Believers' Prayer Meeting with The Saint | R 15 W 5 D 5.

Welcome to The Upper Room. So, glad you came.

Happy Tenth Day of the Lenten Season. 

We continue with our meditations in The Book of Daniel. We are on verses 2 and 3 of Chapter 10, The Daniel Fast. It reads, 

"In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled."

Yesterday, we closed out in the middle of our discussion on "A Fasted Life" as compared with "Intermittent Fasting." We reiterated the purpose and intent of fasting and paralleled the comparison to that between the Law and Grace.

So, which is more important to God, the act of fasting or the intent and purpose of fasting? I think we get a bit of an answer from Isaiah 58, the chapter carrying the title, "The Fasting that Pleases God." It is a response to the heart cry in verse 3a. It reads,

"‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’"

Note a corroboration of what we had earlier defined fasting as, "an affliction (calming, humbling, sobering, quieting) of our soul." It is not sheer or mere abstinence, but one with the focus, purpose, and intent of addressing the soul, the inner being, in such a way that it turns and gives place to God.

Again, it is not sheer dieting, detoxing, or the like if it does not have the required effect on the soul then it is a waste, spiritually speaking. The second part of the verse, 3b, continues the discussion. It reads,

“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers."

Here we see another absurdity. The people abstained from food and possibly water, but they missed the heart of the point. No wonder in Isaiah 1 God cried out. He was tired of the form without substance. 

Jesus adds in John 4, "God is spirit." How much clearer can that be said? God is spirit? He does not take the human offering. It is not our sheer suffering that touches him. He is in Heaven. Our Father who art in Heaven, not earth. It is not the sheer suffering, but the heart behind it.

God is spirit. He is in Heaven. He is touched by our spirit, not our outward appearance. That is just what it is. An appearance, fake, fictious, lacking in substance, weight and reality. He is looking for those who are real, geniue, and come because they want to come. 

He is looking for those who love Him just as He loves them. He is looking for true seekers, who come because of Him, not what they can get from Him. He is looking for seekers of His heart, not just His hands.

Are you one?

Let's pray.

The Saint.