When Abraham Preferred God to the Life of his Son (Fasting Edition #154)

Our fasting quote of encouragement today is from an Unknown Author. He said: "The combination of fasting and prayer is not a fad or a novelty approach to spiritual discipline. Fasting and prayer are not part of a human-engineered method or plan. They are not the means to manipulate a situation or to create a circumstance. Fasting and prayer are Bible-based disciplines that are appropriate for all believers of all ages throughout all centuries in all parts of the world."

Our fasting devotional today is titled "WHEN ABRAHAM PREFERRED GOD TO THE LIFE OF HIS SON" from John Piper, author of the bestselling book "A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer".

How does fasting help us keep from turning gifts into gods? Consider the almost-sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham. When Abraham had stretched out his hand to kill his son and the heir of God's promise, in Genesis 22:11-12, "the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' And he said, 'Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me'" Now here was a radical kind of fast: the sacrifice of a son. God did not call for this "fast" because Isaac was evil. On the contrary, it was because in Abraham's eyes he was so good. Indeed he seemed indispensable for the fulfillment of God's promise. Fasting is not the forfeit of evil but of good.

Now, let's take this time to break up the fallow ground in our lives. Hosea 10:12 states, "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you."