Day 2 Study Guide — If You’re Not In It, I Don’t Want It
Anchor Scripture
Jeremiah 33:3 (CSB)
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.”
Today’s Main Reading
Read Exodus 33:7–23 in its entirety.
On Day 1, we focused on discernment—asking God to show us what we cannot see.
Today, we're focusing on alignment.
Moses intentionally went outside the camp to meet with God. In God's presence, Moses didn't merely ask for instructions about where he was going. He asked God to teach him His ways.
Key verse — Exodus 33:13 (CSB):
“Now if I have indeed found favor with you, please teach me your ways, and I will know you…”
And Moses makes a powerful statement in verse 15:
“If your presence does not go… don’t make us go up from here.”
Key Themes for Today
Presence • Alignment • Surrender • Seeking God • Knowing His Ways • Removing Distractions
PART 1 — STUDY THE TEXT
After reading Exodus 33:7–23, answer these questions directly from the passage.
1. Where did Moses pitch the tent of meeting?
Exodus 33:7
2. Who would go to the tent of meeting?
Exodus 33:7
3. What did the people do when Moses went into the tent?
Exodus 33:8
4. What happened when Moses entered the tent?
Exodus 33:9
5. How does Scripture describe the way God communicated with Moses?
Exodus 33:11
6. What did Moses specifically ask God to teach him?
Exodus 33:13
7. According to verse 13, why did Moses want to know God's ways?
8. What did God promise Moses in Exodus 33:14?
9. How did Moses respond to God's promise?
Exodus 33:15
10. According to Moses, what distinguished Israel from every other people on earth?
Exodus 33:16
11. After receiving God's assurance, what did Moses ask to see?
Exodus 33:18
PART 2 — THINK ABOUT IT
Moses didn't merely want direction from God.
He wanted God.
There is a difference between seeking God's hand for an answer and seeking God's presence because we genuinely desire to know Him.
During this fast, we are intentionally stepping “outside the camp.”
Not necessarily physically—but spiritually.
We're removing distractions.
We're quieting outside voices.
We're laying down our own agendas.
We're making room for God.
And today we're asking:
“Lord, teach me Your ways.”
Sometimes our greatest obstacle to clarity isn't that God hasn't spoken.
It may be that too many other voices are competing for our attention.
And sometimes the voice competing with God is our own desire.
PART 3 — BRING IT INTO YOUR LIFE
Take your time with these questions. Don't answer according to what sounds spiritual. Be honest before God.
1. What has been creating the most noise in my life lately?
2. What distractions may be making it difficult for me to become still before God?
3. Whose opinions have I been seeking concerning something I should first be taking before God?
4. Is there something I want so badly that I may have difficulty accepting a different answer from God?
5. Have I been asking God for clarity—or asking Him to confirm something I've already decided?
6. What would it look like for me to genuinely pray: “Lord, I only want what You want”?
7. Is there a relationship, opportunity, plan, partnership, move, or decision that I need to surrender back to God?
8. If God told me that something I deeply desired was not His will for me, would I be willing to release it? Why or why not?
9. Where might God be asking me to slow down and spend more time in His presence before moving forward?
Take This Question Before God
“Lord, what do I need to quiet, surrender, or release so that I can clearly recognize Your way?”
Then sit with another question:
“God, if You're not in it, do I still want it?”
Give yourself permission to be honest.
This isn't about producing the “right” answer.
It's about allowing God to align your heart with His.
PART 4 — GO DEEPER IN SCRIPTURE
Don't stop with Exodus 33. Spend time studying what Scripture teaches about God's presence, surrender, and knowing His ways.
Psalm 25:4–5 — Teach Me Your Ways
“Make your ways known to me, LORD; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me…”
Study question:
Am I asking God simply to bless my way, or am I asking Him to teach me His way?
Proverbs 3:5–6 — Surrender Your Understanding
Trust in the Lord rather than relying solely upon your own understanding.
Study question:
Where am I trying to figure everything out myself instead of acknowledging God and allowing Him to direct me?
Psalm 46:10 — Become Still
“Stop fighting, and know that I am God…”
There are moments when clarity doesn't come through doing more.
It comes through becoming still.
Study question:
What would becoming still before God practically look like for me today?
Romans 12:1–2 — Alignment Changes Discernment
Paul connects the renewing of our minds with being able to discern God's will.
Study question:
Is there an area where my thinking needs to change before I can clearly discern what God desires?
Psalm 139:23–24 — Let God Examine Your Heart
David invited God to search him, know him, test him, and reveal anything within him that needed correction.
Study question:
Could something within my own heart—fear, loneliness, impatience, ambition, attachment, or desire—be affecting how I'm interpreting this situation?
John 10:27 — Know His Voice
Jesus says:
“My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.”
Notice the progression:
Hear → Know → Follow.
Study question:
Am I spending enough time with God to become increasingly familiar with His voice through His Word?
PART 5 — PRAYER → DECLARATION → DECREE
Remember:
We are not attempting to make God do something through our words.
We are finding what God has already said in Scripture and bringing our prayers, thoughts, desires, decisions, and words into agreement with Him.
STEP 1 — IDENTIFY THE MATTER
Where do I currently need God's clarity?
What outcome do I personally want?
Now answer the harder question:
Am I genuinely willing for God to give me a different answer?
What might I need to surrender before Him?
STEP 2 — CHOOSE YOUR SCRIPTURAL FOUNDATION
Choose at least two Scriptures from today's study.
Scripture #1: _______________________________
What does this Scripture reveal about God or His ways?
Scripture #2: _______________________________
What does this Scripture reveal about how I should respond?
STEP 3 — WRITE YOUR PRAYER
A prayer asks God and brings the matter before Him.
Example Prayer
Father, teach me Your ways. Quiet every voice that has become louder than Yours in my life. Search my heart and reveal anything within me that is interfering with my ability to hear and follow You clearly. I surrender my plans, expectations, attachments, and desired outcomes to You. Renew my mind and align my desires with Yours. I don't simply want You to approve what I have chosen; I want what You have chosen for me. If Your presence isn't in it, give me the willingness to walk away from it. Lead me in Your truth and teach me Your way. In Jesus' name, amen.
Now write your own:
STEP 4 — WRITE YOUR DECLARATION
A declaration speaks what Scripture says and brings your thinking into agreement with God's Word.
Example Declaration
I declare that I will trust in the Lord rather than leaning solely upon my own understanding. God will teach me His ways and guide me in His truth. My mind is being renewed through His Word, and I am learning to discern His will. I choose God's presence over my preferences. I choose His direction over my desires. I will not allow fear, impatience, excitement, or outside voices to determine my direction. I want what God wants for me.
Now write your own:
DAY 2 FASTING FOCUS
As you continue fasting today, intentionally remove one additional distraction for a period of time.
That might mean putting down your phone, turning off social media, stepping away from entertainment, stopping the constant search for another person's opinion, or simply sitting quietly before God.
Don't fill every quiet moment with talking.
Read. Pray. Listen. Reflect.
Then return to Exodus 33:13:
“Lord, teach me Your ways.”
And allow this to become your surrender:
“If Your presence isn't in it, I don't want it.”
DAY 2 CLOSING THOUGHT
Yesterday we asked:
“Lord, show me what I cannot see.”
Today we're asking:
“Lord, change anything in me that keeps me from wanting what You want.”
Because clarity isn't only about God revealing what's around you.
Sometimes clarity comes when God reveals what's within you.
DAY 1 — DISCERN
Show me what I cannot see.
DAY 2 — ALIGN
Teach me Your ways.
And our posture remains:
Call. Seek. Listen. Surrender.
Lord, if You're not in it, I don't want it.