Fasting and Praying

Today begins the “Esther fast.”   It is truly a blessing to have a Christ based agency.  Our agency has occasionally taken time to fast and pray on behalf of orphans or a specific issue that affects adoption. They doing it again.  Consider joining us on an “Esther fast” where we focus for three days by fasting and praying on behalf of orphans.

The idea comes from the Book of Esther, when the Jews fasted and prayed for a special purpose. In Esther 4:
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews … and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Our focus will be:
· Praying for foreign government officials to be convicted of the harm they are doing to orphaned and vulnerable children stuck in institutions with no opportunity to live in a family;
· Praying for people around the world to speak up on behalf of orphans and vulnerable children who are hidden from the public and are crying out for a mother and father;
· Praying for Haiti to lift or significantly increase their quota;
· Praying for children and families stuck in the middle of Russia’s shutdown;
· Praying for wisdom and guidance for our nation’s political leaders to proactively come to the rescue of institutionalized children who have the fundamental right to a family but are being denied by their government.
~And of course, I’ll be praying that God would bring our baby girl home and especially for China!

None of you should feel like you need to do this; I just encourage you to seek God and see if you feel led to. If you’ve never fasted before, it may seem like a weird or intimidating idea. There are all sorts of ways to fast, including not eating, skipping particular meals, only drinking juice, only eating fruit & veggies, as well as other ways that you might find to practice this discipline. It also reminds us that our efforts are nothing without God and our struggle is a spiritual struggle. Apostle Paul says in Ephesians, “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

God can, and does, do miracles and we know His love for each orphan surpasses our own. We are simply tools He uses to bless families and children.

Ps… I know, I know.  Fasting is hard, very hard.  Because we love food (speaking for myself).  But it is easy to forget that kids are out there with nothing to eat or no regular meals.  It’s easy to look the other way and forget that they are in pain, suffering, and without anyone to love them.  Oh, we just cozy up in our big house and sip hot chocolate.  May God open our hearts and eyes!