Fasting and Prayer
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Contents |
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1. Introduction |
Introduction
Qinael: Our most holy and loving Father,
We thank you for this opportunity to gather together, particularly in
these last days when such gatherings are all the more difficult. Thank you for this time of cleansing and
renewal among your people. We ask that
your Spirit be with each one in attendance, to impress upon us the importance
of the message for these last times. In the name of Yahshua we pray, amen.
Barb: Amen.
Happy Rock: Amen.
Abraham: Amen.
Peterson: Amen.
Naraiel: Amen.
Crystle: Amen.
Daphna: Amen.
Zahakiel: The topic of this month’s study is pretty fitting, considering the recent injunction that has come against the Church. With our inability to comply with the courts’ instructions due to our religious convictions, we have really come to the point now where our safety, our protection, is entirely in the hands of our Heavenly Father.
In light of the expiration of this country’s patience with our stand for Protestant principles on June 17th of this year, I invited our members and those studying with us to join me in fasting and prayer. This is something that is mentioned fairly often in the Scriptures, but not a whole lot in modern religious practice, therefore I was not entirely surprised when some asked me how exactly to go about it, and another asked what benefits this procedure is intended to provide.
I thought, to be honest, that I had already given a study on this topic, but searching the articles and New Moon transcripts, I can’t seem to find it. My suspicion is that I gave a New Moon teaching on it fairly early in the Internet ministry, and therefore there isn’t a transcript on record. I think it is time to rectify that situation.
I would also like to start with a word on what “true persecution” really is, because there seems to be some diversity of thinking on that matter. So let me begin with that.
True Persecution
Zahakiel: I’ve heard it said several times by our people, and in fact I’ve caught myself saying as well, “When the persecution begins...” But on reflection, it seems to me that if we persist in the mindset that the persecution is a future thing, we are not going to be of as much use as we could right now. There are two factors I’d like to consider here: first, is the way that the conditional nature of the last-day prophecies are being fulfilled, and second, what exactly it is that “persecution” looks like, and to whom it is directed.
Satan has had a lot of experience with the Scriptures. He’s been studying it, in a manner of speaking, much longer than anyone has been alive on this earth. He quotes it, he has memorized it, he understands many complex teachings of it, and this includes the prophecies. He knew when to expect the Messiah more certainly than the Jewish people who were intended to await His arrival. He knew when the Great Awakening would occur, indicating to the people living on this earth that the time of judgment had come. He knows the prophecies in John’s Revelation, both those that have already come to pass, and those that are yet to be made manifest.
Further, there are two apparently contradictory elements to the demons’ mindset. We read in one place, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1Pet 5:8) And then in another we read, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2Cor 11:3) While this may seem like two irreconcilable patterns of thought, they really aren’t, for one passage is speaking about what Satan is doing in terms of his zeal and its results, and the second is the means by which he is attempting to accomplish his ends. In terms of his fury, and desire to destroy all traces of the divine nature in humanity, this is best represented by the “roaring lion.” But then if this were the outward appearance, few would be fooled. It is by subtlety that the fallen one and his followers pursue the souls of the earth, and it is through this means that he seeks to deceive the unwary regarding the fulfillment of prophecy.
We know from various studies that practically all prophecies are conditional. Some, such as Daniel’s “cleansing of the sanctuary” that actually give a definite time of fulfillment, are the exception; for the most part the prophetic statements recording during and after the Biblical record are subject to the conditions of the people that prophecy is intended to affect. For example, Israel is promised protection, and that the Temple of Yahweh should stand forever. Yet, because the people came short of their covenant with the Almighty, the effects of that covenant were fulfilled in a manner they did not expect. The promises made to the descendants of Abraham now passed on to those who accepted the Messiah, for “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:29) The predictions of safety from invading enemies given to Jerusalem in Ezekiel 37 and 38 are now to be fulfilled to New Jerusalem that comes down from Heaven. (Rev 20:7-9) There is a pattern here that we haven’t often commented on before.
The same holds true regarding Ellen White’s predictions to the Adventist people that a National Sunday Law would arise, and would separate the true followers of Christ from the false ones. Yet due to the fall of the nominal Adventist Church into apostasy (an eventuality Mrs. White did not see, just as Daniel did not see the fall of Judaism – Dan 12:8, 9) the prophecy also must be changed according to the principle, “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.” (Heb 7:12) If the connection there is not immediately obvious, remember that the priests of the Old Testament were the officiators of the Ceremonial Law recorded by Moses. (Deu 31:9) Clearly, they were not officiators of the 10 Commandments; these were a moral obligation for all believers; they did not require an officiating body, or the sacrifices under discussion in this passage. But now, when the ones to whom the Law was “delivered” are no longer able to accomplish their purpose, this necessitates an alteration in how things are to be performed.
In the matter Hebrews 7 is dealing with, Yahshua offered the final Sacrifice, and took the Priesthood unto Himself, therefore the laws pertaining to sacrifices, offerings, and so on, became a spiritual rather than physical ordinance. As I pointed out a few studies ago, there is really no fundamental change to the principles of Yahweh’s law, even the ceremonial one. Sacrifice is still required for the expiation of sin; “almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Heb 9:22) This has not changed.
Without taking too much time on this preliminary issue, I would like to point out here (and then explain why) that in just such a manner Creation Seventh Day Adventists are receiving both the promised protection AND the promised persecution for religious freedom that would have occurred in mainstream Adventism as a result of the National Sunday Law. We have various writings tracing how this works, but what I would like to deal with is the timing of when this persecution occurs.
When there is a change in the fulfillment of prophecy, invariably the direction in which it shifts is from the material to the spiritual, and the examples I gave just now point this out. In other words, an altered prophecy never becomes more physical, more obvious in the natural world when it is fulfilled. It always becomes more subtle, more spiritual, more difficult to detect, because Satan is able (due to the new accusations he has against God’s people) exert more influence on the way these things come to pass. Exactly how that works, and why Yahweh allows it, is a matter for another study, but does everyone see from the principles here, and the examples I have given, what I mean?
Qinael: <nods.>
Naraiel: Yes.
Guerline: Yes.
Barb: Yes.
Happy Rock: Yes.
Crystle: Yes.
Daphna: Yes.
Zahakiel: So then, that is the first thing, altered prophecies become more spiritual and harder to detect when they are fulfilled. The second thing is, what exactly is it that Satan hates? What is the object of his wrath? What does this persecution actually look like, or how would it look to best suit his plans?
Recently we’ve been having some discussion about the “two witnesses” prophecy of Revelation 11. In a sense, the principles and understanding of what it means is very simple. But the details, and matching them to events as they occur, can be a tricky task. It is clear from Biblical symbolism what their being “slain” means, and what their bodies lying in the street signifies, but unfortunately, many are focused on looking for actual human corpses lying around somewhere, just like they are looking for a visible, obvious Mark of the Beast and the material fulfillments of Revelation’s prophecies. Many are looking for police officers and prison sentences, and physical hardships, before they can say, “Okay, we are in the great tribulation.”
Now, I am not saying these things will not occur; they well may; and we should be emotionally and spiritually prepared for them. In fact, we anticipate that the “tribulation” itself will be a tool in Yahweh’s hands for the final dusting-off of His saints. But at the same time, we must remember that it is the message, and not the messengers, that is the subject of Lucifer’s attacks. He couldn’t care less if any of us were alive and well somewhere, as long as we are not teaching THIS message (although one convenient way to do that IS to attack the messengers). He doesn’t care if we call ourselves CSDAs or not, ultimately – that name is given as a testimony to the world, not to the demons – as long as we are not making a stand for Protestant principles.
And with that in mind, understanding that it is a spiritual fulfillment we are expecting, and that it is the message, and not the messengers, that is the true target of the last-day attacks, what is it that can be done against this message that is not already being done? Regardless of what is done to us as individuals, or as a group, the message is already being suppressed, silenced, and, even when it is heard, rejected far more than it finds a home in willing hearts. It is later in the day than is immediately obvious.
The persecution, from Satan’s point of view, is designed to prevent the message borne by its witnesses from reaching the world. And, for a time, he appears to win a victory over it, until the Spirit of Yahweh vindicates that message before the world. But the point I am making here is that we must not await any specific event to come to the conclusion that we are in the time of trouble. This is the time of trouble, and just because we aren’t yet running for our lives and freedom, and all those images that the phrase “great tribulation” brings to mind does not mean that we are not to plan, and act, as though things are as they are in the spirit, which is to say, as they truly are.
Are there any questions or comments on this?
Qinael: No.
Happy Rock: No.
Guerline: No.
Naraiel: No.
Daphna: No.
Peterson: No.
Mourning
Zahakiel: Ok, so now on to the fasting and prayer, which should seem particularly relevant after that introductory section. What I will do is simply indicate the ways in which the Scriptures describe this as being used. The first place chronologically that the terms “fasting” and “prayer” occur together is actually fairly late in the Old Testament. We read that here: “But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.” (Psa 35:13) If you’re just reading through the Bible cover-to-cover, you’ll actually encounter it before that, in the book of Nehemiah… but the Psalms were written before the restoration of Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile.
The Psalms were written after the books of Moses, so in a sense they are not “law,” in that there’s no statute that this must ever be done. It does not mean, however, that it is not important. And one might ask, “So what is so important about demonstrating mourning?” Well, in a sense it is a testimony to onlookers, to those that know about it. We read in Ezekiel’s prophecy of the last days that the Redeemed are they that “sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst” of the Holy City. (Ezek 9:4) And I am not speaking here of making any kind of dramatic public statement, at least not by this means.
We are instructed, “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” (Mat 6:16) The statement, while pointing out the hypocrisy in the kind of public mourning performed by the Pharisees, does us the service of indicating that there are times when it is appropriate for Christian fasting, and later in the same Gospel Yahshua indicates one such occasion, times of mourning: “And Yahshua said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.” (Mat 9:15)
So what can we learn from this? There seems to be an appropriate time and place to express mourning through fasting, but this should not be held up as a banner to say, “Look, I’m mourning.” Those who sigh and cry for the abominations in Jerusalem are not doing so to draw attention to their distress, not for its own sake. They are responding with genuine sorrow to the events they see. But we have a warning that this can be taken to be a mere “work,” and so if an expression of mourning were the only reason for fasting and prayer, I think that it would hardly receive the attention it does in the Scriptures. So we must take a look at some other, perhaps more immediately practical, uses.
Are there any questions on this first use?
Qinael: No.
Happy Rock: No.
Barb: No.
Crystle: No.
Daphna: No.
Naraiel: The fasting will be more beneficial if we do it for others, more than for ourselves, because the world is not going to know that we are fasting and morning.
Zahakiel: Well, yes, and that gets into the second use we will examine.
Naraiel: I remember that we are mediators, right?
Zahakiel: Right.
Beseeching
Zahakiel: In line with that, I mentioned that although the Psalms appears to be the first appearance of fasting and prayer in terms of the Bible’s timeline, reading it from beginning to end will have you first encounter this statement from Nehemiah: “And it came to pass, when I heard [that the returning Jews were in danger, and that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down], that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.” (Neh 1:4) Sounds there like he’s doing what we were talking about just now… mourning. But the next couple of verses add something to our understanding: “And said, ‘I beseech thee, Yahweh Elohim of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love Him and observe His commandments, let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants…’” (Neh 1:5, 6a) There we see some mediating take place, as was mentioned just now.
By the way, what does the word “beseech” mean? It’s not very common in today’s English, but it has a very specific meaning that is apt for this passage.
Crystle: beseech = plead ?
Barb: To implore urgently.
Zahakiel: Yes. It means to ask with intensity, and with urgency.
Let’s find a second witness to this application. When the Hebrews were given an opportunity to return to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile, many did, and these are the ones that were afflicted as described by Nehemiah, and for their sakes he eventually went to help them rebuild the city. However, there were many who chose to remain in Babylon, and when that country was conquered by the Persians, they became subject to new rulers.
While the king of Persia was fairly lenient with the Jews under his rule, one among his ministers, a man named Haman, was very antagonistic toward them. He was an Agagite, a descendant of the Amalekites that the Jews were specifically instructed to destroy completely, lest they be a trouble to the nation later on. He hatched a plot to destroy the Jewish nation, and when Esther, who was the queen of Persia, but also a Jew, heard about this, she determined to approach the king with a request on behalf of her people, although it was actually illegal to enter his presence without being summoned.
So she, being in the palace, sends a message to her uncle, “Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.” (Est 4:16) Now Esther is an unusual book of the Bible. Besides being the only one not found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, it is also the only one that never actually mentions Yahweh. Yet despite this, the events it describes clearly took place, for the festival of Purim that was the result of her actions has persisted down to this day, and the principles it describes are very much in harmony with the other Scriptures.
Here we find both Esther and Nehemiah using fasting combined with prayer (as specifically described in the Nehemiah passage) as a means of intense prayer requests. While the Scriptures do not state in detail just how this works, we can find some evidence in verses such as this one:
“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” (Rom 8:9) And again, “But put ye on the Lord Yahshua the Messiah, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Rom 13:14) In a sense, just as what we say can influence our faith (as in, if you speak faith, you will experience it) so what we affirm or deny about our bodies can either strengthen or weaken our ties to the spiritual world. It is not a coincidence that Yahweh our Father is concerned about such seemingly “ordinary” things as our diet, and whether we are getting enough water. These things are all connected, and our Biblical understanding of the “soul” is not some merely spiritual aspect of ourselves, but the whole person.
And, as with the first use, there can be an over- or mis- use of this intended benefit. Paul warns the Colossians, “Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are to perish with the using) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.” (Col 2:20-23)
In general, if our fasting and praying as a personal exercise to become more “spiritual” is an end in itself, or if it goes to the degree that we neglect health, then we have passed beyond the bounds of what a good witness would be, and there will be no benefit. Does everyone understand this second application?
Crystle: Yes.
Qinael: <nods.>
Daphna: Yes.
Guerline: Yes.
Happy Rock: Yes.
Peterson: Yes.
Naraiel: Yes.
Barb: Yes.
Strengthening and Consecration
Zahakiel: Originally when I was first putting these notes together, I had two more benefits of fasting and prayer listed, these being strengthening the spirit, and consecration. But as I put the study together, it became clear to me that these two are really the same benefit, just displayed in different ways. I’ll give a few verses to demonstrate both effects, and then tie them together.
Let me know when you’ve finished
reading this passage: “And when they were come to the multitude, there came to
[Yahshua] a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, ‘ Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is
lunatick, and sore vexed; for ofttimes
he falleth into the fire, and oft into the
water. And I brought him to thy
disciples, and they could not cure him.’
“Then
Yahshua answered and said, ‘O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall
I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me.’ And
Yahshua rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured
from that very hour.
“Then
came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, ‘Why could not we cast him out?’
“And Yahshua said unto them, ‘Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, “Remove hence to yonder place,” and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.’” (Mat 17:14-21)
Qinael: Finished.
Barb: Finished.
Crystle: Finished.
Guerline: Yes.
Peterson: Done.
Daphna: Finished.
Guerline: Finished.
Zahakiel: As I believe I explain in the book Tehom-at, this passage is often misunderstood to mean that the one who is possessed should fast and pray in order to have the demon removed. But clearly, in cases as extreme as this where the demon actually has a large degree of control over the afflicted, they are not in sufficient command of themselves to even accomplish this. The instruction to resort to “prayer and fasting” when dealing with powerful spirits was for the disciples, that they should be cleansed from such things as the unbelief that Yahshua mentions. In this way only will they be strengthened for the necessary battle.
There are some other verses that describe the “consecration” aspect of this. For example, “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser. She was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served Yah with fastings and prayers night and day.” (Luke 2:36, 37) Perhaps not coincidentally, Anna was one of the very few who recognized Christ as the Savior when she saw Him.
In addition to consecrating one’s self, we also read this verse: “And when [Paul and Barnabas] had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to Yahweh, on whom they believed.” (Acts 14:23)
In the Old Testament, there was a special practice called the Nazarite Vow, in which an individual would dedicate themselves to Yahweh for a time. We read of the specifics here: “And Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying, ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto Yahweh, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto Yahweh, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separateth himself unto Yahweh he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his Elohim is upon his head. All the days of his separation he is holy unto Yahweh.” (Num 6:1-8)
Say when you’ve read all that.
Qinael: Finished.
Crystle: Finished.
Barb: Finished.
Happy Rock: Finished.
Peterson: Done.
Daphna: Finished.
Guerline: Done.
Zahakiel: Some individuals such as Samson and Samuel were Nazarites their entire lives, (Judges 13:5, 1Sam 1:11) as was John the Baptist. (Luke 1:13-15)
The outward trappings of this kind of dedication are no longer necessary, although Paul did perform what appears to be a similar act long after his conversion, (Acts 18:18) shaving his head as is to be done at the end of the Nazarite consecration. But it would seem, from the characteristics and intent of both, that the practice of fasting and prayer serves as a more strictly spiritual equivalent to this consecratory offering of one’s time and one’s self.
Although it is not stated explicitly in the Bible, there is an obvious caution to be stated in connection with the use of fasting and prayer for strengthening one’s self, or consecrating one’s time to Yahweh in a dedicated way for a period of time. It is not that any of these things are bad by any means, and in fact may be necessary to do in some circumstances, but what we must watch for is a “reliance” on these things. By this I mean, whenever we connect rituals, or actions, to religious beliefs, there is a temptation to focus on the acts themselves, rather than their significance.
We see this every day among Sabbath keepers who refrain from work and think there is an automatic merit to their obedience. We see this among nominal Christians that engage in prayer, Bible study, and charitable acts merely because of duty or obligation, and not because of a genuine love for, and interest in, the Gospel. If we view fasting and prayer as some kind of magical ritual designed to invoke Yahweh’s favor, we are treating Him no differently than the pagans treat their various gods.
And yet, like keeping the Sabbath, studying the Bible, and performing charitable acts, fasting and prayer does have benefit to the one who performs it. Here is where we find the balance point between faith and works. Because of our faith in Yahweh, we desire the benefits of these things to accomplish His will, and so we perform them, not to gain His favor, but because He has already accepted us, and seeks to prepare us to labor alongside Him.
Essentially, when it comes to using fasting and prayer as a means of spiritual strengthening and consecration, we must remain focused not on what we can do, but on what Yahweh wishes to do through us, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Phil 2:13)
Does everyone see this?
Happy Rock: Yes.
Naraiel: Yes.
Barb: Yes.
Crystle: Yes.
Guerline: Yes.
Peterson: Yes.
Daphna: Yes.
Conclusion
Zahakiel: So to summarize the previous three sections above as I conclude, we find from the Scriptures that fasting and prayer provides us with three benefits: it is a sign of mourning, it is a means of presenting intense requests before our Father in Heaven, and it is a means of consecrating ourselves to Yahweh, strengthening us for work that we are called to do.
But with these clearly beneficial results, the question arises, “Why is this process so little mentioned in modern Christendom? Why is it that, even when it is mentioned, the reason why, and the expected benefits, are so mysterious, at least to the laity of the churches?”
I believe I have an answer to this.
For each of the three main benefits we have studied today, w see a potential drawback. Mourning can devolve into a public display, a spectacle such as that which Yahshua rebuked in the Pharisees. Avoiding food and dedicating one’s self to prayer can be abused to the point that it becomes asceticism (the belief that by abusing and neglecting the body we by nature make ourselves closer to God). Finally, even if asceticism is avoided and the worshipper legitimately attempts to use fasting and prayer to strengthen himself or herself for a dedicated period of service, there is the temptation to focus on what the human servant is doing, rather than the One who is above the servant.
I believe that because there was such a strong potential for misuse, as in the case with the New Moons and feasts, actually, (Isa 1:13) Yahweh allowed it to be gradually de-emphasized, if not completely forgotten. Of course, if Yahweh removed every doctrine, teaching or practice that could potentially be misused, we’d probably not have a single verse left. But with New Moons and fasting with prayer, these are such potentially powerful tools for sanctification, and tools that are really only of genuine benefit to those who are already justified and being sanctified, that there seems to be little reason for Him to have left them available to those multitudes who are not, or at least not fully, converted.
But in the last days we are told there will be a “restitution of all things, which Yah hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:21) That is a small, but powerful, statement, and it goes right along with the description of the 144,000 of whom it is said they “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.” (Rev 14:4) In the last days, there are a people who walk the narrow path between extremism on both the right hand and the left. They are balanced, sensible, and sensitive to the voice of Yahweh. They can use the most powerful spiritual tools without harming themselves and others, and in so doing become a blessing to themselves and the world.
The restitution of all things through the CSDA message has involved the proper use of the feasts, a right understanding of New Moons, a return to a balanced understanding of the nature of the Godhead, the spiritual applications of the Sabbath, an emphasis on the true nature of prophecy that allows us to understand and apply the underlying principles of all the prophets’ words, and a number of other doctrines. While we are still learning many things, and there is always more light to be had, we are able to provide reasonable explanations – directly from the Scriptures – concerning every one of our teachings, and while that’s something many religious groups claim, it’s not really something they can consistently do; at some point they are going to find themselves leaning exclusively upon some tradition for a key, underlying element of a belief. And I do not at all mean here to say that all “tradition” is necessarily bad; but it should not form the foundation for any religious doctrine, if you see what I mean.
In addition to the various restitutions I am recounting, we are also able, by Yahweh’s grace, to have access to the true power that comes from dedicating one’s self to the Almighty through the life of Victory that he has given to us, and prayer with fasting is but one tool we have received from Him in connection with that life. As we go about, we show how the 144,000 apply all principles, both the great ones and seemingly insignificant ones, to their daily lives. In Heaven, to which we go, even the “ordinary days” are going to be extraordinary ones, but it is what we do here, during our “ordinary days” the small activities, the little things in which we are called to be faithful, that we reveal our readiness to be members of the society of the Redeemed.
Let us, therefore, as this people, become aware of the instruments of our Salvation that Yahweh has made available to us through the cost of His own Son’s life, and be equipped for the days ahead, and within this persecution that, as I pointed out in the beginning, has already come upon us.
Are there any questions before we close?
Qinael: No.
Crystle: No.
Barb: No.
Happy Rock: No.
Guerline: Yes. When we fast, does the length of time matter?
Zahakiel: I think the intention of the fast may have something to do with that. If you fast for a day, that is the time you are doing the mourning, consecration, or prayer request. Does that help?
Guerline: Ok.
Zahakiel: All right. I will ask pastor Chick to close our meeting with a prayer.
Pastor “Chick”: Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the body of inspired writings that we have to guide us.
Thank you for divine understandings of your Word. Thank you for the cleansing that is now
taking place in the heavenly sanctuary...
The final movements are “rapid ones.”
May we “fast and pray” during this final
conflict as your Spirit leads. Thank you for the insights of your servant
and servants. Our praises and requests
are as always in the blessed and holy name of YAHSHUA...
AMEN!
Zahakiel: Amen :)
Qinael: Amen.
Naraiel: Amen.
Happy Rock: Amen.
Peterson: Amen.
Guerline: Amen.
Daphna: Amen.
Crystle: Amen.
