Remember, Jesus wants YOU and your heart and attention, not your works or your plans. His greatest desire is to meet with you and draw you into his heart. He stripped himself of all of heaven, became human, and served humanity through his life and his passionate execution on a cross just to show you how much he wants you. You are the reward of all that suffering. Give him your whole attention. Here are some tips:

Leave the cell phone in another room, or if you use it for study, put it on airplane mode.

Ask the Holy Spirit to draw you in and help you love Jesus and stay focused on his presence.

Start with worship that moves your heart toward his.

Open the Psalms and read until something tugs at your heart and ask Jesus about it.

Sit in silence (or play soaking music) and meditate on Jesus: his eternal being, how he fills all in all, how he created everything, and yet has every one of your hairs counted and thinks more thoughts for you than the number of grains in the sand. Read and meditate slowly on his Passion week and resurrection.

Feast on the Word, the Bread of Life.

As we pursue alignment with Jesus and his heart, we must understand that he cannot partner with unholiness. He is so holy, and the moment we begin to speak words of grumbling, complaining, criticism, he retreats. When we are making confessions of fear, anxiety, lies, we are actually choosing to partner with the enemy. Jesus understands what it’s like to be human, and the moment we recognize this behavior and turn our hearts toward him and repent, he is right there with open arms. What a beautiful and merciful Savior we have!

The moment you realize you are speaking negatively, stop. Ask the Lord to help you, and then speak love. Confess the Word. Build up people and yourself with your words.

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. —Psalms 141:3

Do everything without complaining, grumbling, criticizing, faultfinding and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. —Philippians 2:14-16

Read James 3, 1 Peter 3:10, Proverb 15:4, 18:20-21

We see the remarkable heart of Jesus on display when he is hanging in agony on the cross and he begins to intercede for the very people who mercilessly tortured him and crucified him. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Jesus commanded us to forgive our enemies, those who have harmed us, and those who have persecuted us. Our forgiveness is an act of faith and is spiritual warfare! And, if we want to be forgiven, the Lord commands us to forgive.

Is there ANY person you have offense with? Or someone who has hurt you and just the sound of their name makes you recoil? What about political figures?? Every day during this fast, ask the Lord to reveal any person with whom you have offense and pray the following prayer (Get ready…it’s a profoundly powerful one).

Pray this EVERY DAY:

Father, your Word says that in order to be forgiven, I must forgive. And so I come to you in the Name of Jesus, in obedience and love, and I bring name before you. I cancel their debt. I choose to forgive this hurt against me, and I ask that you not hold this sin against name on my account.

I release name from any desire on my part to see them punished. In fact, as you have told me to do, I bless name in Your Son’s Name, Jesus. You know name’s desires, needs and hurts, so you know what would bless them. I ask that you pour out your love and healing to name and bring them your highest good because your Name is love, and you are not willing that any would perish. Now also, Father, please heal my heart and free me to love name as you do in Jesus’ Name!

Prayer from “The Genesis Process” by Michael Dye

During these 21 Days, let’s be a people who are actively seeking people to bless. Let’s step out of our comfort zone to bless a stranger, to talk about Jesus, to pray for them, or to share the Gospel. Stretch yourself and do something you would not normally do!

Some ideas:

• Call someone and ask to pray for them

• In your prayer time, ask the Lord to give you an encouraging word for someone and then call or text it to them

• While you are out in public, ask God to highlight a person and go and ask them if you can pray for them

• Pay for a stranger’s lunch

• If you see a homeless person, go and talk with them and ask if you can pray for them. Keep some small bills in your pocket to give to them or coupons to fast food

• Ask someone at the grocery store if you can carry their bags out to their car

• Just keep your heart and eyes open for God to interrupt your life!!

During these 21 Days we are building a habit of giving God our first and our last. In the last moments of your day, before you lay down to sleep, turn your attention to Jesus. Give him your love and thanks for another day. Ask him in what ways you pleased him, and settle your mind to hear his voice. Then, ask him if there was anything you said or did that grieved his heart. Wait on his voice to gently correct you.

For any area you might need to repent, quietly ask for his forgiveness and his strength to be more like Him. Thank him for all he is doing in your life and ask him to speak to you in dreams even as you sleep.