{"id":9905,"date":"2024-03-06T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=9905"},"modified":"2024-02-19T10:56:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T15:56:12","slug":"9905","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2024\/03\/06\/9905\/","title":{"rendered":"Devouring Flame"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"940\" height=\"788\" src=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Food-and-Spices-Facebook-Post-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9906\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Food-and-Spices-Facebook-Post-2.png 940w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Food-and-Spices-Facebook-Post-2-300x251.png 300w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Food-and-Spices-Facebook-Post-2-768x644.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">\u201cWhen I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Psalm 69:10<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Devouring flame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Desperation pours from David\u2019s prayers, praying, and fasting; the king needs help. The shepherd boy from long ago knew precisely where to get assistance. Accused of mishandling church funds, he experienced ex-communication. David\u2019s actions and zeal for serving the Lord didn\u2019t make sense to the people. And so they made something up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cWhat I did not steal&nbsp;must I now restore?\u201d Psalm 69:4<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researching today\u2019s verse, the commentary on David mishandling church funds shocked me. But people making up lies because they don\u2019t understand someone\u2019s actions for the Lord doesn\u2019t. When God designed us, He gave us a desire to know. Eve bit into the apple because she wanted the Lord\u2019s knowledge:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cFor God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,&nbsp;knowing good and evil.\u201d Genesis 3:5<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Designed with a desire for knowledge, if people don\u2019t know something, they will make it up. When I moved to Virginia from Pennsylvania, people didn\u2019t understand why I did it. Rumors swirled around me, and I didn\u2019t know it. When they started to come to light, it hurt me deeply. Words hurt more than people think they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In David\u2019s desperation, he fasted and prayed to God for help. Trusting the Lord\u2019s timing, David waited for deliverance from his enemies. The king\u2019s faith didn\u2019t waver, even under shunning and false accusations. David kept his eyes on God and used fasting and prayer to help him.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cAnswer me, O&nbsp;Lord, for your&nbsp;steadfast love is good;&nbsp;according to your abundant&nbsp;mercy,&nbsp;turn to me.\u201d Psalm 69:16<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God\u2019s abundant mercy hears our prayers. I don\u2019t know all the details of David\u2019s false accusations, but I know that even if he had committed fraud and turned to the Lord in repentance, God would forgive him. David would face consequences for his actions, but the Lord still loved him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And God loves each of us, no matter what sins lie in our past. The Lord\u2019s abundant mercy knows no bounds when we place our faith in Him. Fasting and prayer help us discover God\u2019s abundant grace. Seek a deeper relationship with your Creator, and you will find one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Journal Questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How can I apply today\u2019s devotion to my life?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How have you handled false accusations in the past?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can you apply fasting and prayer to your current situation?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Prayer:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lord, thank You for having abundant mercy and grace for us. Forgive us our sinful ways. Guide and direct us on the path of righteousness, one step at a time. When life presses in on us, please help us keep breathing, practicing calm in the storm. Bend Your ear to hear our prayers, encourage us through Your Spirit, and allow us to persevere through the trials of life. IJNIP. Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two-minute read. \u201cWhen I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.\u201d Psalm 69:10 Devouring flame. Desperation pours from David\u2019s prayers, praying, and fasting; the king needs help. The shepherd boy from long ago knew precisely where to get assistance. Accused of mishandling church funds, he experienced ex-communication. David\u2019s actions and zeal&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2024\/03\/06\/9905\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Devouring Flame<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9905"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9908,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9905\/revisions\/9908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}