21 Days of Fasting and Prayer Devotional: Send RevivalSample

Day 15: A Different Spirit 

There are over 7.7 billion people in the world today, each created by God with their own unique set of DNA. Just a single gram of DNA can hold up to 455 exabytes of data! And even more mind blowing, if you were to stretch out all of just one person’s DNA, the length of it would be about twice the diameter of our solar system! God has created each person completely different from another, but all with the same ability to know and respond to their Creator. Although our DNA is responsible for so much of our lives, we have been given free will and the ability to choose to pursue God and respond to Him.

There is a story in the Old Testament about a man named Caleb, who served under Moses’ leadership. Scripture records something very interesting about what God saw in Caleb. After twelve spies were sent into the Promised Land to survey the new land and gather a report for Israel, ten of the twelve spies returned with a negative report. Only Joshua and Caleb believed God could bring them victoriously into the land and spoke with faith to the people. Numbers 14:24 records for us God’s response to Caleb’s wholehearted commitment to him:

“But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.”

Caleb had the same amount of DNA as each of the other spies, but what set him apart was a different spirit. That different spirit led to a different response from God. Where most of the spies saw only opposition, Caleb saw opportunity. This kind of spirit is not automatic but is forged in the personal pursuit of the presence of God. The confidence Caleb displayed was the result of His commitment to the Lord.

A holy confidence and faith come to those who seek the Lord with all of their heart. This is why Jesus tells us to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The result will be an ability to believe that God will come through even when others can’t see a way. Prayer and fasting conditions our hearts to hear from God and then respond with an increased level of faith.

So, when God’s people experience trials, they don’t simply see the challenges in front of them; they face those challenges differently. They see possibility beyond their problems, opportunity instead of just obstacles. They approach life and circumstances with a different spirit. 

What area of your life do you need to approach with a different spirit? Pray that God would allow you to see beyond the physical problem and into the spiritual reality, so you can watch Him bring the supernatural outcome He desires.