Give Me 40 days! By Freeda Bowers – A book review

This is one of the best devotion books I have read, although technically, we are supposed to give God all of our days, I am glad that Freeda encouraged her readers to dedicate 40 days to God, to especially seek Him for certain issues in our life.

What drew me to this book was not the magic “40” but rather, a few months ago, Liz in her blog also mentioned about this book. At that point in time, Liz was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer and Clarissa was quarantined for H1N1. Since I was also quarantined with her, I had time to kill, so picking up a book and dedicating 40 minutes a day for 40 days at that point seemed achievable.

Now that my 40 days are over, I could say that it is one of the best moments of my life in terms of quality time with God.  This has nothing to do with my spiritual state (as it was dry and stale) but everything to do with His grace and love. I thank God for helping me to experience His healing and providence over this period:-

1. Clarissa was healed of H1N1, within 1 day literally;
2. I didn’t contract the virus although I was with her 24/7;
3. I found new strength to pray more fervently for my love ones;
4. Clarissa started to grow spiritually, and even witness to her cousins from China;
5. I developed a more discipline time to spend with God in reading His words and praying;
6. Although there were times I felt discouraged, I could experience renewed joy and strength every time;
7. I started to spend some time each night to have daily devotions with Clarissa and Joseph;
8. I find myself to be more joyful and positive.

God reminded me that He is our healer, our provider and our strength. Please don’t get me wrong, that giving God 40 days is a short cut for spiritual growth; Rather, it is a beginning for finding yourself in God again.