Lent 2012: Lord Ignite My Passion

People who are serious about God and fulfilling their God-given calling have passion. So let me ask you, when people describe you do they use the word “passion”? If not, in the next 40 days allow God to ignite in you a passion for Him so deep that others will be remarkably drawn to you (or in some cases repelled depending on their desire to know God).

After (7) 40-day Surrender Fast you may think I have had enough, but to the contrary. The closer I draw to God the more aware of my flaws, my unworthiness to be used by Him, and by what a nothing I truly am without Him.  And it is from this posture that my passion for God and the things of Him has grown.

The passion is so great that I am willing to eliminate any and every thing that I feel keeps me from pursuing Him with all my might. To some people I seem eccentric and several have said to me, “It doesn’t take all of that.” But I know where God is taking me and it takes all of that and MORE.

What are you willing to sacrifice for a closer walk with God? What are you willing to leave behind to fulfill the call He has on your life. The surrendered believer knows that his/her life is not her own but to Christ he/she belongs.

On that note, in the next 7 days we are embarking on a new cycle of fasting! I am excited about what God will do. His word says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” I don’t know about you but I am simply looking forward to experiencing His presence in a new way.

Now a few instructions:

1. Complete the Pre-Fast Preparation chapters.
2. Day 1 begins on February 27, 2012.
3. Please press the word “Follow” on the right of the screen to have this blog posted in your Inbox every week.
4. If you are NOT receiving emails from me please Sign Up for Surrender 2012 on the website.
5. The Morning Prayer resumes Feb 27, 7:00-7:15a.m. (EST).
6. Please pass the word. Tweet, FB, and Email your family and friends. Pray and ask God who you should bless with a copy of this powerful book. Copies of The 40-Day Surrender Fast can be purchased on the website.
7. LIKE the Surrender Fast on Facebook.

Most importantly remember that you are the favored of God, you are blessed and that you are his beloved son/daughter in whom He is well pleased. If that doesn’t ignite your passion, I don’t know what will!

With God all things are possible,
Dr. Celeste

P.S. Your comments are welcome. What are you seeking? What do you need God to do for you? In what areas do you need your passion ignited (e.g, family. love walk, ministry, etc)? Please share your thoughts below.

Lent 2012: As One Cycle Ends, Another Begins

You did it!

You’ve completed The 40-Day Surrender Fast and so much has changed; God has made all things new. I, for one, am refreshed, renewed and my faith is stronger than it has ever been.

Likewise, the testimonies are rolling. Here’s a few:

“I had been molested by my dentist as a child. From that I developed an intense fear of dentist and did not go to one as an adult until recently. Thanks to The 40-Day Surrender Fast I am no longer ashamed of my past, and I am not fearful of dentist.In fact, I am going to the dentist this week to have them finalize repair on my long-neglected teeth. I praise God for freedom.” Sheila

“Today my daughter’s teacher phoned me to say that she has improved dramatically. She is turning in her assignments on time, getting better grades, and participating more in class. She had been having problems since PRE-K! She is now in middle school. It feels so good to hear the positive comments. God is a mighty good God!” Chartese

Also my 9-year-old nephew Ryan, the youngest faster to date, completed the fast. He surrendered video games and vowed to brush his teeth three times a day. After the first week he told his mom, “this fast really works, my teeth have never been this white.” He shared his praise report on the last Weekly Wrap-up call (712.772.7200, access code 438001, Ref #40).

So what now?

It starts all over again. Truthfully, I hadn’t planned to lead another 40 day structured fasting period until April but as God would have it we are doing it now starting February 27, 2012 to coincide with the Lenten Season.

Here are the details:

1. Required Reading. The 40-Day Surrender Fast
2. Pre-Fast Preparation. Complete before February 27
3. Start Day 1. Monday, February 27
4. Prayer Line. Mon. – Thurs – 7-7:15am (EST)
5. Weekly Wrap-up Call. Every Friday – 12noon (EST)
6. Weekly Blog.
7. Webinar. Monday evenings – 7:00 – 8:30 pm (EST)

This time the morning teaching will come from my yet-to-be-published book: Destined to Succeed, 7-Steps for Fulfilling Your Destiny! Of course the Prayer Team is in place and ready to intercede on your behalf.

Again, I pray that you were abundantly blessed during the 40 days of surrender. I also hope that this is not a one-time event but the start of a lifestyle of surrender.

Please share with us your praise report at testimony@surrenderfast.com or in the space below.

With God all things are possible,
Dr. Celeste

Week 6: No More Props

Welcome to Day 36! We are in the last week of our 40 day surrender. It seems—at least to me—that the time has flown. And I must say, I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this experience with you.

Today’s devotional is No More Props. The scripture reference comes from Isaiah 3:1, “For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff [every kind of prop], the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water” (Amplified Bible).

Thankfully, there comes a time in every surrendered person’s life that God removes every prop that has given he/she a sense of stability and comfort. It happened to me a few years back; certainly not a good feeling, but necessary.

Perhaps you are currently going through this prop-removing process. If so, you are probably experiencing some discomfort as God stretches and forces you to learn who He is for yourself. Don’t be alarmed and don’t try to remove yourself from the process; this is the Lord’s doing and it needs to happen so that you can be a success in Him.

Therefore, as you surrender and allow Him to remove the props, He will show you the next steps and bring you to higher heights and deeper depths in Him. He has a great plan for you and I pray that you continue to surrender your life so that you experience all that He has for you!

On another note…many individuals, clubs and churches have committed to doing The 40-Day Surrender Fast for the Lenten Season. If you know of any one that would be interested in participating in the Surrender Fast please let them know that this structured time of fasting will occur from February 22 – April 7. The Surrender Fast team plans to provide the same level of support we did for the first-of-the-year fasters: weekly Morning Prayer conference calls, the Friday weekly wrap-up, Facebook support, and blog.

Again, please pass the word to your family and friends about what is to come. Likewise you are more than welcome to participate even if you are not fasting for Lent (I will teach a new series for the morning prayer).

Lastly, I will be making an announcement this week on a new activity we will offer those who wish to continue their surrender experience. I am so excited about this next step and I can’t wait to share with you what we have in store.

I would love to hear from you. If you have a testimony of how God has blessed you on this fast please email me at testimony@surrenderfast.com. Or simple respond below.

With God all things are possible,
Dr. Celeste

Week 5: The God of the Impossible

Welcome to Day 29! Today’s devotional, The God of the Impossible, was one of my favorite to write. One day prior to my writing that blog, God did the seemingly impossible; He saved my youngest brother. (Stephen will join us this Friday on the Weekly Wrap-up Call to share with us a snippet of his experiences as a new creation.) What an exciting day that was, not only for me, but my entire family.

Obviously, I don’t need to recap the story; you have it there in black and white. But what I do want to stress is that God is not through, He wants to bless you equally as much.

What requests do you have before Him? Perhaps they’re related to your business, family, health, and/or ministry efforts. Whatever the case, do you believe that they will come to pass? I hope by now your answer is YES because it is faith that moves God.

Hebrews 11:6 reads, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Therefore, if you’re going to experience His great and mighty hand in your circumstances, you must believe Him at His word. So continue to seek Him, to grow closer to Him, and to believe that He can do what seems humanly impossible.

That’s what Jabez did. And like Jabez, you have been seeking God for the last 29 days, asking Him to bless you INDEED and to enlarge your territory (I Chr. 4:10). Thankfully, God doesn’t ignore sincere prayers that are made with the proper motivation. Hannah is a witness to this truth (I Samuel 1:8-18) as is Peter, whose friends earnestly prayed until he was supernaturally freed from a Roman jail (see Acts 12)! And if God—who does not value one person over another—did that for them, what might He do for you? The sky isn’t even the limit, because the possibilities are limitless with God.

On that note, this week we will continue our study of the Jabez prayer with the theme New Horizons with God. We will focus on the last portion of the prayer which reads, “So God granted Him what he requested.” You won’t want to miss this special time with our Father.

Join us M-Th, 7:00-7:15am (EST) at 712-775-7200, access code: 438001.

I would love to hear from you. If you have a testimony of how God has blessed you on this fast please email me at testimony@surrenderfast.com. Or simple respond below.

With God all things are possible,
Dr. Celeste

Week 4: Dust off Your Dreams

Welcome to Day 22! We are more than half-way there. I pray that your experience thus far has been as rich and full as mine.

Today’s devotional Dust off Your Dreams, reminds us that God has not forgotten; that He still plans to prosper us in every area of our lives. For that reason we are to “dream big, dream bold and always remember that He does not forget” His promises.

What are your dreams for your life? A career, marriage, education, and/or more impact for the kingdom? Then pursue those dreams like never before in 2012. As you do so remember these two important points:

1. God wants to bless you INDEED. All He needs from you is a devoted heart and faith that believes He can do anything.  God has repeatedly reminded us during the course of this fast to let Him do a new thing, to ask for what we need according to His will and He will do it, and to BELIEVE that He will bless us INDEED. Each day we have prayed the Jabez prayer (I Chronicles 4:10) and each day He hears and is anxious to work on our behalf. 2 Chronicles 16:9a reminds us ”For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” A surrender heart is a loyal heart; therefore expect God to bless you and to grant you good success in your business.
2. When you take care of God’s business He takes care of yours. The scripture tells us, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” And that’s just what you’ve been doing during the course of this fast—seeking God. Now watch Him show up in your situation and work mightily. Recently God has been telling me to “rest.” For me rest meant that I was to allow Him to market The 40-Day Surrender Fast the way He wished. In the meantime I was to take care of my home and some other missions-related activities. And because of my obedience I have seen God’s hand in the life of this book. He has opened doors for me that I never expected to be opened. Case in point, I am on this amazing experience with you! What a mighty and faithful God we serve.

There’s an excitement in my spirit that’s growing with each passing day. And just in case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of a movement from God. So stay alert and present for the next 18 days. As He told the children of Israel in the book of Joshua, “Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess” (Joshua 1:11, NKJV).

In faith, possess your new land, your new season, and your new life. Dust off those dreams, put them before God, and let Him prosper you in every area of your life.

Remember to join us for morning prayer. This week we are focusing on the 4th part of the Jabez prayer: “and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” Please send your prayer request to prayer@surrenderfast.com.

I would love to hear from you. If you have a testimony of how God has blessed you on this fast please email me at testimony@surrenderfast.com.

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Week 3: We Declare War!

Welcome to Day 15 of your 40 day surrender. If I was a betting woman, I would bet that right about now you are feeling the strain and pain of making such a colossal commitment to God. In fact, several of you wrote in last week to report on your unexpected test and trials. But be encouraged; what you are experiencing is not unusual and you can make it.

As you are aware this is my 7^th surrender fast. So I know from experience that the first week is exciting, but from then on the journey becomes quite challenging. But if you endure to the end by Day 40 you will know that it was all worth it. However, until that glorious end there’s some work to do. Therefore, today’s devotional, I Declare War, is right on time.

The scripture reads, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, KJV).

So if you are wondering why things are not going as you have planned, that scripture gives you your answer. Essentially, the enemy has declared all out war; he is not pleased with your efforts and wants to stop you in any way that he can. But don’t give up. Believe with all your heart that you will obtain the victory.

It is said that the best defense is a good offence. So in the next days and weeks ahead arm yourself with what you need to win. Daily read your word, complete the devotional and personal reflections sections of the book, join the morning Surrender Prayer line, read the encouraging post on Facebook, and talk with your accountability partner(s) as often as you can. One woman shared how working as a group helps:

“There are four of us in our Sistah Group. The first week of the fast was amazing however, this week our tests started. On yesterday all four of us  were tested in various ways. Through it all we made an extra effort to meet last night and it was a blessing.”

So remember you are not alone but part of a community of fasters. Use every resource available to you and know that there are others praying for your success.  There is a war going on and together we will WIN!

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8, NIV).

Week 2: God Says “Ask”

Surrender 2012 is in full effect! What an awesome week we have had. I pray your relationship with our creator is growing in intensity with each passing day.

The scriptural text for today’s devotional, Establish Your Faith (Day 8) comes from John 14:13-14:

“And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

What an awesome promise from our father because the last time I checked, “anything” meant anything. So how are you about asking God for what you need? One Surrender Faster had an A-ha moment last week while reciting the Prayer of Jabez during the Surrender Morning Prayer:

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I lost my job back in 2010 and since that time I have been unable to find full-time employment. During my stint with unemployment I’ve been a temp, done volunteer work, and consulted. Even in the midst of my storm God keeps blessing me with funds to pay for gas, lights, transportation, food and occasional outings with friends. So today the light bulb went off in my head. I had never cried out to God and asked Him for a new job, only for provision during my storm. Wow I had spent so much time focusing on the provision I hadn’t made the most simple request of all, “Lord bless me with a job.”  Lynda

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For whatever reason, sometimes we neglect to ask the obvious. But it’s really quite simple, “Ask anything in my name and I will do it.” In other words, if you pray as according to His will it’s done!

That goes to show that there are limits to our asking; God doesn’t answer selfish prayers.  In James 4:3 (NIV) we read, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” But when you ask according to His will, that pleases God and He answers our prayers.

I don’t know about you, but God has revealed to me a portion of His plans for me in 2012. Needless to say, I am excited. But instead of sitting around waiting for those things to happen, I am praying and asking God to provide me the people and other resources I need to successfully complete the assignments He has for me to do. I hope you are doing the same!

As you continue to fast remember to keep God first by committing your morning to Him, completing the daily devotional from The 40-Day Surrender Fast, joining the morning prayer or listening to the recorded taping, and reciting the Prayer of Jabez daily.

Great things are in store for you! Forty days and a surrendered heart will change your life.
Dr. Celeste

Copyright © 2012 by Dr. Celeste Owens. All rights reserved.

Welcome to the New Wave of Surrender Fasters!

If this is Day 1 for you welcome to Surrender 2012!

This is by divine order; God wants you on this fast. In fact, every week of this year, a new group has started the Surrender Fast. I am so glad that you are also part of the number.

In addition to your reading there is a corresponding recorded prayer session focusing on the Jabez Prayer. Again, there is a recorded session for each week day. For example if you are on Day 1 you will call the conference line and listen to the recorder message for Day 1. At the prompt you will put in Ref #1. For subsequent days you will press Ref #2 for Day 2, Ref #3 for Day 3 so on and so forth.

The prayer sessions are 15 long and the weekly wrap up is 30 minutes.

Also remember to read the weekly blog post.

Be bless and may God bless you richly during your time of surrender!

Dr. Celeste

Morning Prayer – The Jabez Prayer

The Little Prayer that Produces Big Results!

You are being challenged to recite this prayer everyday (out loud) for 40 days:

           Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez,saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested (I Chr. 4:9-10 NKJV).

We are reciting this prayer together (M-Th) on the Surrender Morning Prayer conference call:

Time: 7:00 – 7:15am (EST)
Dial:  (712) 775-7200 Enter Access Code – 438001#

Join us as we unpack each line of this powerful prayer:

Week 1 – Blessing from God
Week 2 – Influence for God
Week 3 – Power from God
Week 4 – Protection by God
Week 5 – New Horizons with God
Week 6 – Your Best Life

I’m looking forward to hearing how God shows up as you petition Him for more blessings and territory!

Text: Beyond Jabez, Bruce Wilkinson

Change is in the air,
Dr. Celeste

Welcome to Surrender 2012

Welcome to Day 1 of Surrender 2012!

Today’s devotional, “Expect the Unexpected,” says it all. The next 40 days will bring healing, deliverance, and peace. I guarantee that if you press your way through this fast, God is going to show up in an amazing way. I can’t wait to hear how He blesses you.

You may not know this, but you are part of a community of fasters. We are over 500 strong: men and women, young and old, various denominations, and in various stages of our walk with God (some are even backslidden). But no matter our differences we have collectively decided to surrender to God the “thing” that keeps us disconnected from Him.

As you know this is my 7^th surrender fast. For me, being in a posture of continued surrender has become a lifestyle and I maintain this lifestyle through the act of surrender fasting.

For this round of fasting I am surrender two things: a food item and an psycho/emotional challenge. As far as food is concerned, I will follow a vegan diet for the next 40 days (essentially I am doing the Daniel Fast).

In regards to the emotional challenge I’m surrendering GUILT. Guilt has been an emotional stronghold that has plagued me most of my life. But what is it exactly? According to Merriam-Webster.com guilt is:

1: the fact of having committed a breach of conduct especially violating law and involving a penalty; broadly: guilty conduct

2  a: the state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously

b: feelings of culpability especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy

2b—that’s me. I feel guilty about lots of things: oversleeping (which for me would be sleeping pass 6am), going to bed without cleaning the kitchen, opting to feed my family takeout rather than a home-cooked meal, not being more socially involved, etc. But that is so 2011; I am tired and want out of the guilt zone!

During the Pre-Fast Preparation the Spirit revealed to me two truths:

1. Guilt is a spillover from my former perfectionist days (i.e., I feel guilty when I haven’t performed to the level of perfection).

2. Guilt is a trick of the enemy to keep me disconnected from God. He knows that as long as I am struggling to rid myself of one guilty feeling after another, I won’t be fully available to fulfill God’s great plan for my life.

But now I’m at the point where I need God do a new thing. Guilt is not from Him (see Romans 8:1) and I declare I will be delivered from the spirit of guilt in just 39 more days!

So what are you surrendering? Whatever it is, commit and watch God deliver you too. I don’t care how long you’ve been struggling with a certain condition, circumstance, or person. Give it over to God and let Him supernaturally deliver you from all your afflictions and strongholds.

Truthfully, I don’t know how God will do it; I just know that He will. In the words of Les Brown, the how is none of our business. So let’s just move out of the way and give God room to supernaturally heal us of all our (physical and emotional) diseases.

I’ll catch you on the next conference call. Be blessed!

**Special Assignment: We had our first prayer call this morning. We are on a mission with a special assignment from God. We have been instructed to ask God for what we need and desire just as Jabez did. For that reason each morning we are going to learn of this special man of God and recite the Jabez prayer every morning (even on the days we are not on the call). Dial – (712) 775-7200 Enter Access Code – 438001

There is a short recorded message from me this morning. Listen to Your Recorded Conference from the Phone…
Dial – (712) 775-7299 Enter Access Code – 438001# REF #1 (Note this is a different number than from the call in number.)

Your comments are welcome. Please let us know what you are surrendering and/or your thoughts about God’s instruction to us regarding the prayer of Jabez.