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Be Still : A 21-Day Fast Journey, 200 Daystar Drive, Cullman, AL (2026)

08/23/2026

Just when you thought you wouldn’t hear from me today… 😂

Surprise.

One more.

Not another day of the fast.
The fast is over.
But there’s something I couldn’t let us finish without saying.

For 21 days, the invitation has been:

RETURN TO ME.

Yesterday, we heard:

GO.

And today, as you step into whatever comes next, there is one thing I pray we never forget:

Don’t go without Him.
Moses understood this.
God had promised Israel a land.
There was a destination ahead.
A future.
A promise.

But in Exodus 33, Moses makes an extraordinary statement:

“If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place.”
Exodus 33:15 (NLT)

In other words:

“God, I don’t want where You’re taking me if You’re not going with me.”

Whew. Think about that.

The Promised Land without His presence?

No.

The blessing without His presence?

No.

The opportunity without His presence?

No.

The answered prayer without His presence?

No.

The ministry without His presence?

No.

The marriage, family, career, dream, future…
without His presence?

No.

Because after 21 days of seeking Him, I hope we’ve discovered something:

The greatest thing God can give us is GOD!

Not merely His answers.
Not merely His provision.
Not merely His direction.
Not merely His blessing.

HIM.

Yesterday Jesus told us:

GO.

But He ended that same commission with a promise:

“And be sure of this: I am with you always…”
There it is.

GO.

But never…
go alone.

And here’s what makes Moses’ story even more beautiful.

After God assures Moses that His presence will go with him, Moses doesn’t say:

“Great! That’s enough.”

He asks for more.

“Then show me Your glorious presence.”
— Exodus 33:18 (NLT)

After experiencing God…
Moses wanted more of God.

And maybe now you understand why I’ve ended these posts the same way over and over again:

More of Him is mine.

That’s been my prayer through this entire journey.

Not simply:

More answers are mine.
More blessings are mine.
More clarity is mine.
More breakthrough is mine.

No.

More of HIM is mine.

And after 21 days…

I hope you’re hungrier for Him today than you were when we started.

Because fasting was never the destination.

Jesus was.

⸻

So What Happens Now?

Today, you may eat something you haven’t eaten in three weeks. 😂
You may reinstall something.
Turn something back on.
Return to some normal rhythms.

But please…

don’t return to a life that can be lived without an awareness of His presence.

Take Him into your morning.
Take Him into your work.
Take Him into your marriage.
Take Him into your parenting.
Take Him into your decisions.
Take Him into your conversations.
Take Him into your church.
Take Him into your ordinary Tuesday afternoon.

Don’t reserve His presence for fasting seasons.
Practice His presence in everyday life.

Because I don’t merely want Jesus for 21 extraordinary days.

I need Him for every ordinary one that follows.

And I can say this personally:

Without His presence, I don’t just not want to do this life.

I can’t.

⸻

One Last Challenge

Yesterday, you wrote DAY 22 in your journal.

Today, underneath it, write two words:
WITH HIM.

That’s how I want to live Day 22.
And Day 23.
And Day 100.
And every day He gives me.

With Him.

Then pray one final prayer over this journey:

“Jesus, whatever comes next…I don’t want to go without You. Make me increasingly aware of Your presence in the ordinary moments of my life. Don’t let the hunger You awakened during these 21 days disappear now that the fast has ended. I want to know You more, hear You more clearly, obey You more quickly, love You more deeply, and reflect You more fully. Wherever You lead, I’ll go—but I don’t want to take one step without You. Show me Your glorious presence. More of You, Jesus. Amen.”

⸻

For 21 days:

RETURN TO HIM.

Yesterday:

GO.

Today—and every day after:

STAY WITH HIM.

The fast is finished.

His presence isn’t.

❤️

~Monty
More of Him is mine.

08/22/2026

RETURN TO ME
DAY 21 — GO

The Fast Ends. The Following Doesn’t.

Day 21.

We made it!

Twenty-one days ago, we began with one invitation from God:

“Return to Me with all your heart…” — Joel 2:12

And we did.

Not perfectly.
Not identically.
But intentionally.
We laid things down.
We made room.
We surrendered.
We hungered.
We listened.
We obeyed.
We trusted.
We learned to abide.
We rested.
We pursued holiness.
We worshiped.
We interceded.
We saw people with compassion.
We served.
We received grace.
We remembered with gratitude.
We persevered.
We received His peace.
We examined how we love.
We chose faith when we couldn’t see.

And yesterday, we decided that some things God helped us put down…
need to stay down.

But today isn’t simply the end of a fast.

Today is a commissioning.

Jesus told His disciples:
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations… Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always…”. Matthew 28:19–20 (NLT)

GO.

That’s what disciples do.

We come to Jesus.
We walk with Jesus.
We become like Jesus.
And then we carry Jesus into the world around us.

These twenty-one days were never meant to create a spiritual experience we could look back on and say:

“That was amazing.”

They were meant to form a life that looks different because we’ve been with Him.

So tomorrow, eat.
Enjoy what you appropriately laid aside.

Celebrate.
Give thanks.
But don’t go back to sleep spiritually.

Don’t return to the same distractions.
Don’t abandon the prayer life you’ve developed.
Don’t close the Bible you’ve learned to hunger for.
Don’t stop listening.
Don’t stop serving.
Don’t stop interceding.
Don’t pick bitterness back up.
Don’t surrender your peace.
Don’t stop loving difficult people.
Don’t stop trusting because the answer hasn’t arrived yet.

And don’t mistake the end of the discipline for the end of the discipleship.

The fast ends.

The following doesn’t.

🔥

For twenty-one days we’ve said:

Return to Him.
Walk with Him.
Become like Him.

Today, we add one more:

GO LIVE LIKE HIM.

Take what God has formed in the secret place…

into your home.
Into your marriage.
Into your parenting.
Into your workplace.
Into your school.
Into your church.
Into your neighborhood.
Into conversations.
Into interruptions.
Into the life of somebody who desperately needs to encounter the Jesus you’ve been encountering.

Because the evidence of this fast won’t ultimately be what happened during these twenty-one days.

It will be what happens BECAUSE of them.

⸻

Today’s Prayer

Jesus, thank You for meeting me throughout these twenty-one days. Thank You for every word You spoke, every place You corrected me, every burden You carried, every freedom You brought, and even every prayer I’m still waiting to see answered. I surrender again everything You have shown me and everything You have formed in me. Don’t let this become merely an experience I remember. Let it become a life I live. Send me into my home, my church, my workplace, my community, and my world carrying Your love, Your truth, Your grace, and Your presence. I am Yours. Wherever You lead, I will follow. Whatever You ask, I will obey. Use my life to help others know and follow You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

⸻

Today’s Challenge

Go back through your journal.

Don’t rush.
Look at where you started.
Read some of your prayers.
Look at your VISION.
Read your I REMEMBER list.

Look again at yesterday’s KEEP | LEAVE page.

Then find a clean page and write:

DAY 22

Underneath it, write:

“The fast ends. The following doesn’t.”

Then answer one question:

What will be different tomorrow because of what God has formed in me during these twenty-one days?

Be specific.

Not:

“I’ll be closer to God.”

What changes?
What remains?
What stays down?
What obedience continues?
What rhythm becomes part of your life?
Who will experience Jesus differently through you?

Write it down.

Then sign your name beneath it.
Not as a promise of perfection.
As an act of surrender.

And when you close your journal today, don’t say:

“I finished.”

Say:

“Send me.”

⸻

Twenty-one days ago, God said:

RETURN TO ME.

We returned.
We walked.
He’s been forming us.

And now…

GO.

The world doesn’t need to know that you completed a twenty-one-day fast.

It needs to encounter the Jesus you’ve been meeting here.

⸻

Return to Him.
Walk with Him.
Become like Him.
GO LIVE LIKE HIM.

“Return to Me with all your heart…”
Joel 2:12

~Monty
More of Him is mine.

08/21/2026

RETURN TO ME
DAY 20 — FREEDOM

Some Things Should Stay Down

Day 20.

One more day.

And I imagine some of us have already thought about it…

What am I going to eat?
What am I going to drink?
What am I going to watch?
What am I going to download, open, scroll, or enjoy again?

😂 I get it.

But before we start making plans for what we’re going to pick back up…

maybe we should ask God whether everything we put down needs to come back.

Paul writes:
“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again…”
Galatians 5:1 (NLT)

Now, context matters.

Paul wasn’t writing about sugar, caffeine, television, or social media. He was confronting believers who were being pulled back into dependence upon the law as the basis of their standing with God.

But there’s a principle here we shouldn’t miss:

Christ sets people free.

And people who have been set free shouldn’t eagerly return to bo***ge.
One thing fasting can do is reveal just how much power something had over us.

Maybe during these twenty days you discovered:

I didn’t realize how often I reached for that.
I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to say no to that.
I didn’t realize how much time that consumed.
I didn’t realize how often I used that to escape.
I didn’t realize how much mental space that occupied.
I didn’t realize how dependent I had become.

Sometimes we don’t recognize what has a grip on us…until we try to let it go.

And maybe God has used these twenty days to loosen some grips.

So here’s the question:

Why automatically put yourself back into something God has been teaching you to live without?
I’m not saying everything you fasted from was sinful.
It probably wasn’t.

Some things are perfectly good things that we temporarily laid aside to pursue something greater.
Enjoy them again with gratitude.

But maybe…
some things should stay down.

And at the same time, some things God has formed during these twenty days should remain.

Maybe you started getting up earlier to pray.

Keep it.

Maybe you’ve been reading Scripture every day.

Keep going.

Maybe you’ve learned to sit quietly and listen.

Keep listening.

Maybe your phone has lost some of its grip on you.

Don’t automatically give it back.

Maybe you stopped consuming something and realized you’re better without it.

You don’t have to bring it back.

Maybe God exposed an attitude, habit, relationship pattern, or distraction that was keeping you from Him.

Don’t rebuild what He helped you tear down.

Because the fast was temporary.
The freedom doesn’t have to be.

Tomorrow isn’t simply about finishing something.

It’s about deciding how we’re going to live because of what God has shown us through it.

────────

Today’s Prayer

Father, thank You for every place where You have brought freedom during these twenty days. Give me wisdom to recognize what was simply laid aside for a season and what You may be asking me to leave behind. Show me the new rhythms, habits, hunger, and dependence that need to continue. I don’t want to rebuild anything You have helped tear down or surrender anything You have formed in me. Jesus, teach me how to live free—and how to stay free. Amen.

────────

Today’s Challenge

Open your journal and draw a line down the middle of a page.
At the top of one side write:

KEEP

On the other:

LEAVE

Then get quiet before God.

Under KEEP, ask:
“What has God formed in me during these twenty days that needs to continue?”

Prayer rhythms.
Scripture.
Listening.
Serving.
Journaling.
Greater intentionality.
Whatever He shows you.

Then under LEAVE, ask:
“What did I put down for these 21 days that perhaps doesn’t need to come back?”

A distraction.
A habit.
An unhealthy dependence.
A pattern.

Something that had more control over you than you realized.
Don’t make the list quickly.

Pray over it.

Because tomorrow isn’t permission to automatically return to everything you left twenty-one days ago.
Tomorrow is an opportunity to walk forward differently.

Some things need to come with you.
Some things need to stay behind.

And maybe that’s one of the greatest evidences that this fast has actually formed us:

We don’t return to exactly the same life we were living when we began it.

────────

Return to Him.
Walk with Him.
Become like Him.

“Return to Me with all your heart…”
Joel 2:12

~ Monty
More of Him is mine.

08/20/2026

RETURN TO ME
DAY 19 — FAITH

Even If I Still Cannot See

Day 19.

We’re almost there.

And nineteen days ago, many of us began this fast carrying something.
A prayer.
A decision.
A relationship.
A need.
A burden.
A question.
Something we desperately wanted God to speak into or move in.

And maybe He has.
Maybe you’ve seen an answer.
Maybe He’s given direction.
Maybe something has changed that only God could have changed.

But for some of us…

Day 19 has arrived, and the answer hasn’t.

And that’s where today’s word becomes incredibly important:

FAITH.

Hebrews tells us:
“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”
Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

Things we cannot see.

That’s important.

Because faith wouldn’t require faith if we could already see everything.

Back on Day 5 — TRUST, we talked about how:

Trust grows when certainty decreases.

Fourteen days later, perhaps God is asking us the same question at a deeper level.

Will you still trust Me when you cannot see?

Hebrews 11 is filled with people who did exactly that.
They believed.
They obeyed.
They moved.
They waited.
They trusted.

Abraham is one of my favorites.

Hebrews 11:8 tells us that when God called him to leave his home and go somewhere else, Abraham obeyed and went, even though he didn’t know where he was going.

No complete map.
No explanation of every turn ahead.
Just enough revelation for the next act of obedience.

Sound familiar?

We’ve talked throughout this fast about following Jesus one step at a time.

And now, as we approach the end, maybe God isn’t going to give us visibility of the entire road.
Maybe He’s teaching us something better:

How to walk with Him when we can’t see it.

Because there is an important distinction we need to make:

Faith isn’t confidence that God will do exactly what I asked.

Faith is confidence in God even when He doesn’t.

That’s not pessimism.
That’s surrender.

Our faith isn’t ultimately in an outcome.
Our faith is in a Person.

Sometimes we say:

“I’m trusting God.”

But underneath it, what we actually mean is:

“I’m trusting God to give me the outcome I’ve decided is best.”

But mature faith eventually opens its hands and says:

“Father, I have told You what I desire. I believe You can do it. I will continue asking and believing. But more than I trust my desired outcome… I trust You.”

That’s faith.

And suddenly we’re right back where this journey began.

Day 1 — SURRENDER.

We began with open hands saying:

“Here I am.”

Day 19 asks whether those hands are still open.

Can I surrender the answer?
Can I surrender the timing?
Can I surrender how God chooses to accomplish it?
Can I believe He’s good when His answer looks different from mine?
Can I keep walking when the trail disappears in the mist?

Yes.

Because I may not know where the road leads…

but I know Who I’m following.

⸻

Today’s Prayer

Father, I believe You. I believe You are good, faithful, wise, and completely trustworthy. You know the prayers I’ve carried throughout this fast. You know the answers I long for and the things I still cannot see. Today I surrender them again. My faith is not in a particular outcome—my faith is in You. Give me courage to obey when I don’t have the whole map, patience to wait when the answer hasn’t come, and faith to keep walking when I cannot see what is ahead. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

⸻

Today’s Challenge

Go back to the prayer, need, decision, or burden you brought into this fast.

Especially one that hasn’t been answered yet.

Write it down one more time.
But underneath it, write:

EVEN IF I STILL CANNOT SEE…

Then finish this sentence:

“God, I trust You because __________.”

Don’t write what you hope He will do.

Write what you know about who He is.

You are faithful.
You are good.
You love me.
You see what I cannot see.
You know what I do not know.
You have never abandoned me.

Then pray about that request again.

Ask boldly.
Believe boldly.
And surrender the outcome completely.

Because faith doesn’t mean we stop asking.

Faith means our confidence in God becomes greater than our demand for a particular answer.

Day 21 may arrive before the answer does.
And that’s okay.

The fast was never about forcing God’s hand.

It was about opening ours.

And if we leave these 21 days with open hands, trusting hearts, and eyes fixed on Jesus…

something has already changed.

⸻

Return to Him.
Walk with Him.
Become like Him.

“Return to Me with all your heart…”
Joel 2:12

~ Monty
More of Him is mine.

08/19/2026

RETURN TO ME
DAY 18 — LOVE

The Evidence

Day 18.

For more than two weeks now, we’ve intentionally pursued Jesus.

We’ve surrendered.
Prayed.
Listened.
Obeyed.
Trusted.
Worshiped.
Served.
Fastened our eyes on Jesus.

And today I want us to ask a question that may be more important than whether we’ve successfully maintained our fast:

Are we becoming more loving?

John writes:
“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
1 John 4:7–8 (NLT)

That’s strong.

John connects our love for people directly to our knowledge of God.

Why?
Because:

God is love.

So if I’m spending more time with Him…
If I’m knowing Him more deeply…
If I’m becoming more like Jesus…
Love should increasingly become visible in me.

That means we need to be careful about how we measure spiritual growth.

I can read more Scripture…
and still be harsh.

I can pray longer…
and still be impatient.

I can fast for 18 days…
and still hold bitterness toward someone.

I can know more theology…
and still treat people terribly.

And if that’s happening, something is missing.

Because discipleship isn’t merely learning more about Jesus.
It’s becoming more like Jesus.

But don’t turn LOVE into another religious achievement.

Keep reading.

John says:
“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”
1 John 4:10 (NLT)

There it is again.
Grace.

Love doesn’t begin with us.
It begins with Him.

We aren’t trying to manufacture enough love to prove we’re good Christians.

We receive the extraordinary love of God…
and then we begin giving away what we’ve received.

John continues:
“Since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.”
1 John 4:11 (NLT)

He loved us.

Therefore…
we love them.
Even when them isn’t easy.

Because it’s easy to say:

“I love people.”

But what about THAT person?

The person who irritates you.
The person who disappointed you.
The person who disagrees with you.
The family member who hurt you.
The person who can’t do anything for you.
The person you forgave back on Day -8 (8 days before the fast dealing with forgiveness).

Remember them?

After 18 days of drawing closer to Jesus…
has anything changed in the way you see them?

Because perhaps one of the greatest evidences that we’ve encountered Jesus during this fast won’t be something we felt during prayer.

Maybe it will be something someone else experiences because we’ve been with Him.

More patience.
More kindness.
More grace.
More forgiveness.
More compassion.
More love.

We’ve been saying throughout this journey:

More of Him is mine.

But today we need to ask:

Is more of Him visible through me?

────────

Today’s Prayer

Father, thank You for loving me first. I could never earn Your love, and I cannot manufacture Your love on my own. Fill me again with Your love and let what I receive from You overflow into the lives of others. Show me where bitterness, impatience, pride, selfishness, or unforgiveness still keeps me from loving like Jesus. Make Your love increasingly visible through the way I speak, respond, forgive, serve, and live. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

────────

Today’s Challenge

Read 1 John 4:7–12 slowly.

Then ask Jesus one question:

“Who is hardest for me to love well right now?”

Don’t choose a category of people.
Choose a name.

Then ask:

“Jesus, what would Your love look like toward this person today?”

And do whatever He shows you.

Maybe pray for them.
Encourage them.
Listen.
Serve.
Forgive again.
Stop speaking negatively about them.
Perhaps initiate a conversation where that’s appropriate.

Loving someone doesn’t mean ignoring healthy boundaries, pretending hurt never happened, or immediately restoring trust that hasn’t been rebuilt.

But even with boundaries…
we can choose love.

Eighteen days ago, we began asking God to change us.

Today, let’s look for some evidence.

Not merely in our journal.
Not merely in our prayer time.
Not merely in our ability to complete a fast.

Look at how we’re loving people.

Because the closer we get to the heart of Jesus…

the more His heart should become visible through ours.

────────

Return to Him.
Walk with Him.
Become like Him.

“Return to Me with all your heart…”
Joel 2:12

~ Monty
More of Him is mine.

08/18/2026

RETURN TO ME
DAY 17 — PEACE

Peace Before the Answer

Yesterday, we talked about PERSEVERANCE.

Keep walking.
Keep trusting.
Keep following Jesus—even when you don’t know what happens next.

But today, I want us to discover something beautiful:

You don’t have to walk anxiously while you wait.

Jesus said:
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
John 14:27 (NLT)

I love the way Jesus describes peace:

A gift.

Not something we manufacture.
Not something we achieve when we’ve finally gotten everything under control.
Something He gives.

And Jesus says His peace is different from anything the world can give.
Because the world’s version of peace usually requires the problem to go away.

I’ll have peace when the diagnosis comes back okay.
I’ll have peace when the relationship is fixed.
I’ll have peace when I know which decision to make.
I’ll have peace when the finances work out.
I’ll have peace when this prayer is finally answered.

In other words:

Change my circumstances, and then I’ll have peace.
But Jesus offers something completely different.

Peace before the answer.

Think about when Jesus spoke these words.

This wasn’t after the resurrection when everything had settled down.
This was before the cross.

Jesus knew what was coming.

The disciples were about to experience fear, confusion, grief, and circumstances they couldn’t possibly understand.
Jesus didn’t promise them peaceful circumstances.

He promised them His peace in circumstances that were about to become anything but peaceful.

Maybe that’s exactly what someone needs on Day 17.

You entered this fast praying about something…

and you’re still waiting.

You still don’t know.
The situation hasn’t changed.
The door hasn’t opened.
The answer hasn’t come.

Yesterday, we said:

Keep following.

Today, Jesus says:

Receive My peace while you do.

Because peace isn’t ultimately found in knowing what happens next.
Peace is found in knowing Who is already there.

You don’t need tomorrow’s answer to trust the One who already holds tomorrow.

You don’t need every question resolved.
You don’t need every circumstance settled.
You don’t even need to understand what God is doing.

You need Jesus.

And His peace isn’t merely the absence of trouble.

It’s the presence of Christ becoming greater in our awareness than the trouble surrounding us.

So today…

Stop trying to manufacture peace by figuring everything out.

Receive what Jesus is already offering.

────────

Today’s Prayer

Jesus, thank You for giving me a peace the world cannot give. Forgive me for believing I need every circumstance settled before my heart can rest. Today I surrender again the unanswered questions, the things I cannot control, and the prayers I’m still waiting on. I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know You are already there. Let Your presence become greater in my awareness than anything causing me fear or uncertainty. I receive Your peace today. Amen.

────────

Today’s Challenge

Find a quiet place today and identify one thing that is currently stealing your peace.

Name it.
Write it down.
Then underneath it, write:

“I do not need this resolved in order to have the peace of Jesus.”

Now sit quietly for a few minutes.

Don’t solve it.
Don’t rehearse every possible outcome.
Don’t try to figure out what God is doing.

Simply pray:

“Jesus, I trust You with this. I receive Your peace while I wait.”

Then leave it there.

And if you pick it back up later today…
give it back again.

Peace isn’t pretending the problem doesn’t exist.

It’s refusing to let the problem become greater in our awareness than the One who is with us in it.

Yesterday:

Keep walking.

Today:

Stop walking worried.

Because the world says:

“When everything changes, then you can have peace.”

Jesus says:

“I give you My peace now.”

────────

Return to Him.
Walk with Him.
Become like Him.

“Return to Me with all your heart…”
Joel 2:12

~ Monty
More of Him is mine.

08/17/2026

RETURN TO ME
DAY 16 — PERSEVERE

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

Day 16.

We have entered the final stretch of this fast. Maybe you’re feeling strong.
Maybe God has spoken clearly.
Maybe you’ve experienced breakthrough.
Maybe something has changed.

But maybe…

you’re tired.

Maybe the excitement you felt at the beginning has faded.
Maybe you’re still waiting on the very thing you began this fast praying about.
Maybe God has seemed quiet.
Maybe you’re wondering:

“Has anything really changed?”

If that’s you, today’s word is especially important:

PERSEVERE.

The writer of Hebrews says:
“Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Hebrews 12:1–2 (NLT)

Notice where our attention is directed.

Not toward the finish line.
Not toward everyone else’s progress.
Not even toward ourselves.

Toward Jesus.

That’s important right now.
Because it would be easy to spend these final days counting down:

Five more days.
Almost there.
I can finally have ______ again.

But what if Day 21 isn’t really the finish line?

What if God has been using these 21 days to teach us how to keep walking long after the fast is finished?

Because the goal isn’t simply to complete a fast.

The goal is to become someone who keeps following Jesus.

That’s perseverance.

Following when you feel Him near.
And following when you don’t.
Obeying when the next step is clear.
And trusting when it isn’t.

Praying when answers come quickly.
And continuing to pray when they don’t.
Worshiping when your heart feels full.
And worshiping when worship becomes a choice.

Remember what we learned earlier in this journey:

Consistency matters more than intensity.
Anybody can have a moment of intensity.

But discipleship is built through a lifetime of faithful following.

And maybe the prayer that brought you into this fast still hasn’t been answered.
Don’t assume God isn’t working simply because you can’t see what He’s doing.

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Maybe the breakthrough isn’t here yet.

Keep following.

Maybe the direction isn’t clear yet.

Keep following.

Maybe nothing dramatic has happened.

Keep following.

Because sometimes the greatest work God does during a fast isn’t changing the situation we’ve been praying about.

It’s changing the person who’s praying.

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Today’s Prayer

Jesus, fix my eyes on You. When I become tired, strengthen me. When I become distracted, refocus me. When answers don’t come as quickly as I hoped, teach me to trust You. I don’t want merely to finish these 21 days—I want to become someone who faithfully follows You for a lifetime. Continue the work You have begun in me, and give me grace to keep walking even when I cannot yet see where You’re leading. Amen.

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Today’s Challenge

Remember Day -4 (4 days before we began) when we covered VISION?

Before this fast began, we asked:

“What am I seeking God for during these 21 days?”

Today, go back and read what you wrote.

Then ask yourself four questions:

What has God already done in me?

What have I learned about Him?

What am I still trusting Him with?

What needs to continue after Day 21?

Write your answers down.

And if you haven’t received the answer yet…
don’t manufacture one.

If God hasn’t given direction yet…
don’t force it.

If you’re still waiting…
wait faithfully.

Because perseverance isn’t pretending you aren’t tired.

It’s deciding that tired won’t determine whether you keep following.

We’re getting closer to Day 21.

But don’t start looking for the exit.

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

The fast will end.

The following Him won’t.

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Return to Him.
Walk with Him.
Become like Him.

“Return to Me with all your heart…”
Joel 2:12

~ Monty
More of Him is mine.

08/16/2026

RETURN TO ME
DAY 15 — GRATITUDE

Don’t Forget

Yesterday was GRACE.
We remembered that everything begins with what God has given us—not what we’ve earned.

So today, there’s really only one appropriate response:

Thank You.

David writes:

“Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things He does for me.”
Psalm 103:2 (NLT)

I love those words:

“May I never forget…”

Because apparently…

we can.

We can become so focused on what we’re asking God to do next that we forget what He’s already done.

We remember the unanswered prayer…

and forget the hundred answered ones.

We remember what we’re waiting for…

and forget what He’s already provided.

We remember what’s difficult…

and forget how many times He’s carried us through difficulty before.

That’s why gratitude is more than good manners.
Gratitude is spiritual remembrance.

David begins talking to his own soul:

Don’t forget.
Don’t forget His forgiveness.
Don’t forget His healing.
Don’t forget His redemption.
Don’t forget His compassion and mercy.
Don’t forget the good things He has done.

And maybe on Day 15 of this fast, we need to do exactly that.

For two weeks, we’ve brought God our desires.

Our needs.
Our questions.
Our families.
Our decisions.
Our burdens.
Our prayers.

But today…

what if we ask Him for absolutely nothing?
What if we simply remember?

Remember where you were.
Remember what He brought you through.
Remember the prayer He answered.
Remember the door He opened.
Remember the door He mercifully closed.
Remember the provision that arrived.
Remember the person He sent.
Remember the grace you didn’t deserve.
Remember the cross.
Remember the empty tomb.

Remember…

Jesus.

And then say:

“Thank You.”

Because yesterday we remembered that everything is gift.

Today…

we thank the Giver.

⸻

Today’s Prayer

Father, thank You. Before I ask You for anything today, I want to remember everything You’ve already done. Forgive me for how quickly I forget Your faithfulness. Thank You for saving me, forgiving me, carrying me, providing for me, correcting me, loving me, and never leaving me. Holy Spirit, bring to my remembrance today the evidence of Your goodness throughout my life. Let gratitude become more than something I say. Let it become the posture of my heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

⸻

Today’s Challenge

Today, have one prayer time where you ask God for absolutely nothing.

No requests.
No needs.
No “God, would You…”

Just:

Thank You.

Then open your journal and write:

I REMEMBER…

And start listing.

Don’t stop at three.
Don’t stop at five.
See how far you can go.

Big things.
Small things.
Answered prayers.
Unexpected provision.
People.
Moments.
Mercies.
Second chances.

Things you didn’t understand then but thank Him for now.

And somewhere on that list, write in big letters:

JESUS.

Because when we remember everything He’s done, gratitude changes our perspective on everything we’re still waiting for.

The God I’m trusting with tomorrow is the same God who has been faithful through every yesterday.

So today…

Don’t forget.

Remember.

And give thanks.

⸻

Return to Him.
Walk with Him.
Become like Him.

“Return to Me with all your heart…”
Joel 2:12

~ Monty
More of Him is mine.

Be Still : A 21-Day Fast Journey

08/23/2026

08/22/2026

08/21/2026

08/20/2026

08/19/2026

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08/16/2026

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