Usually when I fast, it's intentional. I set aside a period of time and deny myself the pleasure of eating, with the intent of drawing closer to God as I depend on Him in order to keep the fast. It might be a meal, or two, or three. It might be a day or two or three. Occasionally, it's been for longer periods of time. I don't enjoy fasting. It's a spiritual discipline that I would rather live without. And most of the time. I do. I feel a fast coming soon, and I am not looking forward to it. However, I do really like the results.
Last Saturday night, I fasted sleep. It wasn't intentional. And it wasn't pleasant. I have fasted sleep before, and usually for about three hours, but this time it wasn't my idea. I had fallen asleep reading and woke up and went to bed. And I was wide awake. I wanted to get up again and go read or watch t.v., but I knew if I did Paul would get up and check on me every hour or so, and his sleep would be ruined. That didn't seem fair, so I got my nook reader and brought it into bed so I would be able to read. It's one of those new tablets that holds a whole library of books in seven inches of space. And it's as thin as a magazine. It's lighted, so you don't disturb anyone else by having a reading lamp on when you can't sleep.
I recently downloaded two versions of the bible onto the nook, so I spent some time reading verses that have particular significance to me right now. Some of them are for my church, and I read and prayed them for a while. I also prayed for just about everyone I could think of and every situation that came to mind. I was tired and yet I still could not sleep. I prayed for the service I would be attending later that morning, and I finally began to feel drowsy.. It was about six a.m. before I drifted off.
I dragged myself out of bed at about 8:15; and I really didn't want to get up. But I really did want to go to church. Adam was up shortly thereafter and he was bright and cheery and full of energy. We managed to get to church just on time. And I remembered to get my flags out of the car. Adam had a vision the week before during worship, and told me he saw the church, the whole church; everyone was waving flags. And he waved his arms very dramatically to be sure I understood what he meant.( I'm not sure exactly what his vision meant; I wonder if it was the flags of their nations, or everyone's worship, or something else entirely). But I figured it was time to bring the flags in; I hadn't used them in the new church yet.
There weren't very many people there. It's President's week and people are away on vacation. I got Adam settled and got ready to worship. Some of my new favorite songs were played, and I felt such a rich presence of the Lord as I entered into the Spirit and His love. The music flowed and I used my flags and so did my daughter and one of our friends. I danced with my little grand daughter and I danced with the Lord. It was so good to be free. I've been waiting for that for the last several weeks. It was wonderful. And the church was fairly full by the end of the music.
Fasting, whether food or sleep,whether I enjoy it or not, does have its own sweet fruits. It always prepares my heart for whatever the Lord wants to do. I'm glad He kept me up when He stopped by on Saturday night. I'm sure He'll do it again.
Last Saturday night, I fasted sleep. It wasn't intentional. And it wasn't pleasant. I have fasted sleep before, and usually for about three hours, but this time it wasn't my idea. I had fallen asleep reading and woke up and went to bed. And I was wide awake. I wanted to get up again and go read or watch t.v., but I knew if I did Paul would get up and check on me every hour or so, and his sleep would be ruined. That didn't seem fair, so I got my nook reader and brought it into bed so I would be able to read. It's one of those new tablets that holds a whole library of books in seven inches of space. And it's as thin as a magazine. It's lighted, so you don't disturb anyone else by having a reading lamp on when you can't sleep.
I recently downloaded two versions of the bible onto the nook, so I spent some time reading verses that have particular significance to me right now. Some of them are for my church, and I read and prayed them for a while. I also prayed for just about everyone I could think of and every situation that came to mind. I was tired and yet I still could not sleep. I prayed for the service I would be attending later that morning, and I finally began to feel drowsy.. It was about six a.m. before I drifted off.
I dragged myself out of bed at about 8:15; and I really didn't want to get up. But I really did want to go to church. Adam was up shortly thereafter and he was bright and cheery and full of energy. We managed to get to church just on time. And I remembered to get my flags out of the car. Adam had a vision the week before during worship, and told me he saw the church, the whole church; everyone was waving flags. And he waved his arms very dramatically to be sure I understood what he meant.( I'm not sure exactly what his vision meant; I wonder if it was the flags of their nations, or everyone's worship, or something else entirely). But I figured it was time to bring the flags in; I hadn't used them in the new church yet.
There weren't very many people there. It's President's week and people are away on vacation. I got Adam settled and got ready to worship. Some of my new favorite songs were played, and I felt such a rich presence of the Lord as I entered into the Spirit and His love. The music flowed and I used my flags and so did my daughter and one of our friends. I danced with my little grand daughter and I danced with the Lord. It was so good to be free. I've been waiting for that for the last several weeks. It was wonderful. And the church was fairly full by the end of the music.
Fasting, whether food or sleep,whether I enjoy it or not, does have its own sweet fruits. It always prepares my heart for whatever the Lord wants to do. I'm glad He kept me up when He stopped by on Saturday night. I'm sure He'll do it again.
