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| source: AG.org |
Praying and fasting for 8 days?
This is new to me.
All my life, I have told myself that I am not someone who has been given a gift to pray or fast. I am sure that I am more a doer than a prayer.
I'd go overseas to save the less fortunate people, I'd do anything to help people who are in trouble or in hunger. But sit down and stay at home and pray and fast, well, I always said "it's not for me!"
These previous weeks, my church, ICA, has been announcing that they'd take part of this 7:14 movement. When hearing it for the first time, I thought, never would I be able to do this. But I kept thinking about it. And the more interesting thing was my husband was also thinking of joining.
Fyi, he is even less of a prayer than I am. But thank goodness, we often remind each other. So when I don't feel like praying before going to bed, he'd wake me up and ask me to join in prayer. Or the other way around.
So, when I knew he was open for this idea of praying and fasting, we just had to take part. And we did!
So today is our second day.
The idea of this movement is to pray and fast for 8 days, from 7 - 14 April. We'd pray for 14 minutes every day, at 7:14 AM and 7:14 PM. We also will fast.
The fasting part is interesting. Again, I cannot fast. Nor could I go on diet either. If I fast or go on diet, I'd think about food all the time. Haha :) When I eat normally, I just don't think about food, sometime I even don't remember to have lunch or skip breakfast. Strange, ey?
So when fasting is part of the activity of this 7:14 movement, I thought, no way! I would not be able! But the pastor at ICA gave a different perspective on fasting. Fasting means to give up something that we love so dearly to be able to get closer to God. It's like a way of saying nothing is more important than God.
That was an aha moment for me! I knew what I loved so dearly that often came between me and God. Social media. Yes, as geeky as it may sound, I am addicted to social media. I cannot skip my rituals checking twitter. The first thing I do when I open my work computer is to check Facebook, I often go to my BBM just to check people's status.
This is what I will fast for these 8 days. As for Stefy, he is addicted to watching soccer. If he is not watching the live match, he will spend hours watching the highlights. So, this is what he'll give up for the next 8 days.
Interesting, no?
I hope we will make it until the 8th days.
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