(Day 6) Seeking God Through His Word, Prayer, and Fasting

Acts 9:1-22

God is AWARE OF YOUR PRAYERS. Every desire, every request, and all of your concerns; He knows them all. As we survey our lives, we come to different conclusions about what we perceive our needs to be. But it's our all-knowing, all-wise God that truly knows our needs. As we mature in God, our prayers change. We begin to pray for God's will to be done, and for His purpose to be realized in our lives. Prayer is a privilege where we are blessed to be able to approach God because of the earthly life and mediation ministry of Christ. We now have access to the Father because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

As we seek God during this special time of fervent prayer and fasting, and sincerely studying His Word, let's anticipate a divine interruption. God wants to break in on us, invading our norms, to reveal to us the desires of His heart. He wants to share with us things in His plan to prepare us to be an instrument and a mouthpiece for Him. This is what we see in our text in Acts 9, when God broke in on Saul who was on a mission to apprehend any who were disciples of the Lord and bring them bound to Jerusalem (Acts 9:2). Although Saul was sincere, he was sincerely wrong. The apostle Paul speaks of this time in his life when he went by the name, Saul. He writes to his son in the faith how he was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief (1 Timothy 1:13).

Little did Paul know the great calling that was on his life. All it takes is for one divine interruption from God to totally alter the course of our lives and align us with the purpose of God. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and SUDDENLY there shined round about him a light from heaven (Acts 9:3). Not only did God break in on him, He also surrounded him. The Lord wants to envelop us in His presence; and when we pursue Him through His Word, prayer, and fasting, we're posturing ourselves to be engulfed by God. When God interrupts us from continuing on a particular course, it's to give us instruction and direction. The Lord tells him, arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do (Acts 9:6).

We need the direction of the Lord more than ever in these challenging times. We need His Word to guide our families, our churches, and our individual lives. We have many things before the Lord where we need Him to order our steps, leading us into His ordained plan. There's a very important point that I want to share about this account when the Lord suddenly became a road block to halt Saul in his tracks. He was on his way to arrest God's people, but the Lord arrested him, and because of the overwhelming presence of Christ, Saul fell to the earth (verse 4). We read, And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink (Acts 9:8-9).

* THERE IS A NECESSARY BLINDNESS THAT COMES FROM GOD

Saul became blind as a result of his encounter with God. But you say, "I thought God opens blinded eyes, not causes blindness." Yes this is true; but there are special times when God has to close our eyes to what we've been seeing and perceiving, to give us divine perspective and new vision. For three days, Saul was without sight, and fasted during that time (verse 9). While all of this was happening, God was preparing His servant Ananias to go to where Saul was; and here's what God tells Ananias that Saul was doing, for, behold, he prayeth (verse 11). Don't miss that! He was seeking God through FASTING AND PRAYER!

There is a transitioning that we go through in prayer, fasting, and seeking after God where we may momentarily lose our sight, spiritually speaking, as we go from leaning to our own understanding to trusting the Lord with all our heart. God is bringing us to a place of walking by faith, not by sight. Although Saul was temporarily blind through his encounter with God, as he was fasting and praying, he saw in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him that he might receive his sight (Acts 9:12). Through his seeking of God, God showed Saul what was about to happen. God was retooling his vision to see what He reveals.

Ananias, in obedience to God went his way to the house where Saul was and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God (Acts 9:17-18, 20).

Likewise, let it be for you that as you continue to draw closer to God by spending time in His presence, He will give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened: that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power (Ephesians 2:17-18).

From the heart and hand of Pastor Reginald Reaves