Lent day 7

 A slight departure today from the journey through Daniel.

The lovely Jane Owens sent me a book today - and I started reading it and realised Id missed something in my skip through the first couple of chapters of Daniel  And it got me thinking.  And here is what I thought  ...😊

Last Sunday I was leading worship.  I was also setting up the creche room which has recently moved from being downstairs next door to 'church' , to upstairs.  This involves dragging a load of kit upstairs which takes more time than it used to.  So I told Keith we needed to leave the house early to give time for the setup and then a run through of the worship.  He was late getting up - we were late leaving. He thought Id picked up his copies of the music. I hadn't.  He'd forgotten his glasses. By the time we got to church we were super late and I was really really grumpy.  Before we had left there was a message on the prayer team watsapp saying that they needed a female to pray alongside Keith cos someone had dropped out.  I said Id do it. But by the time I got to church I was regretting that!

I flogged up and down the stairs a few times getting creche set up while Keith photocopied his music - then we had a quick run through for the sound desk and church started. Luke was preaching about Jesus being The Way The Truth and The Life.   He linked it to the miracle of Jesus walking on the water in John 6.   It was good and I started to calm down and focus and get back into the right headspace.

I was on day 5 of fasting.  Its hard to talk about fasting. a) because its a secret thing between us and God and b) because people dont really understand it.  Im pretty sure I dont understand it.  Most of you are going to think 5 days is a bit epic. But the thing is, for me it isnt really.  As I started the blog I said I might do the vegetable thing because thats what Daniel did.  But I know I would find that so much harder than just not eating at all.  So I chickened out and opted for no food but lots of coffee and tea and juice for as long as I can manage it.

I was standing in for someone on the prayer team and it was a busier than usual time.  We had already prayed for a couple of folk when a lady arrived looking very agitated. She was new - I hadnt seen her before. But she was clearly well versed in prayer and knew what she wanted /needed God to do.  She had reached a point in her life where she was just desperate - properly desperate- for God to do something real. She had lots going on in her life. She told us a tiny bit of her story and I felt my sword land in my hand.  Havent had that for a long time. So I explained that God wanted me to give her my sword (which didnt seem to faze her too much 😀)  And we started praying.  Instantly God landed on her big time. He started deep ministry in this dear lady and Keith and I basically watched and prayed as He did His thing.  It was awesome. Powerful. Wonderful.  She was profoundly touched, released, healed, freed.  And the smile on her face at the end was so beautiful.  She knew that something had profoundly changed.  I remember times of being met by God like that.  Nothing is ever the same again.

On the way home I was reflecting how funny God is.  I wasn't supposed to be praying on Sunday.  Id been super stressed most of the way through church.  I had been really cross with Keith.   And yet.....

Keith pointed out that Id been fasting.  Funny but I didn't even consider that as a factor.  But it probably was.  Jesus was quite clear with the disciples that certain prayers need the power  of fasting behind them to be effective .  Then today I got the Daniel Prayer book and started reading and saw this.

So,  at the age of probably 15 or 16 Daniel had been castrated by Nebuchadnezzar.  😔  Blimey.  He had his sexual appetite taken from him and then he sacrificed his actual appetite in order to please God.

We have already seen that Daniel and his friends were graced by God with gifts of wisdom and interpretation of dreams.  Later in the book of Daniel we are going to see that his prayers have a mighty effect on the whole nation.  Perhaps the reason he was so gifted and able to pray so effectively,  passionately and purposefully was because he had sacrificed so much.  God looks on our sacrifices and counts them as offerings of worship and devotion. Sometimes things are forcibly taken from us  inflicting wounds spiritually and physically. We can choose to be wounded or, like Daniel, we can choose to turn the theft into an offering (I hope this makes sense)   Daniel was never going to be able to have children - as huge a thing in his day as it still is today.  But he didn't seem to rage at God about it.  He just doubled down on his devotion.

As a result he changed the course of history.

Maybe if I fast more intentionally my prayers will be more effective.   And while God does say to obey is better than sacrifice, perhaps  some sacrifices are necessary in order to allow God's good gifts to flow through me.  Maybe if I start seeing things that have been taken from me as offerings to God rather than robberies to endlessly grieve, I might have a clearer channel through which He can work.    Interested to hear your thoughts.  This is properly grown-up Christianity isnt it? 😊