Fast

So over the last few months I have had to make certain major decisions and if it were one or two I would say it's just a part of life.  I would pray, think about the issue or issues, and when everything was settled in my mind that I had heard from God, I would go with what I had decided.
This time however, I had five major issues and three smaller not necessarily minor issues to think about.  I prayed for months, waiting, praying, waiting, praying.  You get the idea.  Nothing.  Now let me reiterate that these were not decisions such as what errands to run on what day, or whether  I should go on a particular outing, or even how much I should or should not spend on a big ticket item.  These were potentially life changing decisions.  I had to make the right choice.  Nothing.
Finally I decided I would fast and pray about these decisions.  Furthermore, I would not set a time frame on the fast.  I would fast if it took the rest of my life!  I was serious.  These decisions, wrong or right, could change my life!  Why no answer from God about this? So I started my fast.  I am not going to discuss the particular fast because fasting is what is important, not the type of fast.  I will say, for you doubters out there who think I just fasted television for an hour a day or something easy like that.  It wasn't.  I talked to God about the fast and then I began.  Three weeks went by, almost four, when God said, 'you can end your fast now.'  I was not having it though.  I had not received any answers and I could not end this fast until I knew what to do.  I argued with God, of course.  I asked him how he could end my fast when he had not answered me yet. He told me again, 'you can end your fast now.' 
I ended my fast wondering what to do next.  I still had five major questions and no answers.  Then some weird stuff started happening.  One by one, in no particular order, I started receiving answers!  I had written down the items for which I had been praying and fasting and as the answers came, I would chuckle to myself as I checked off each question.  The answers came over a series of days, out of the clear blue sky, from different sources.  I had to be open and aware.  I had to keep my eyes and ears  open or I would miss the answer! One answer I heard from my Mother, one I heard from my Brother (they had no idea about my fast or my problems), one I heard from an announcement in church, one was an answer of protection from God, and one was a little $2.50 book I bought from Dollar General!  This was amazing!
Would I have gotten the answers without praying and fasting?  Probably, but I'm convinced it would have taken a lot longer and I did not have time.  I did not want to make the wrong decisions while waiting.  Many of us are guilty of that.  Well, there are two more items on my list, but I am convinced those items will be answered in their own time.  In fact, I may have received the answer to one of those two from a sermon I was just listening to on television.  Amazing!
I would like to say a few things to those of you who are not familiar with the tenets of fasting.  It is not something to take lightly.  When you fast you are opening your spirit to the spirit world. Yeah, I know, some of you are thinking I am about to get all Halloween on you.  I suggest you take what I am saying very seriously.  If you are not where you need to be in your relationship with Jesus, do that first.  Talk to him, pray, get into the right place with him before starting your fast.  There are many books on fasting, and many verses and chapters in the Bible on fasting.  Take it seriously, do it right.
Isaiah 58 is a great chapter to read on how God viewed fasting.  Read it in an easy to read version like the NIV.  Make sure you understand what fasting is all about before you start; and know this, your answer can come during your fast or after, but listen with everything in you, for that answer. Allow God to answer when and how He decides.