Fasting/Growing closer to God

[Diverse Melody]

Alright well I think I've been doing better than okay living for God, but, to be honest, I have a very hard time feeling love for anyone, including my Creator. I remember hearing about a Bible verse that says the one way you CAN test God is to obey his commandments and he will reveal himself to you. Well, last night I asked him to do so, only more in the love sense, as I have quite a bit of a faith. I will be focusing on three main things. Reading the Bible more (have been doing it everyday but not very much.) Fasting from an online game I LOVE (Perfect World. No really, that's what it's called. xD) for 1 week. And, trying not to get mad at anyone (only person I really get mad at usually is my grandma and it's not starting out well.... Let's just say I think I officially failed that goal for today.....) I'm starting all of this today, and I'm mainly aiming for a week. By then, if I really try hard, God will show me how to love him more and then I'll hopefully do better at reading my Bible and not getting mad at my grandma because I'll love him enough I'll want to do these things, plus I'll probably be sorta in the habit of reading my Bible and stuff after a week. (And yes, I say God IS going to show me, not I HOPE he is. That's the point of faith. You don't hope for it, you trust. Besides, when I prayed about this last night I felt him say "okay" to this little "plan.")

So, I'm just asking for prayer that I do well and that God really helps me understand how and why I should love him, follow him, etc. I will REEEEEEEALLY hate not playing Perfect World for a week (I play it about 4 hours everyday......) but I am a very stubborn person and I think I'll do fine on that. On the Bible reading.... well I'll probably forget then remember when I go to bed which is when I normally read it then I'll be "too tired" to read more..... As for not getting mad/annoyed at my grandma.... Yeah, I'm not sure I can do that one. With God, anything is possible, but this is an area that my faith lacks. >_>

And just a note that I WILL be on the computer, as I'm not fasting from that, but from that one game only.

Oh and another thing you can pray for is that I told my guild on the game that I wouldn't be on a for a week and I told them why and just pray that makes an impact for anyone in it that isn't saved and an impact on those that are so they will follow God more. The guild leader said he/she was Buddhist too so again, pray for them please.

[Gin]

Gotcha. I'll let my Bible teacher know when he asks for prayer requests.

Good luck, I hope you make it.
PS -- Don't ever give up trying not to be mad. It's a worth while goal.

[Siri]

Oh that is fricken' awesome! I've been wanting to do something like for a while now but I could never get my act together. Though for something like this I'd suggest you shouldn't even go on the computer for a week, now that is fasting. I know your pretty busy and all online, but God's worth it. It's just a thought. Try not to swear or cuss or think evil thoughts and such. Do your best! I want to know what he says, but I understand it's personal so no biggie if you don't want to tell us about it. Faith is something very important to have...heres to you making it! I'll be praying for ya. Doesn't hurt for some prayers going your way does it? Good luck and...hehe...God speed lol.

[Diverse Melody]

Yeah I thought about fasting from the computer, but there's several people I'm trying to witness to and I just want to do the game for now. Beside, without playing the game, I was on the computer only like an hour yesterday. x.x But it is great because I've been trying to think about God continuously (even if he's more in the back of my mind) for a long time now, and not playing the game is helping. I guess because I'm so used to playing it, it's always on my mind that I CAN'T play it now, and then I think about why I can't. And, because of that, I've just been able to do a constant state of prayer type thing like the youth pastor at my church said before that we should do.

The first time I ever cursed was about 2 years ago (13 strait years of no cussing! I don't know anyone at the moment that's done that. (Not to brag, just I was proud of it)) I went through a period, mostly due to the jerk I had as my bf at the time, where I cussed a bit, though not a lot. Well, after we broke up, I wanted to really try not to do it any more. I've probably said only a couple cuss words in the past year, and haven't said any for 6 months or so. The problem with anger is more that I just think rude things about people that really tick me off...... But uh I think that's an area my grandma struggles with too, 'cause she yells at me sometimes completely unprovoked. The thing is trying NOT to yell back. But the whole "don't get angry" thing was like TOTAL fail yesterday. >.> See like at first, I kinda didn't think about that I wasn't supposed to yell back, but then after that I got mad and didn't care.... Now that God's on my mind more, I'll hopefully remember and then have to try really hard not to get angry and yell.

As for the Bible reading, well, I was smart for once and did it in the evening instead of before bed. It was actually really nice 'cause I normally do it RIGHT before bed and I always would just lay in bed forever before I'd finally read it (basically I'd stall) and since I didn't have to read it 'cause I already did, then I got right to sleep! Haha. And ya' know, God's already upholding his end of the "deal" because after I read a days worth in my One Year Bible, I didn't necessarily "feel" his presence more, but I could explain my prayers easier and I could understand what he was telling me easier. It was great! I can't wait to see how everything turns out by the end of the week!

And yes, I definitely will keep ya' posted! And thanks for the prayers, guys!

[Crash]

Perfect World! *drools* I want to play that game so badly, but the way my internet's set up I can't. Unless I take my laptop to Esquires or something (free wifi). What do you play as?

On a more serious note:
That reminds me of what I've been trying to do lately. That is, to spend less time inside/sitting down/on the computer and more time outside/exercising. Because I believe that life is one of the most valuable things in the world, I believe it is important to keep oneself fit and healthy, which I'm not doing at the moment. They're similar in the way that my "fasting" brings me closer to my "god" by getting me outside, breathing fresh air, feeling the sun and wind on my face, hearing the birds and wind in the trees. I think that the more time I spend outdoors away from my computer, the easier it will be for me to keep a hold of what life's really about.

[Diverse Melody]

Nice to see you again, Crash!

I have one of each character. I've been working on my veno and archer though. The game is awesome!

That makes sense. I never really thought of religions that worship nature being outdoorsy as their way of "fasting." I wonder if Wiccans do that sometimes too.....

We (Christians) believe that the body should be kept healthy, because the Bible refers to a Christian's body as the temple of God. That's why many of us are against smoking, etc. But, we believe real importance lies outside of life in Heaven. We see life on earth as more of a preparation where our primary goal is to testify that what the Bible says is true.

But, might I ask, what DO you believe life is really about? And would you mind starting a thread in the general religions board? I've never really heard anything about neo-pagan nature worship and I'm interested in hearing about what you believe.

[fireheart]

HAHAHA! I have no idea what that game is but it sounds......interesting.

[Crash]

Well, if you wanted to simplify what I believe you'd call it Wicca. But I'm not really sure about being a Wiccan... I decided to become Wiccan when I was twelve, but more recently I've thought that maybe I should just adapt parts of Wicca into my personal beliefs. After I made that post I was thinking about what "the most valuable things in the world" are, and I came up with the three Ls! Love, life and laughter.

I believe that it is important to have a fulfilled life. To try everything (except stuff that there's no purpose in, like smoking), to have good memories and bad. I think it's important to be aware of the connections between all living things, and to consider the consequences of your actions.

Should I post a thread about what I believe, or one about Wicca? Or both?

[Diverse Melody]

About what you believe. Every individual person's beliefs differ some, but, from what you said it sounds like you aren't exactly Wiccan but more have your own opinions. I think Hye was going to join this though and she's a Wiccan so maybe you two can do a thread together so it can be added to the religions database.

Oh and I forgot to clarify. The reason for my fasting, along with the general reason for any Christian fasting, is to become closer to God. The idea is to take something that we love that is starting to reach even ground with our love for God and fast from it, so as to realize God is more important. The Bible says God should be first in every area of our life, so fasting is shifting the focus back onto him.