Yet somewhere along life’s way we get so tame we probably bore our guardian angels!   We stop pursing a holy passion and settle for a paycheck.  Our greatest fear becomes the loss of our comfort instead of the loss of our God-story, and once that happens, faith is boring and not even our comforts really comfort us.  I know.  I’ve been there.  I don’t want to live there.  Being wild and free in Jesus really is a whole lot more exciting than being tame and caged by a lifestyle.

So what makes you passionate?  What makes you get angry or sad or excited?  Right now, maybe just an occasional movie or vacation!  If so, go ahead and pray this out of the box (NON-protect my lifestyle) prayer with me:

Lord Jesus, ignite in me a holy passion—a burning vision for doing Your will; and a trust that makes me obedient to you right now, today, right where I am, whatever You say.  Amen.  Go ahead, say it.  I dare you.  I double-dog dare you. (Richard Fredericks)

There was a lot of talk about this video last week after we showed it in church.  I love the imagery of all those water buffalo marching back to rescue one of their own from the lions.  I hope and pray that our church will be community that comes quickly to the aid of one in our midst who is attacked and wounded!  (This is longer than the edited version we showed).

Does God have a perfect will for your individual life?  Does he have a certain job he wants you to have, a certain spouse he has picked for you, a specific school for you to attend, a certain house or car he wants you to buy?

Or is God more interested in having you follow his moral will that is revealed in the Bible?  Does God promise to give you wisdom to make decisions and then grant you a great deal of freedom to make choices as long as you are living within his moral will?

If you’d like to grapple with these questions, along with the leaders at Grace Place, read the article, “Decision Making and the Will of God.”  This article is a transcript of spoken presentations made by Gregory Koukl.

Decision Making and the Will of God

Hey everyone, I just discovered that there is an easier way for comments to be made on this blog.  Settings have been changed so that you no longer have to create a log in and provide name and email in order to comment.  I know some have expressed frustration with trying to comment.  This should make it easier.  Your comment will come to me first via email.  So talk back!