Now is the time for a check up

Hello Everyone,

I read a statement in a book that I am reading. The writer had gone to great lengths to tell of Israel’s failure to eradicate the enemy in Canaan when God had declared that all the land was theirs. He said this.

“Everything goes downhill when we accommodate-rather than eradicate-the enemy within”.

Taking time to search our hearts our actions our motives to see if there is any evil way in them.In Isaiah’s day the people were complaining that their prayer and fasting hadn’t been effective.
They were complaining in such a way as to insinuate it was God’s fault!
They were thinking passively.

"God, you should be answering our prayers. Haven’t you seen us fasting? Haven’t you seen us going without food to get answers to our prayers?
God, it’s not fair. We’re fasting - but you’re not answering!"

We need to stop and have a reality check.Yes God sees fasting. But He sees a whole lot more!
Isaiah 58:
· He sees our exploitation of others. (Verse 3)
· He sees our quarreling and strife. (Verse 4)
· He sees our injustice and oppression. (Verse 6)
· He sees it when we withhold food, clothing and shelter from the poor. (Verse 7)

God sees. What a sobering truth.

In her book, "A Closer Walk", Catherine Marshall writes: "One morning last week God gave me an assignment: for one day I was to go on a fast from criticism.
I was not to criticize anybody about anything."For the first half of the day, I simply felt a void, almost as if I had been wiped out as a person. This was especially true at lunch...I listened to the others and kept silent...In our talkative family no one seemed to notice. I noticed that my comments were not missed. The federal government, the judicial system, and the institutional church could apparently get along fine without my penetrating observations. But still I didn’t see what this fast on criticism was accomplishing - until mid-afternoon."That afternoon, a specific, positive vision for this life was dropped into my mind with God’s unmistakable hallmark on it - joy! Ideas began to flow in a way I had not experienced in years. Now it was apparent what the Lord wanted me to see. My critical nature had not corrected a single one of the countless things I found fault with. What it had done was to stifle my own creativity."

The next realization in reality prayer and fasting is this:
OUR IMPROPER ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS OFTEN STAND IN THE WAY OF GOD ANSWERING OUR PRAYERS.
All for Jesus
Phil