The word for today is fasting.

“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids 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” (Esther 4:16).

“Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord” (Joel 1:14).

“And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (Matt. 6:16-18).

“So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer” (Ezra 8:23).

“And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry” (Matt. 4:2).

“My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt” (Ps. 109:24).

“So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes” (Dan. 9:3).

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” (Isa. 58:6).

After a season of fasting, I experienced verse four of “And Can It Be That I Should Gain.” Let’s sing it together: “Long my imprisoned spirit lay Fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth and followed Thee. Amazing love! How can it be that thou my God, shouldst die for me.”

Prayer: Lord, I have tasted the sweetness of Your presence in a time of fasting. Thank You for the joy of such times.