The Devil is in the Details. Fasting requires Preparation (Part 1)

DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS – The “Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings”, by Gregory Y. Titelman, shows this phrase as a variation of “God is in the details” – Whatever one does should be done thoroughly; details are important. Since details are important then you will need to prepare yourself properly for your time of prayer and fasting. Are you scheduling your daily prayer time and fasting schedule into your weekly planner? You will need to make this time a priority in your life. I believe the key to a successful time of prayer and fasting is preparation.

1 Peter 1:13 says, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action.”

John 14:2 says, “I am going there to prepare a place for you.”

Eph 4:12 says, “to prepare God’s people for works of service”

Luke 3:4 says, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.”

John 19:31 says, “Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath.”

This is the passage we want to key in on. So, what was the day of Preparation? The day of Preparation was the day that preceded the weekly Sabbath and the annual Passover festival, which on that day people would prepare for it both physically and spiritually. You too must prepare. You must prepare ourselves physically, spiritually and be organized for your time of prayer and fasting. Bjorn Pedersen wrote, “The more time we spend in prayer preparation, the more effective your prayers will be. It is as simple as that.” Since our fast ends on Super Bowl Sunday let us see it as an illustration. The Super Bowl is the last game of the year, and this is for all the marbles. Albeit the last game of the season, the two teams still spent the week preparing for the game. They developed a game plan. They say the team that is best prepared and has the best game plan will win the game. I believe the key then for success is a game plan. So, how can we develop a game plan? There are four areas that we should look at to develop this game plan.

One: Prepare Spiritually

Two: Prepare Physically

Three: Be organized

Four: Have an expected heart.

Do you have a game plan for your fast? Have you started spending time praying about your fast? Over the next six days we will help you prepare for your fast. Pray that God will prepare you and deliver you from your worries.