Praying and fasting with Jesus during Lent brings me face to face with a more accurate awareness of the condition of my inner person. I should always be mature and self aware yet I often lose insight and fail to understand my own heart.
Christian self awareness is a bit of an oxymoron because the Holy Spirit is revealing one’s own heart shape. More accurately, I experience Holy Spirit revealed awareness of my interiority.
If I am not on my guard, three things will choke out this Holy Spirit revelation (Mark 4:19).
- The cares of this world.
- The deceitfulness of riches.
- The desires of other things.
When, in prayer and fasting, God helps me escape the clutches of these cares, deceitfulnesses, and desires, I see the real me.
The Holy Spirit lights up my inner condition through one of Corrie ten Boom’s insightful statements.
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
Corrie’s words become a window through which I see my condition more clearly.
“Lord, in this season of my life, please replace fear of trusting you with loving faith.”