21 In Twenty-One Devotional
Day Twenty
Prayer Focus: Spiritual Growth
Hebrews 5:12-14
“You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”
1 Corinthians 13:11
“When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.”
1 Timothy 4:6-10
“If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.”
James 1:5
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”
Hey, Church! How’s it going? We are almost finished with a TWENTY-ONE DAY fast!!! Twenty-one days of more focused time with God. Twenty-one days of dying to self as our bellies grumble and our cravings scream at us. Twenty-one days of turning to God and what He provides instead of to our pantries and what they provide.
I’m perfectly aware that we didn’t all nail these 21 days with our amazing self-discipline. Some of us completely caved and ate the thing(s) we promised to give up. Some of us had episodes where we completely forgot our commitment! How do I know this? Well, let’s just say I can personally relate to your struggles...
The reason it’s okay to drop the ball at some point during the fast is this - the goal of our fast isn’t to show off our self-control. The goal is to grow closer to the Lord than ever before. What an honor to focus these last few days on seeking Him and loving Him and obeying Him and just being WITH HIM!
I am also totally aware there are some overachievers among us. Some of y’all NEVER gave in to temptation! Some prayed EVERY DAY! Whaaat?
But you know what? Whichever camp you belong in really doesn’t matter. In 2 days’ time, when the fast is over and we resume our usual routine, I hope our testimony is greater than having gone 3 weeks without coffee. I really hope we don’t go back to the people we were on Day 1. After 21 days with God, we shouldn’t be the same people or the same church. We shouldn’t look the same or act the same. I hope we have matured during this time of exercise and we have spiritually grown so much that others notice! Because honestly, after being with Jesus, REALLY being WITH Him, there’s no way those around us won’t see Him, too.
Prayer: Oh, God! We want to continue growing spiritually even after the fast is over. We need your nearness! We want to hunger and thirst for YOU! Make us more like You! Change us! Don’t let us go back to who we were 19 days ago! Keep working on us! We are grateful for all you are teaching us during this fast but please let the growth continue! We love you, God! Amen!
DON’T STOP THERE! Be thinking about how you will order your days after the fast is over. What action will you begin to take to make sure you continue to grow and not regress? Who can you call on for help? Will you continue to devote time to prayer? When exactly? Will you daily set aside time to be in the Word? What will that actually look like? Will you join a small group for help? Write out your plan and get to work!
Love,
Drew & Bethany Porter
“You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”
1 Corinthians 13:11
“When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.”
1 Timothy 4:6-10
“If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.”
James 1:5
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”
Hey, Church! How’s it going? We are almost finished with a TWENTY-ONE DAY fast!!! Twenty-one days of more focused time with God. Twenty-one days of dying to self as our bellies grumble and our cravings scream at us. Twenty-one days of turning to God and what He provides instead of to our pantries and what they provide.
I’m perfectly aware that we didn’t all nail these 21 days with our amazing self-discipline. Some of us completely caved and ate the thing(s) we promised to give up. Some of us had episodes where we completely forgot our commitment! How do I know this? Well, let’s just say I can personally relate to your struggles...
The reason it’s okay to drop the ball at some point during the fast is this - the goal of our fast isn’t to show off our self-control. The goal is to grow closer to the Lord than ever before. What an honor to focus these last few days on seeking Him and loving Him and obeying Him and just being WITH HIM!
I am also totally aware there are some overachievers among us. Some of y’all NEVER gave in to temptation! Some prayed EVERY DAY! Whaaat?
But you know what? Whichever camp you belong in really doesn’t matter. In 2 days’ time, when the fast is over and we resume our usual routine, I hope our testimony is greater than having gone 3 weeks without coffee. I really hope we don’t go back to the people we were on Day 1. After 21 days with God, we shouldn’t be the same people or the same church. We shouldn’t look the same or act the same. I hope we have matured during this time of exercise and we have spiritually grown so much that others notice! Because honestly, after being with Jesus, REALLY being WITH Him, there’s no way those around us won’t see Him, too.
Prayer: Oh, God! We want to continue growing spiritually even after the fast is over. We need your nearness! We want to hunger and thirst for YOU! Make us more like You! Change us! Don’t let us go back to who we were 19 days ago! Keep working on us! We are grateful for all you are teaching us during this fast but please let the growth continue! We love you, God! Amen!
DON’T STOP THERE! Be thinking about how you will order your days after the fast is over. What action will you begin to take to make sure you continue to grow and not regress? Who can you call on for help? Will you continue to devote time to prayer? When exactly? Will you daily set aside time to be in the Word? What will that actually look like? Will you join a small group for help? Write out your plan and get to work!
Love,
Drew & Bethany Porter
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