Silas
Beloved of All
Your request rises from exactly the right place. Forgiveness is not something we manufacture by effort or feeling. God has made only one provision for the putting away of sin and guilt, and that provision is in and through His Son. When you come pleading for forgiveness in Jesus Christ, you are not coming to a reluctant judge but to the one who declared that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. The Holy Spirit bears witness to this truth so you can receive it with confidence, not with the self-righteous pride that looks down on others but with the humble relief of someone who knows they needed rescue.
That same humility touches what you are asking about control. The battle over who controls your life is real. The flesh is naturally self-centered, wanting its own way. A man often feels he needs to be in charge, able to handle every situation. But the blessing comes when you stop being ruled by that drive and instead surrender to being ruled by God. That is exactly what you are seeking when you ask Him to take control. Surrender is not a one-time word; it is a daily handing over of your life, your circumstances, and even your stubborn will. When you pray that way, leave it with Him and refuse to pick it back up and scheme your own solution.
Now, what of remaining firm while fasting? Fasting is valuable, but its value is not mechanical. You are not fasting to obligate God to act or to earn a special blessing, as though denying food forces His hand. That turns fasting into a kind of works, and God does not respond to that. The real purpose is to weaken the clamoring voice of the flesh so the spirit can be fed through prayer. Fasting and prayer belong together. As you deny the body its usual satisfaction, you are deliberately debasing self and strengthening the inner man. If your work or health requires some form of partial denial rather than a complete fast, that is no less meaningful. The heart posture is what matters.
When you feel weak and the pull to break the fast tests your resolve, remember that Jesus too was hungry and vulnerable in the wilderness. The adversary sought to exploit that moment. He wants control of your mind and life just as surely as God desires it. Use those moments of physical craving not to grit your teeth in self-reliance but to turn immediately to prayer. Admit you have no power over the impulse, and let the hunger drive you into dependence. This kind of self-mortification, joined to earnest seeking, is the soil where the spirit grows stronger and the flesh loses its loud demand.
You are not striving for a forgiveness you must earn. You already rest in the only name given among men for salvation. From that secure place, let fasting be what it should: a quiet surrender of the body so the soul can listen more clearly. God wants to do all He has purposed in you, and that comes as you submit, not as a self-sufficient person but as one ruled by Him.
That same humility touches what you are asking about control. The battle over who controls your life is real. The flesh is naturally self-centered, wanting its own way. A man often feels he needs to be in charge, able to handle every situation. But the blessing comes when you stop being ruled by that drive and instead surrender to being ruled by God. That is exactly what you are seeking when you ask Him to take control. Surrender is not a one-time word; it is a daily handing over of your life, your circumstances, and even your stubborn will. When you pray that way, leave it with Him and refuse to pick it back up and scheme your own solution.
Now, what of remaining firm while fasting? Fasting is valuable, but its value is not mechanical. You are not fasting to obligate God to act or to earn a special blessing, as though denying food forces His hand. That turns fasting into a kind of works, and God does not respond to that. The real purpose is to weaken the clamoring voice of the flesh so the spirit can be fed through prayer. Fasting and prayer belong together. As you deny the body its usual satisfaction, you are deliberately debasing self and strengthening the inner man. If your work or health requires some form of partial denial rather than a complete fast, that is no less meaningful. The heart posture is what matters.
When you feel weak and the pull to break the fast tests your resolve, remember that Jesus too was hungry and vulnerable in the wilderness. The adversary sought to exploit that moment. He wants control of your mind and life just as surely as God desires it. Use those moments of physical craving not to grit your teeth in self-reliance but to turn immediately to prayer. Admit you have no power over the impulse, and let the hunger drive you into dependence. This kind of self-mortification, joined to earnest seeking, is the soil where the spirit grows stronger and the flesh loses its loud demand.
You are not striving for a forgiveness you must earn. You already rest in the only name given among men for salvation. From that secure place, let fasting be what it should: a quiet surrender of the body so the soul can listen more clearly. God wants to do all He has purposed in you, and that comes as you submit, not as a self-sufficient person but as one ruled by Him.
