Overhearing Blaine and Kim talking about side effects of fasting, prayer, and alms giving, I became intrigued. “It’s as if I become more sensitive to the things in my heart.” Said Blaine. Kim added, “For me, I become more aware and seem to receive revelation about my life.”
The human capacity for awareness is much larger than we often allow ourselves to experience. Too much awareness creates internal havoc while not enough awareness generates external difficulties. It is a blessing to have good hearing but to cognitively hear every sound around would cause great mental stress. Seeing is similar. Terrific vision is a wonderful thing but to see everything would almost be unbearable.
We have an amazing ability to not hear or see things that we do not immediately need to hear or see. Mostly this is very helpful. Some times, however, our capacity for being unaware is exceedingly detrimental.
A time of fasting, prayer, and alms giving is often the mechanism God uses to allow us to hear again the deeper sounds of our inner person. My studies took me to what is called “The Awareness Wheel.” For our purposes today the issue in the middle of the awareness wheel is the self. 
Immediately we come face to face with the deeper issues of the heart. When it comes to self what do I sense? Think? Feel? Want? Do? Let’s roll around the awareness wheel in hope of seeing deeper into the soul.
- When self is the issue, what do you sense? Do you sense that there is more for the self? Do you sense certain longings and desires?
- What thoughts do you have about the self’s longings and desires? What do you think about the possibility that there is more for the self?
- Can you verbalize the feelings that you have when you think about the self’s longings and desires? Are you afraid? Excited? Numb? Do you have a growing feeling of anticipation?
- With what you are sensing, thinking, and feeling, what would you really like to do? What do you genuinely want? Can you clearly see your wants? Are you comfortable with your wants?
- What have you done with your sensing, thinking, feeling, and wants in the past? What are you doing with them in the present? What will you do with them beginning today?
Awareness and revelation, from my perspective, are integrated and closely connected. The more one receives revelation from the Lord, the greater their awareness can be and the more awareness they have the more they can receive revelation. When operating in a healthful manner awareness and revelation are exceptional partners.
As you fast, pray, and give alms, you may quickly find yourself seeing things inside of you that are superb, but given no attention or you may discover attitudes that are dark and unbecoming of a person with your character and love for God. In both instances, if you stay faithful in your fasting, prayer, and alms giving, you will receive revelation from the Lord about how to deal with your self.
Are you aware enough to be willing to give the awareness wheel a roll?