A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight,’ declares the LORD.” - Jeremiah 9:23-24
It is an audacious, counter-cultural move to set aside the time, the energy, the place, the productivity, the relationships, and the food, all in an attempt to understand and know God. To understand the Creator. The very fact that God invites it must mean that it’s possible, which for many of us is the first hurdle. Once we can entertain the possibility, not just in the abstract (people can know God), but personally (I can know God), we begin to dream. What would it mean for me to wholeheartedly pursue getting to know my Creator and the Lover of my Soul? For this Romantic, it drums up images of peaceful, seaside delves into Scripture, of long prayer walks in the woods, of cups of coffee, sunrises and psalms read aloud. In my life, the ideal God-seeking environment seems always just one step ahead. Perhaps there will be time at the end of the semester, once things slow down, or during the next season. For now I’m just scooting by, but next week I’ll be in better shape to sit in God’s presence.
I forget that the place to know God is always less than ideal. And the time to know God? It’s always today. Jeremiah prophesies during the least Instagram-able time in Israel’s history. Jerusalem, the peaceful city, is being overrun with a pagan people who are bent on violent destruction. The sinful people of God are reaping a harvest of devastating judgment. God recommends that the women of Jerusalem teach their daughters a repertoire of funeral dirges since, “the dead bodies of men shall fall like dung upon the open field, like sheaves after the reaper and none shall gather them” (Jeremiah 9:20, 22). And yet, shockingly, as the conditions worsen, God keeps calling: Leave your flimsy props of skill, strength, and money. Get to know Me. Trust Me.
To understand and know God is a rather unglamorous pursuit from the outside. As many times as you might Instagram your Bible and journal next to that latte, no one asks if you actually read it. The Bible verse on your Facebook wall doesn’t mean you’ve sat with it and been changed by it. Snap Chat doesn’t chronicle the prayers, the wrestling with the audacious Word, the hard doing out of Holy Spirit conviction.
When we boast in the outwardly visible strengths, money, personality, religious observance, educational pedigree, even ability to garner social media “likes,” we affirm a worldly mindset in which the material world is paramount. When we fast, when we choose to spend time in prayer and Scripture, when we care for those in need, we reject the lie of the serpent and embrace the way of Christ.
The One who calls should be familiar to Israel. He has been calling for so long: in the Garden, in the promise to Abraham, in the burning bush, in the call for obedience to the Law and in the provision for sacrifice, in the cloud and pillar of fire. The Triune God invites intimacy and pursues intimacy. It begins as a whisper in the Old Testament and gets louder and louder in Christ. He calls you and me today. Let’s listen.
Teal McGarvey
