God requires that when we fast, our faith will be tested as we must put it into action. We have been praying that captives will be set free ( vs 6). We are also required to provide shelter to the homeless, feed the poor/ hungry, clothe the naked, and provide for our families ( vs 7). The rest of verses 8-11 are full of blessings when verses 6 and 7 are obeyed.
Let us pray for mercy because we have not really practice what the word of God is saying.
Luke 6:38: “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
This is the Bible principle of receiving a blessing from the Lord. God gave his son. When his son was on earth he gave all the time, even in impossible circumstances, he challenged his father to provide for the needy. Ask God for the grace to be a giver.
James 1:27 “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
Ask God for the grace to put this verse into action. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to this group of God’s people.
Exodus 22:22-24 “22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.”
The church cannot say 100% they have been really fair in the way widows, orphans, older adults and even the less privileged in society have been helped. The wrath of God awaits any of such mistreatment. Pray and ask God for mercy in any way the church have gotten it wrong.
Isaiah 1:17 “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.”
Pray for the grace upon the church to reevaluate polices to ensure that these voiceless group are treated with kindness and that justice is served as deserved.
Psalm 68:4-5 “4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him! 5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.”
Pray that this group in our communities will open their hearts to embrace the Love of a Heavenly Father who is also a protector.
Jeremiah 7:6-7 “6 if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm,7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever.”
The blessing of the Lord is tied to treatment of this group of God’s people. Pray that God will forgive the church if in any way we have forgotten or intentionally mis treated this group.
Job 29:12-13 “12 Because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him. 13 The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.”
Pray that God will arise and deliver the poor, fatherless and the older adults who have no persons up turn to.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29 “28 At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.”
The church has a responsibility to take care of this group of individuals. Pray for a revelation so that the church will not miss a blessing that comes from obeying the word of God.
Mathew 25: 41-45 “ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fireprepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”
Can if image if on the last day after you have spent all your life in church and you are told; “depart from me, I know you not” Pray that the church must remain vigilant to obey God’s in helping the poor because at the end God will hold the church accountable to its actions.
Proverbs 28:27 “Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.”
Giving to the poor is really the trick into blessing. You can see that most unbelievers who are rich financially, are always giving to the poor and thus remain the controller of wealth. Pray for a revelation upon the church.
Proverbs 14:31 “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.”
When do don’t keep God’s command, it’s an insult. Pray for mercy and grace to walk in obedience.
Deuteronomy 15:11 “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.”
We are encouraged to face reality. Everyone will never be the same, the needy will always be in our mist. We must create room for them when we plan. Pray that God will help us.
Ezekiel 34:3-4 “3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.”
Pray that the church will have a church of attitude towards the needy in our mist, knowing that is part of the gospel.
Acts 20:35 “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
The weak here may also apply to those who are physically unable to help themselves. We have many of such in the church. Pray for the grace to perceive and be sensitive enough to the needs of these ones.
1 Timothy 5:1 “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers.”
Many church goers work in nursing homes, group adult foster care centers, hospitals, stores etc where we come in contact with the old all the time. No respect. We must ask for forgiveness and mercy towards the older people.
Deuteronomy 5:16 “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lordyour God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
Honoring our parents especially in their older ages, is the best gift you can ever give them. Most church people throw their parents in the nursing homes, some don’t even care yet they present in the public as rich but their parents have no food, shelter or helpers. Some live with their old parents and yet have no decency to take care of them. We must repent on behalf of the whole community and ask God to forgive and the grace to take care of our own.
1 John 3:17-18 “17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
We must demonstrate love by action. It is not just words. Pray for the grace to assist in providing the needs of the needy in our community.
Philippians 2:3-4 “3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Pray for the humility of Christ to dwell in the church. There is a lot of selfishness and self centeredness so often that we fail to perceive the needs of others.
Luke 14:12-14 “12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Most often, we give only because we want to be payed back or noticed. Therefore, our giving is selective. Pray for the grace to give to those we don’t know or those who will never pay back. Give to mission work in your communities, give to homeless shelters, nursing homes etc. You don’t only give material things but you can give your time. Ask God for help.
Isaiah 58:10 “If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.”
Are you suffering from some spiritual stuff, are you in the dark place and you have prayed all prayers? Ask the Lord for the grace to give to the poor applying this Bible verse. God help us see through your word.
Reflect on your years on this earth and have a honest conversation with yourself as your meditate on
2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Have you been a giver? What can you do differently moving forward? Ask God for help.