2022 Fast - January 10-30
Embracing the Word of God
The Person, The Voice, The Power
January 10—Read Psalm 33
As we begin this 21 day fast, ask the Lord to open your heart and mind to new revelation and understanding of His Word. You might want to journal your discoveries as the Lord meets you in this “set apart” time. He longs to reveal more about Himself to His children and to draw us in close, sharing His thoughts and ways with us. He’s a good Father, Who is eternally invested in seeing that His children become all that He has created us to be.
What does this Psalm of David say about the word of the Lord? What does this passage reveal about this God Who speaks so mightily that all of creation is under His command, and yet pays such attention to each individual He has created? What are the implications of this for your life?
January 11—Read John 1:1-18 and Revelation 19:11-16
We see in these passages that the Word of God is a person; God Himself—the One Who was, the One Who is, and the One Who is to come.
Write down the things that the Lord reveals about Himself as The Word in these passages of Scripture penned by the apostle John as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. What is revealed about His past? What is stated about Who He is now? What is said about how He will reveal Himself in the future?
January 12—Read Genesis 1:1-3; Luke 1:26-37; and John 14:6-26
In these passages of Scripture, we see how the Word of God is inseparable from the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—it originates and emanates from them.
What do these passages show us about the role of the Holy Spirit in the release and fulfillment of the Word of God? (As you identify His role, consider, also, the Amplified Bible’s translation of Luke 1:37—“For with God nothing is ever impossible and no Word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.”)
January 13—Read Genesis 15 and James 1:17-2:26
God has been a communicator from the beginning—calling the creation into existence, conversing with Adam and Eve in the garden; instructing Noah to build an ark so that he and his family might be saved in the midst of the judgment of the flood. Throughout the book of Genesis we read the stories of God pursuing people to establish relationship with them. He sent messages by angelic visitations. He spoke through dreams and visions, signs in the heavens, and by His audible voice.
When God found one man, Abram, who would walk and talk with Him, and respond to Him in faith and love, He gave him a new name, Abraham, and established an eternal covenant with him and his descendants. This covenant plan of God was to make Himself known not only to Abraham’s offspring, but to the nations of the earth; and it has been unfolding throughout history. Abraham, even though an imperfect man, responded to God with his whole heart and demonstrated such faith and trust in God and His Word, that God called him a friend.
The message is clear from the beginning of the Bible to the end. The Lord is looking for those who will enter into a relationship of love and trust with Him, listening to what He says, and responding obediently to His Word with faith-filled agreement and action.
Review your relationship with the Lord, His voice and His Word. Are you a doer of the Word? Does your life display your love and trust in Him and what He says? Does the Lord call you His friend, as He did Abraham?
January 14--Read Deuteronomy 5 and Romans 15:4
Four hundred years after God makes His covenant with Abraham, just as He promised, He delivers Abraham’s descendants, the twelve tribes of Israel, from bondage in Egypt. To accomplish this, the Lord raises up a man to work with Him: Moses, of the tribe of Levi, who the Lord spoke to” face to face as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11).
Moses, who, as a baby, was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and schooled in the palace of Egypt, is selected by God to not only lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, but, also, to be His scribe to pen the first five books of the Bible (known as the Torah or the Law). He is the one chosen to document and preserve, through his writings, the beginning account of the things God has done, and the words He has spoken to establish His Kingdom in the earth with the humans He created.
These words, actions, and instructions of God are written down to be preserved for all time. Jesus said, “…until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18). These books of the Law reveal the order of His creation (laws and function); His ways (precepts); and God’s character, heart and thoughts. They are the foundational words of Scripture upon which the entire Bible rests.
Ponder the lovingkindness of our Creator God Who comes to us and starts to make a way for us to draw near to Him so that we can get to know Him, His ways, His thoughts and the workings of creation. What motives of God are revealed at the end of Deuteronomy 5 that show His heart toward us and His plan for us?
January 15--Read Deuteronomy 6; and read (again) John 14:15-26
As the Lord reveals His desire for a relationship of love with us, He stresses the place of importance that His Word should have in our lives. His Word is to guide and direct all of our thoughts, and all that we do or say. The Lord connects obedience to His Word with the measure of our love for Him. Yet, knowing our weaknesses, He has provided a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to empower us to obey, and forgiveness for our failings when we humble ourselves and ask.
Examine the content of your life and thoughts. Does your love relationship with the Lord and His Word have 1st place in your life? Are your thoughts and actions (home, family, school, work, finances, ministry, habits, entertainment, social interactions) governed by His commandments and desires? What does your answer to those questions say about your love for Him?
January 16—Read Deuteronomy 7; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 6:10-20; and II Corinthians 10:3-6
Just as in the days of old that are recounted in the books of the Old Testament, those, today, who choose to the love the Lord with all their heart, soul and mind will find that they are given access, by God and heaven, to take ground here in the earth for the Kingdom of God. The Word of God is an essential part of making this possible and bringing us into the overcoming victory and success God has planned for us.
What is the Lord bringing to your attention from the above passages of Scripture that will strengthen and help you secure the promises and territory that God has planned for you?
January 17--Read Deuteronomy 8; Luke 4:1-14; and Deuteronomy 29:29
Knowing and believing the Word of God is a requirement for those who are partnering with Jesus to bring God’s rule into the earth and to complete the assignments given to them by the Father. Jesus is our example of this.
Jesus wasn’t thrown off course when the testing and trial came to him in the wilderness. He had read and received the truths of Deuteronomy 8 in his heart. So, when the evil one tried to trip him up with deception, Jesus could defeat him by answering powerfully and effectively with the Word.
Are you facing trials and testing at this time? Ask the Holy Spirit for the passage of Scripture that will strengthen you in your situation. Ask Him, also, for the Word you need to use as a weapon to overcome and break through the enemy’s schemes against you. Speak that Word out loudly, with authority and faith, as Jesus did, wielding the sword of the Lord to push back the darkness!
January 18--Read Deuteronomy 30 and Luke 6:46-49
The words of Jesus warn us that our choices have consequences. That warning is clear in Deuteronomy 30, as well. Over and over throughout His Word, God expresses His desire to bless, protect and prosper us. He goes to all lengths to help us find the right path to His abundant and fruitful life. Ultimately, however, our response to His offer of a relationship of love with Him, and our willingness to do what He says, will set the course of our life and determine what our life will produce.
Ask the Lord if there is any adjustment needed in your life in order to position you for His intended blessing, goodness and purpose. As we set our eyes on the future, are there any places in our daily lives that leave us vulnerable to the curses of the enemy? Jesus reassures us that He will help us with these things if we will come to Him and hear His sayings and do them. Deuteronomy 30:14 encourages us to know that “the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.”
January 19—Read Jeremiah 1:4-12; Proverbs 18:21; and Matthew 12:35-37
God has made us in His image and one of the characteristics of God which we have been given is a voice that has the power to create by the words that we speak. The words we speak are powerful—for good or for evil. This is why Jesus said that we will give an account for every idle word we speak.
God desires that we, His children, through our submission to Him, would use the authority He has conferred upon us, to speak forth His Word and His will into the earth. God tells Jeremiah that he was chosen to be a spokesperson for the Lord even before he was born. He also emphasizes in this passage of Scripture, that God, Himself, will watch over the Word He gives Jeremiah to speak, and that He will hasten its fulfillment.
There are many warnings in Scripture about the words we speak. Ask God to show you if your words are producing life or death. Are your words bringing forth God’s will in the earth or the desires of the enemy? Ask Holy Spirit to convict you of words that displease Him and ask Him to give you the words that He wants you to speak.
January 20—Read Isaiah 55; Psalm 19; and Mark 11:22-24
What we say in whatever circumstances we are in has great importance. Our words will produce what we say and believe. God, therefore, asks us to meditate on His Word, and then, to declare His Word as He gives it to us. We are to speak it with the authority He has given us, and we are to speak it with faith, putting our trust in Him to bring it to pass. (One important note as we do this is to watch our words carefully so that we don’t negate what we have just declared by speaking doubt and by speaking the problem rather than God’s answer and promise). Every word matters!
What seed of the Word of God do you need to plant in your life and circumstances today? Speak it out loud and thank God for watching over His Word to perform it. Ask the Lord if there is an action of faith that you need to take that will set the Word in motion. Now envision the fulfillment of that Word in your mind. Thank the Lord again for His faithfulness to fulfill His promises to you.
January 21—Read Psalm 1; Psalm 107:20-22; John 15:1-8; and Philippians 2:1-16
The victorious and fruitful life is found as we abide in God’s love and in His Word. As the Word is engrafted into our hearts (James 1:21) through our meditation and agreement, it brings perfect alignment with Jesus and the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is a daily transformative work that brings wholeness, productivity, strength, light, and the very life of God into our lives. The Word of God is a flowing stream of nourishment, cleansing, and healing for our spirits, souls and bodies. In John 6:63, Jesus said, “…The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how powerful the Word of God is as it works within us to transform us into the likeness of Christ. Ask Him for the grace you need to surrender and cooperate with this work of God within you. What specific Scriptures is He asking you to embrace and apply to your life?
January 22—Read Psalm 119:1-32; Proverbs 30:5; and Matthew 5:1-12
As we move into the changes and challenges in the days ahead, there is a settled place of quietness, security, and rest that we have access to in God through His Word as the Holy Spirit directs us to His promises, instructions and reassurances.
Listen for the voice of the Lord specifically speaking to you and your life circumstances as we read through Psalm 119 and the Sermon on the Mount over the next few days. Be sure to journal His personal messages to you and let the power of His Word work within to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
January 23—Read Psalm 119:33-64 and Matthew 5:13-37
January 24—Read Psalm 119:65-96 and Matthew 5:38-48
January 25—Read Psalm 119:97-128 and Matthew 6:1-18
January 26—Read Psalm 119:129-152 and Matthew 6:19-34
January 27—Read Psalm 119:153-176 and Matthew 7:1-29
January 28—Read Isaiah 40; Matthew 12:25-30; Matthew 18:18-20
The power of the Word of God is unmatched—both in the way its transforming power works within us, and how it works when it is released by faith from our mouths --affecting the world and the heavens around us. One authoritative command from the mouth of a son or daughter of God, and the enemy is bound or cast down, and angels are loosed to fulfill of the Word of the Lord. The Lord backs up His promises and His Word with fulfillment and power!
Meditate on the greatness of our God as described by Isaiah. He is the One Who sits enthroned above the circle of the earth and sees the nations as a drop in a bucket! This is the God we are in covenant with! It is His Word that defends us, backed by all the forces of heaven. The challenges before us are no match for His wisdom, might and power.
January 29—Read Psalm 91; Luke 10:19; I Peter 1:13-25
As we move with the Lord to bring in the harvest of our region and to extend His Kingdom throughout the earth, we do not have to fear the resistance or threats of the evil one. God’s sheltering protection and His mighty right arm of power are with us in the midst of the battle. We are NOT alone!
Jesus has already secured the victory over the kingdom of darkness at the cross. It’s our assignment now, to move in agreement with the promises and the power of His Word to enforce that victory everywhere we go.
What assignment has He given you? What words of promise has He spoken?
January 30—Read Psalm 24; Isaiah 66:1-2; Ephesians 1:3-12, 2:4-10; II Peter 1: 2-4; II Corinthians 2:14
As we build our lives in a new way in these changing times, it is essential to be led by the Word of God as revealed by the Holy Spirit. Our highest call is to make a place in our heart where the Lord can find rest. From that strong place of love, communion and obedience, we will be empowered to confidently rule and reign with Him.
Spend some time praising and thanking the Lord for such a high calling, for His amazing love, and for all that He has provided (and will provide) to cause us to triumph in Christ Jesus!