On Sept. 8, 2011 the Nightwatch prayer section at IHOP-KC started a three month consecration where we wanted to give ourselves to beholding the beauty of God and to refraining from talking with one another during the 12am-6am unless it pertained to the leadership of the prayer room. And initially I scoffed at the consecration and thought it was unnecessary. I thought that I didn’t need to participate in this consecration because I hardly talked during 12am-6am. But the Lord had other ideas because a friend of mine called me out on my scoffing heart and called me to give myself to what the Lord was doing in our midst.
So I repented and decided to join the consecration. I also wanted to start fasting as well, so I decided to eat 1.5 meals a day Mon-Sat and have Sundays off where I could eat normally. And I had four areas that I wanted God to speak to me about.
1. Encountering God – I wanted to experience God more and have dreams and visions. I realized that I had lost my zeal for wanting God to reveal himself to me in supernatural ways, and I wanted that desire renewed.
2. Relationships – I wanted God to speak to me about relationships and give me more wisdom especially as I was talking with a particular girl and considering dating.
3. Vocation – I wanted a greater understanding and more strength as a intercessory missionary. I wanted to have greater understanding on the power of prayer.
4. Family – I wanted to see my family restored in their relationships.
As I began to give myself to the rest of the Nightwatch consecration, God began answering these four areas for me. I began to have dreams that had pretty significant meaning to me. I also began to have my mind renewed about the lies I believed about relationships. Also I began to have a greater understanding of my calling as an intercessor. Though I have not seen the last area answered, just the faith that I have that God can restore my family is a testimony in itself.
I had forgotten about the power of fasting during my past couple of years at IHOP. But this fast has been such a pivotal season for me, and I am so grateful that the Lord is speaking to me and answering my prayers. I really encourage you, that if you feel led, to start a fast. It doesn’t have to be much, it could be fasting one meal a day, or even just eating fruits and vegetables. But I really believe that fasting is powerful and I am so grateful to God for hearing my cries.
