Fasting Day 10 of 40 | Second Saturday of Lent
“The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.” Deuteronomy 2:7
The foundation for our giving, prayer, and fasting in Lent is the Word of God. Polycarp, urged the church in Philippi to return to the Word in a time when many pursued vanity and false doctrines. I think He would say the same to us today as materialism and heresy abound.
In Letter to the Philippians, Polycarp of Smyrna writes. “Wherefore, forsaking the vanity of many, and their false doctrines, let us return to the word which has been handed down to us from the beginning; “watching unto prayer,” and persevering in fasting; beseeching in our supplications the all-seeing God to “not lead us into temptation.” As the Lord has said: “The spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69-155) in Letter to the Philippians 7:2, trans. By David Robert Palmer (2022 edition).
Why return to the Word, watch in prayer, and persevere in fasting? In this way, we lack nothing. In prayer and fasting we stand firm in what the Word teaches us. With these disciplines we strengthen our spirit.
Jesus, keep me from vanity and heresy as I return to the Word. Amen.
What is your discipline for Scripture reading? Did you know you can read most chapters in the Word of God in seven minutes. Try seven minutes of Scripture reading – one chapter – per day. Ask someone to join you. Hold each other accountable. Consider reading the same books and talking about what you learn and how the Word helps you.