January 3rd, 2016. Church of the Highland’s 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting had begun, and I was excited. Aaron & I had been planning for the last couple weeks, & I felt prepared. I was ready & excited to cut out the junk food & get on a schedule of spending time with God.
I went into the 21 days with just a couple prayer requests ::
- that SMS Photography would grow
- that Aaron & I would have a clear understanding of what our next steps should be
The first week was kinda difficult. Even though I enjoyed getting up at 5:30am to pray & eat healthy, I craved pretty much everything I wasn’t supposed to eat. And towards the end of the first week, it became harder and harder to get up so early. I was exhausted. By week 2, my prayers became more purposed and intense as I was seeking God and wanting to hear from him. But all I was getting was static…. I figured maybe it was just “too early” in the 21 days for me to really hear from God, so it didn’t concern me.
And then, the day came where I almost quit my photography business. I had been praying to God every single day, asking, begging that my business grow. But all the mud I was throwing at the wall wasn’t sticking in the slightest, so I thought maybe God was telling me to quit. Lies lies lies. Thankfully, I was quickly picked back up and pursued it that much harder. BUT, in that experience I realized that perhaps the reason it wasn’t being successful was because I was praying for SMS Photography incorrectly. I was praying that it would grow, that I would get lots of clients & that it would provide finances for my family. BUT, my critical mistake was that I wasn’t leaving it to God’s timing. It wasn’t “whatever Your will is God!” it was, “this is what I want & I want it now!” very childish and selfish really. So I changed the way I prayed for it. Instead of demanding it happen immediately, I told God it could happen whenever He wanted. And exactly a week later, I tossed something at the wall, and IT STUCK! I had dozens of inquires, multiple meetings scheduled, & now, a few bookings.
I immediately praised him and was so excited all I could do was thank him every minute!
And although I didn’t eat terribly before, the Daniel Fast was an excellent way for me to cut out the junk & get used to clean eating. I definitely plan on continuing that throughout the year (& hopefully just make it a lifestyle).
All in all, did I hear from God during these 21 days? Not in the way I expected. Did I get all the answers and flashing signs I was hoping for? No. But that doesn’t mean I’ll never get them. I’m staying faithful and continuing the habit now of spending time with God every morning, seeking Him through prayer.
I am so, so, so incredibly thankful that I fully participated in this 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting. I only missed 2 early morning prayer services, and I watched them online as soon as I was available. I was blessed by it and I know thousands of others were as well.
2016 will be the best year of my life if it’s the best year of my list spiritually!