My Soul is God’s Sanctuary
Lessons From Lent
I did a form of fasting called a Daniel fast in January. I ate only plant-based foods, no bread or pasta, and little to no processed foods. My goal with fasting is more intimacy with God and more healing for my spirit. With any kind of fasting, we starve the flesh to feed the spirit.
I started another Daniel fast, identical to the one in January, today. Any kind of fast seems fitting during Lent. The Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday (March 2 this year) and lasts until Easter (April 17). It is a time of preparation for celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
Why am a starting another Daniel fast and why during Lent? There are several reasons. One is that I need more healing and deliverance. I am still in the recovery process from the effects of child sexual abuse. Fasting is a tool I can use to facilitate healing and deliverance. As I focus on God during this time of prayer and fasting, I am strengthened and I can conceive of another way of being and doing without the debilitating effects of trauma.
Another reason why is that fasting helps me pray for others and situations. During my January fast, the gift of intercessory prayer was kicked into high gear. There is an invasion of Ukraine going on and the situation for Armenians in Artsakh (an ancient Armenian region) is precarious at best. The pall of genocide hangs over both places.
In Matthew 17:21, Jesus said to his disciples, who tried and failed to cast a demon out of someone, “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” The kind of evil that possesses leaders to invade and oppress another nation requires prayer and fasting.
The sanctuary of our souls
There is an old worship song that keeps running through my mind. The lyrics are simple but profound and rich in meaning:
Lord, Prepare Me to be a Sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for you.
The word sanctuary has multiple meanings, including “a consecrated place, such as the ancient Hebrew temple at Jerusalem or its holy of holies.” The holy of holies refers to a part of the temple in Jerusalem where only the high priest could go in once a year on Yom Kippur, or the day of atonement.
Exodus 26:33 says, “And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.”
When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain separating the holy of holies tore in two:
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. Matthew 27:50-51
The epistle to the Hebrews mentions the holy of holies (or holy places in some translations), telling us that after Jesus died he entered into the holy of holies and provided redemption for humanity:
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:11-12
What all of this means is that through the sacrifice of Jesus, through His atoning work on the cross, we have a way to enter into intimacy with God. While we can always access God’s presence for He is always with us, sometimes we need to go deeper. A time of fasting and prayer provides a way to go deeper into the presence and love of God.
Who wants to join me in doing a Daniel fast? Let me know if you do.
