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NASB | Nehemiah 1:4 ¶ When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Nehemiah 1:4 ¶ Now it came about when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying [constantly] before the God of heaven. |
Subject: Role of fasting in a Christian's walk? |
Bible Note: Wonderful post Sandra! It is quite clear that you've taken a lot of time to study the subject of fasting and I am thankful that you have shared your experiences with us. I cannot put into words the difficulty that I sometimes have in just focusing on God in prayer for long periods of time. My mind constantly wants to wander and center on other things! The longest prayer that I have ever prayed was about 10 minutes. Beyond that, I begin to lose my concentration. My prayer life is constant, but it goes in little sessions here and there, when my mind is completely focused on the Lord. However, when I am at work or even at this Forum, I am conscious of still thinking about the Lord, even though He may not be in the "forefront", so to speak.. So when I think of fasting, not only is it a sacrifice of time, but it is also a sacrifice of something that we normally need, use, etc.. I've never fasted for more than about 16 hours straight from anything, and that is perhaps something that I should consider "stretching" myself in.. But it is not the length of time that we fast, but it is like you said: to increase our reliance and personal worship of God. And that reference to Zechariah 7:5 is eye-opening! You've written an excellent post on fasting and have given me much to think about! :-) Thank you! Nolan |