Prayer and Fasting

"Only prayer and fasting can drive out this kind of Spirit." - Matthew 17:21

When we want something of God, we resort to prayer. Sometimes we pray and pray and see no results. Disappointed, we give up. But have you ever tried prayer in combination with fasting? You see, because of sin, our bodies and our souls are at odds. What pleases the spirit is hard on the body, and what pleases the body is poison for the soul. There is no way, while alive, that our bodies and our souls can be in perfect accord with one another. One is always dominating the other. Therefore, when we fast, our soul lets our body know that our only true food is God and we only depend on Him for survival. We are actually learning and practicing sole reliance on God. When this happens, the body is dominated and the soul grows stronger. When the soul grows stronger, we are way more connected to God and are more open to receiving His blessings. Things can't knock us down that easily either. Our faith becomes solid. That's why there are some things, things that require a lot more strength, faith, and determination on our part, that can only be achieved by the soul of a person that has dominated the flesh and is at peace and union with the will of God. And fasting doesn't mean not eating for an entire day, it could be having a smaller portion of a meal or skipping dessert.

If there are tough issues in your life - a disease, a failing relationship, financial issues - you know what you need to do. As Jesus told His disciples, there are things that can only be accomplished through prayer and fasting.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, teach me how to only depend on You for my existence. In the same way You conquered Your flesh, help me do the same so that my soul can attain unity with You. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Today

Hey - This is the last email you'll get from me until Sunday. I'll be away at a retreat this weekend and won't be able to write to you.

Here's today's verse:

"My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." - Psalm 42:2

I was at the mall on Saturday and I went into the Catholic Supply Store to buy a CD of the Rosary. I added it to my iPod so I could meditate on it while on the train. I was listening to it this morning on the LIRR and I had this amazing feeling; I felt like a child in God's arms. That feeling stayed with me as I got into the city and got on the subway on my way to work. When I got out of the subway, I went to a church by my job that I always go into every morning. Today was different though. I felt in a rush to get there and I started to feel like a little girl lost, missing from her parents. I ran up the stairs of the church in a sort of desperation because this strong emotion was beginning to pour out of me and showed itself as tears running down my face. There was this strong desire in me to be in God's presence and the only way I can describe it is as a little child yearning for their parent and finally seeing them in front of them. As I made my way to the front of the church, I was visibly crying, and not just tears at this point but loud sobs, and I'm sure the other people in the church heard/ saw me and wondered what was wrong with me. But nothing at all was wrong; I felt an immense love in my heart and it was my Lord calling me. I yearned to be in His presence like nothing I've felt before and kneeling there before Him gave me such peace.

Maybe some of you have felt this and maybe some of you are far from this, but the truth is that God really draws close to those that draw close to Him. I'm not perfect, far from it, and God has so much work to do in me, but He is good and along my journey He shows me how close He is to me. What I hope for the most is that all of you one day get to feel this. I hope that you continually search for God every day so that you can see how loving He is and how incredibly good He is.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, You are so good to me. You draw me into You and my soul thirsts only for You, to be connected to You. Help me to respond to Your call and bring others to get to know Your love. In Your Name we pray, amen.