21 Days of Prayer - Day 15 Devotional
21 Days of Fasting & Prayer Devotional – Day 15: A Different Spirit
There are currently right at 8 billion people in the world today – each created by God with their own unique set of DNA which holds the information that makes each person individually unique. Just a single gram of DNA can hold up to 455 exabytes of data! And even more mind blowing, if you were to stretch out all of just one person’s DNA, the length of it would be about twice the diameter of our solar system! God has created each person completely different from another, but all with the same ability to know and respond to their Creator. Although our DNA is responsible for so much of our lives, the reality is we have been given a free will and the ability to respond and pursue God wholeheartedly.
There is a story in the Old Testament about a man named Caleb, who served under Moses’ leadership. Scripture records something very interesting about what God saw in Caleb. After twelve spies were sent into the Promised Land to survey the new land and gather a report for Israel, ten of the twelve spies returned with a negative report. Only Joshua and Caleb believed God could bring them victoriously into the land and spoke with faith to the people. Numbers 14:24 records for us God’s response to Caleb’s wholehearted commitment to him:
“But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.”
Caleb had the same amount of DNA as each of the other spies, but what set him apart was a different spirit. That different spirit led to a different response from God. Where most of the spies saw only opposition, Caleb saw opportunity. This kind of spirit is not automatic but is forged in the personal pursuit of the presence of God. The confidence Caleb displayed was the result of His commitment to being with the Lord.
A holy confidence and faith come to those who seek the Lord with all of their heart. This is why Jesus tells us to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The result will be an ability to believe God will come through even when others can’t see a way. Prayer and fasting conditions our hearts to both hear from God and then respond with an increased level of faith to believe.
So, when God’s people experience trials, they don’t simply see the challenges in front of them, but they face those challenges differently. They see possibility beyond their problems, opportunity instead of just obstacles. They approach life and its circumstances with a different spirit.
What area of your life do you need to approach with a different spirit? Pray that God would allow you see beyond the physical problem and into the spiritual reality so you can watch Him bring the supernatural outcome He desires.
Scriptures
Numbers 13 (NLT)
The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. These are their names:
from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur;
from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)
When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Numbers 14:24 (ESV)
But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.
Luke 10:25-28 (NLT)
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
There is a story in the Old Testament about a man named Caleb, who served under Moses’ leadership. Scripture records something very interesting about what God saw in Caleb. After twelve spies were sent into the Promised Land to survey the new land and gather a report for Israel, ten of the twelve spies returned with a negative report. Only Joshua and Caleb believed God could bring them victoriously into the land and spoke with faith to the people. Numbers 14:24 records for us God’s response to Caleb’s wholehearted commitment to him:
“But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.”
Caleb had the same amount of DNA as each of the other spies, but what set him apart was a different spirit. That different spirit led to a different response from God. Where most of the spies saw only opposition, Caleb saw opportunity. This kind of spirit is not automatic but is forged in the personal pursuit of the presence of God. The confidence Caleb displayed was the result of His commitment to being with the Lord.
A holy confidence and faith come to those who seek the Lord with all of their heart. This is why Jesus tells us to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The result will be an ability to believe God will come through even when others can’t see a way. Prayer and fasting conditions our hearts to both hear from God and then respond with an increased level of faith to believe.
So, when God’s people experience trials, they don’t simply see the challenges in front of them, but they face those challenges differently. They see possibility beyond their problems, opportunity instead of just obstacles. They approach life and its circumstances with a different spirit.
What area of your life do you need to approach with a different spirit? Pray that God would allow you see beyond the physical problem and into the spiritual reality so you can watch Him bring the supernatural outcome He desires.
Scriptures
Numbers 13 (NLT)
The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. These are their names:
from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur;
from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)
When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Numbers 14:24 (ESV)
But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.
Luke 10:25-28 (NLT)
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
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