“Prayer is the essential activity of waiting for God acknowledging our helplessness and his power, calling upon him for help, seeking his counsel. So it is evident why prayer is so often commanded by God, since his purpose in the world is to be exalted for his mercy. Prayer is the antidote for the disease of self-confidence.”

john piper, desiring god, p.146.

Please read the first blog post entitled “Why Fast?” This explains what fasting is and why we follow Jesus in this spiritual discipline as together we seek the heart of God.

21 Days Devotional Blog (with opt-in text option)

During these 21 days, a devotional will be posted each morning on our “21 Days Blog” on Ascent’s homepage. You can go to the home page each day, or you can text ASCENT21 to the number 97000 to opt-in to receive a daily text reminder with a link to that day’s devotional.

Daily Devotionals

Each day during our 21 Days, we will focus on one part of the ACTS prayer acronym – Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. We will spend between 3-5 days on each part of the ACTS prayer acronym. Each devotion will take less than ten minutes of your time.

1. We will Engage the Word – looking at a passage of Scripture that draws our mind’s attention and heart’s affection to the Lord.
2. We will Connect the Heart – considering a truth that is applicable to our lives.
3. We will Reflect on the Truth, asking a number of questions each day that invite us to look and listen with intent.
4. And we will Depend on the Spirit – We will pray, for it is in praying that we learn to pray. And it is in praying that the Spirit changes our hearts.

We want to encourage you to grab a journal or a notebook – something to write on as you walk through each devotional. Yes, it will add a few minutes to the time it takes to do the devotion, and it will also deepen your experience and shape your walk with God for years to come. This journal or notebook will be a keepsake to remind you of God’s faithfulness during this challenging season for all of us.

Confession

Engage the Word

Read Psalm 51:10-15 – A Psalm of David

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, 

and renew a right spirit within me. 

11 Cast me not away from your presence, 

and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, 

and uphold me with a willing spirit. 

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, 

and sinners will return to you. 

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, 

O God of my salvation, 

and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 

15 O Lord, open my lips, 

and my mouth will declare your praise. 

16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; 

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; 

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 

We meditated yesterday on verse 10, where David – in using the word “create” – asks for nothing short of a miracle. He realizes that this new disposition is utterly necessary for him to avoid sin in the future, and he also acknowledges that he, a person steeped in sin, is not capable of such transformation of character without divine help. He wants to feel the joy of a healthy relationship with God again and he desires a steadfast (v. 10b) and willing (v. 12b) spirit in order to keep from sinning again. It is this miracle of the heart that causes us to day by day, moment by moment, go back to God in confession and repentance when we sin and fall short of God’s holiness.

The psalmist then indicates some of the positive outcomes that flow out of his forgiveness. As a forgiven sinner, he can appeal to other sinners to turn back from their wayward life and restore their relationship with God. As forgiven sinners, we can do the same with those with which we have relationship. One of the privileges of a forgiven believer is helping another forgiven sinner bring harmony back into their relationship with God. And it all results in praise.

Reflect on the Truth

1. Reflect for a few moments again today on those areas of your life for which you need to confess or repent. God sees and knows all, but He also desires that we acknowledge these areas before Him.
2. Ask the Lord to restore to you the joy of your salvation. He passionately desires that your relationship with Him be made whole.
3. Spend a few minutes reflecting and meditating on verse 17. It is not only the actions of the sin that affect our relationship with God, it is the motives behind those actions – the motives of the heart. If this is a good time to communicate to God a broken and contrite heart, take a few moments to do that. He is ready to forgive and restore.

Depend on the Spirit

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the deeper longings, desires or motives in your heart that those thoughts are pointing to. (For example: you may write down, “Lord, I have held on to some secret sins for far too long. It is time to bring them into the light so I can finally walk in freedom, but I’m not sure how to do that. Guide me.”) The Lord can help us discern the path forward – through His word, His Spirit, His people.

For Prayer

Today, pray for those in our church family who are dealing daily with powerful sin addictions. Pray that they will be able to break free from the stronghold addiction has on their life, and embrace the joy of their salvation that God passionately wants for them.

For those of you who need to process with someone concerning an addiction – or other hurts, habits or hang-ups – we have a Life Recovery Group that meets on Monday nights at 6:30pm. You can find details here.