PSALMS 19:12-14: “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” NKJV

OBSERVATION: Today marks the beginning of a corporate time of prayer and fasting for 21 Days in the Foursquare Church. When someone talks about prayer and fasting it does not elicit the same response as when someone talks about blessings and miracles. I find myself resisting much of what is said about fasting.

Many today have made fasting out to be another way to get God to do what we want Him to do. It no longer is a time when one draws away to their secret place to seek the heart of God. It becomes something that we proclaim from the pulpit as a means of releasing the blessings of heaven into our lives.

Yet, David, had a much different viewpoint of fasting. In the Old Testament, when God’s people were called to a time of fasting and prayer it was usually in the time of immense crisis. They knew that unless God intervened they were finished. They did not seek God for a miracle breakthrough – they sought the Lord in sincere repentance crying out for mercy. 

The goal of our entire lives should be to please God. It is not to live comfortably in this life. It is not to seek blessing and provision. It is to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. It is to draw close to God in sincere repentance so that we can hear His voice. This is why David prayed this prayer.

• “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.”

When we commit to a time of fasting and prayer it should be a time of humility and repentance. It is so easy to stray from God’s will in our lives. This does not only happen because of sin in our lives, it also happens because we miss God’s still small voice in the midst of our busy lives. We can even miss God’s voice when we trying to do God’s will.

So, we need to pray – “Cleanse me from secret faults.” In other words, Lord – reveal to me the things I am not aware of that are causing me to miss hearing Your voice. When we draw apart for a time of prayer and fasting we are committing ourselves to spend more time in seeking God’s Word, His will, and His voice. We are slowing down so that we do not continue charging forward in the wrong direction. So, David continues to pray,

• “Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me.”

The hardest thing for me to do in my life is to sit still. I find it hard to relax. I want to keep busy, keep moving forward, keep doing something – anything! To fast and pray forces me to stop and be still. It acknowledges my need for repentance, my cry to hear God’s voice, and my need for change. I am not interested in getting what I want. 

I need to discover what God wants!

As I begin this time of prayer and fasting it is with focused expectations. I am not asking God to do something for me. I am seeking God for what He wants me to do. My heart’s cry is to be kept back from presumption, needless activity, and misplaced focus. Like Elijah, I need to learn that the Lord is not in the earthquake, the fire, or the whirlwind. 

God speaks through the still small voice of His Spirit – through His Word!

As I meditate upon these things I realize just how important the preceding verses about God’s Word are that David wrote. It is God’s Word alone that is able to divide between the soul and the spirit and that is able to discern between the thought and the intentions of the heart. Any time of prayer and fasting needs to be centered upon God’s Word! David writes,

• “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.” (Psa 19:7-11 NKJV)

Lord, as I begin this time of prayer and fasting, I humble myself before You. Search me and know me. Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep me from presumptuous sins. Grant me the grace to wait upon You and give me a heart to hear Your Voice. Open up Your Word and give me the wisdom from above as I seek to know the path that You have set before me.

In Jesus’ Name!