Open My Eyes: A 21-Day Fasting Devotional from Jentezen FranklinSample
Fasting Day 1: God's Eyes
Hello and welcome to Day One of the 21-Day Fast. When you fast to start off the year, you are telling God that your relationship with Him is your top priority for the year. Today is day one and as you walk through your 21-day journey this devotion is designed to walk every step of the way with you. Whether you are doing water only right now or the Daniel Fast, the first day is the most important day.
At some point today, you will probably experience hunger pangs. Your body has a clock and when your normal meal times come around, your body signals that it’s time to eat. Allow those pangs to be reminders that it’s time to pray. So settle in, allow the Lord to do a work like you have never known, and let’s get started together.
Seeing Your Life Through God’s Eyes
Seeing your life only through your own eyes can present a very narrow, critical, and limiting view of yourself. Where you see failure, God sees a ministry. Where you see all you don’t have, God reminds you of all you do have. When you can’t see a way out or a path forward, God sees through to the other side. Where you see defeat, God sees a victory in the making. You must learn to see yourself and your situation through God’s eyes if you intend to see what’s true, what’s possible, and what God has planned. That’s what this fast is all about. Over this next 21 days, allow the Lord to open your eyes into every part of your life to see all He has for you and all He is doing in you.
And so, as you’re joining us on the first day of the fast, I really want to encourage you to begin to expect God to fill you with vision. Vision for your life, vision for your family, vision for your business. Day one will be the most important day because half the battle is simply getting out of the boat and starting to walk. Our theme for the twenty-one days is “Open My Eyes.” Each day contains prayer designed to take you deeper into all God has for you in this new year and new season.
Prayer:
We’re beginning this year saying, “God, open our eyes.” Open our eyes to wonderful things. Open our eyes to revelation. Open our eyes to Your plan, Your direction, and Your purpose. Show us who You are. Show us Your glory. Open our eyes. Give us the eyes that Ephesians 1 talks about, the eyes of understanding. Lord, I ask that You give me eyes to see. I know that many things in my life will have distraction but I ask You to give me Your vision in whichever direction I look. Give me the perspective of Your sight, Your thoughts, and Your desires. For the things I should not be focusing on, turn my head and shift my eyes back to You.
About this Plan
What an incredible journey these twenty-one days will be as we fast, pray, and grow together. Fasting has a way of bringing every part of your life into focus in ways nothing else can do. If you will allow your moments of hunger and cravings to serve as reminders to stop and pray, you will find a closeness with your Heavenly Father like you have never known.
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