Fasting from Hallelujah…

In preparation for fasting from Hallelujah during Lent, I decided to say Hallelujah as many times as I could today, in praise of our sweet Lord. I repeated over and over again in my head at the gym, out loud in the car, while doing things around the house, almost all day. Later when I sat down to do my bible study lesson the final question asked us to write a psalm in praise of our Sweet and Holy God! It flowed quickly from me like water pouring out of a cracked and broken vessel.

I cry out an eternal Hallelujah,
From the infinite depths of my heart.
It fills the air with praise for our God,
Permeating everything until it fills the world and beyond.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!

Our Sweet, Faithful and Holy Lord always prepares the way for us, we cannot go wrong if we listen and follow!

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Luke 11:28

A call to prayer

Many are fasting for various reasons these days, especially right now in the middle of Ramadan.  As I finished reading a book on fasting, The Roots and Fruits of Fasting by Mary Ruth Swope, I ran into 5 people who told me they were fasting.

I pray when and if we fast, we let the feelings of hunger, the rumblings within act as an internal bell tolling and calling us to prayer, calling us into deeper communion with our Lord.

Joel 2:12
Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.

The Ancient Paths

Just as impurities should be removed from the original metals during the process of making an alloy to increase the strength and durability of the alloy (the new metal), our impurities should be cleansed and removed before He melts our hearts into one new heart through marriage.

If our hearts are full of impurities, then how can we ever hope for our new heart to be strong.  These impurities will cause our new heart to be brittle, weak, and easily damaged requiring constant attention and surgical repair.

Sweet Lord, we have neglected the need to seek cleansing and purification through reflection, prayer, fasting and confession before the many celebrations of our lives, but most of all before our marriages.  We have turned the time of engagement and preparation into yet another party rather a time of reflection, prayer and a time to seek You.  Please forgive us and help us seek the ancient paths, where the good way lies.

Jeremiah 6:16
Thus says the Lord:  Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.