21 Day Fast | Day 18
21 Day VICTORY Fast | Day 18
From Pastor Brian Gibbs
January 21st, 2021
Good morning, dear friends! Today is day eighteen as we have entered a very special time of consecration and humility and we open the door to a deeper, more intimate and more powerful relationship with our Father!
Bren and I are blessed that you have chosen to participate in the VICTORY FAST by setting aside 21 days to pray, fast and draw near to God. Fasting is not just an exercise for super-spiritual people. It is actually supposed to a part of every believer’s personal and private spiritual life. Personally, we have found there is no better way to reset our spiritual compass and bring about change and discipline in every area of our lives than through fasting.
We pray that you will experience the presence and power of God in an extraordinary way as you
commit yourself to Him over the next 21 days. May God continue to bless you and ignite your passion for Him as you seek Him first!
For these 21 days together, I will provide a daily biblical focus and some thoughts to encourage and strengthen you throughout the fast.
FASTING: MASTERY
DAY 18
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (NIV)
Fasting Crushes Our Flesh
Sometimes our natural circumstances can dominate our thoughts. Everyone deals with those up-in-your-face details that you can’t seem to get past. You want to flow with the Holy Spirit, operate in faith, stand on the Word — but the facts are so blaring. The truth in God’s Word has inadvertently taken the back seat.
So, how do you get God back in the driver’s seat? You have to clear away your flesh. And frankly, that’s the real work! If we let it, our flesh will hijack our spiritual life, dominate our thinking and ultimately determine our outcome… unless we stop it.
Sometimes, increasing our prayer time and doubling up on the Word of God will take care of it. But, if you need to hear divine direction from the Lord, fasting crushes our flesh and opens our spiritual ears and perception to really receive it.
Maybe you’ve been stuck in the same place, feeling like you haven’t received a manifestation of God’s promises, or perhaps you are seeking instruction from the Lord regarding a particular situation. I believe that Biblical fasting can pave the way to hear what our Heavenly Father has been saying to you all along.
Whatever the purpose, fasting isn’t just about abstaining from food—it is the act of separating
yourself exclusively unto God. It is the deliberate pushing of everything aside—subduing the flesh—and giving Him your full attention. This allows your spirit man to dominate and your spiritual ears to be wide open.
The great South African Pastor/Teacher, Andrew Murray, explains it this way, “Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.”
We see throughout the Bible places where people needed to fast to gain spiritual insight. It wasn’t that God wasn’t talking—it’s that the circumstances had become louder than His still, small voice. When Daniel fasted from luxurious foods offered to him by the king, he had heightened spiritual insight. Before Jesus embarked on His earthly ministry, He went on a 40-day fast to subdue His flesh and strengthen the power of the Holy Spirit within Him.
Today, may your mastery over the flesh become a stronghold for His Kingdom within you. May you hear the Lord’s voice clearly, and may your union with Him grow stronger and stronger.
Feast on the Lord today!
Make it a great day and be blessed!
Brian
From Pastor Brian Gibbs
January 21st, 2021
Good morning, dear friends! Today is day eighteen as we have entered a very special time of consecration and humility and we open the door to a deeper, more intimate and more powerful relationship with our Father!
Bren and I are blessed that you have chosen to participate in the VICTORY FAST by setting aside 21 days to pray, fast and draw near to God. Fasting is not just an exercise for super-spiritual people. It is actually supposed to a part of every believer’s personal and private spiritual life. Personally, we have found there is no better way to reset our spiritual compass and bring about change and discipline in every area of our lives than through fasting.
We pray that you will experience the presence and power of God in an extraordinary way as you
commit yourself to Him over the next 21 days. May God continue to bless you and ignite your passion for Him as you seek Him first!
For these 21 days together, I will provide a daily biblical focus and some thoughts to encourage and strengthen you throughout the fast.
FASTING: MASTERY
DAY 18
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (NIV)
Fasting Crushes Our Flesh
Sometimes our natural circumstances can dominate our thoughts. Everyone deals with those up-in-your-face details that you can’t seem to get past. You want to flow with the Holy Spirit, operate in faith, stand on the Word — but the facts are so blaring. The truth in God’s Word has inadvertently taken the back seat.
So, how do you get God back in the driver’s seat? You have to clear away your flesh. And frankly, that’s the real work! If we let it, our flesh will hijack our spiritual life, dominate our thinking and ultimately determine our outcome… unless we stop it.
Sometimes, increasing our prayer time and doubling up on the Word of God will take care of it. But, if you need to hear divine direction from the Lord, fasting crushes our flesh and opens our spiritual ears and perception to really receive it.
Maybe you’ve been stuck in the same place, feeling like you haven’t received a manifestation of God’s promises, or perhaps you are seeking instruction from the Lord regarding a particular situation. I believe that Biblical fasting can pave the way to hear what our Heavenly Father has been saying to you all along.
Whatever the purpose, fasting isn’t just about abstaining from food—it is the act of separating
yourself exclusively unto God. It is the deliberate pushing of everything aside—subduing the flesh—and giving Him your full attention. This allows your spirit man to dominate and your spiritual ears to be wide open.
The great South African Pastor/Teacher, Andrew Murray, explains it this way, “Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.”
We see throughout the Bible places where people needed to fast to gain spiritual insight. It wasn’t that God wasn’t talking—it’s that the circumstances had become louder than His still, small voice. When Daniel fasted from luxurious foods offered to him by the king, he had heightened spiritual insight. Before Jesus embarked on His earthly ministry, He went on a 40-day fast to subdue His flesh and strengthen the power of the Holy Spirit within Him.
Today, may your mastery over the flesh become a stronghold for His Kingdom within you. May you hear the Lord’s voice clearly, and may your union with Him grow stronger and stronger.
Feast on the Lord today!
Make it a great day and be blessed!
Brian
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