𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• What activities do you enjoy doing together as a family?

• Share about your relationship with your parents or guardian when you were a child.

• When listening to a loved one, what are the things that usually distract you from giving them your full attention?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

“𝘉𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟲:𝟭

(Read also 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟲:𝟭𝟲–𝟭𝟴.)

Spiritual disciplines are practices that help us know and experience God more, be more like Christ, and continually rely on and be filled with the Holy Spirit. These are not meant to help us earn God’s favor or our salvation, but help us position ourselves to receive God’s grace every day. Fasting is abstaining from certain things, mainly food, as a spiritual discipline. During a fast, a greater amount of time than usual is devoted to prayer. This was a normal practice in both the Old and New Testaments. It can be done as a personal spiritual discipline and as a community. Today, let us learn what Jesus said about fasting.

𝟭. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁.

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 . . .” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟲:𝟭𝟲

Fasting is ingrained in Jewish tradition. It involves humbling ourselves before God, turning away from sin, and showing mercy and compassion to those in need (Isaiah 58:5–7). As followers of Jesus, we too are called to fast to seek God. When we fast, we deny our physical bodies its necessities, so that our inner being can be more in tune with the Spirit of God. Fasting is not simply a suggestion, but an essential part of our walk with God. When do you usually practice the spiritual discipline of fasting?

𝟮. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀.

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺, 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟲:𝟭𝟲

For many, fasting has become a vain tool because people have used it to gain others’ attention and make an impression. The Jews had a regular time of denying themselves food, yet many missed nurturing their spirits when they fasted. To some, it became about letting others see their obedience on display. However, the point of fasting is not so others would be amazed by us. Jesus said that because they had fasted with this heart, they had received their reward—to be recognized and seen by others. In Isaiah 58:3, why was God not pleased with the fasting of His people?

𝟯. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟲:𝟭𝟳–𝟭𝟴

The primary reason we fast is to draw near to God, so we can know Him. Though God is already near, we need to take time off our busy schedules to take pleasure in drawing near to Him in our hearts. Our goal is definitely not about coming to God and twisting His arm until He meets our agenda or set of requests. Our goal should be to seek Him, know Him, hear Him, and seek His will. As we fast, we are to take joy and delight in having time with our Father. As we know God and His will, we experience how close God is to us, we will have a thriving relationship with Him, and our faith will grow. How has your relationship with our heavenly Father grown through fasting?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• How may you dedicate more time in prioritizing seeking our Father over your physical needs?

• Do you have time for a personal fast and fasting with your church community? Commit to join a regular time of prayer and fasting with your local church and set aside time to regularly and personally seek God in fasting.

• How can your fasting not just grow your relationship with God but also your heart for others? Commit to include in your prayers those who have yet to know God as their Father.

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Thank Jesus for the example that He has set for us on what it truly means to fast.

• Pray for a greater desire to seek God and be closer to Him through fasting. Pray that as you take the time to seek Him you will have sharper ears to clearly hear His voice.

• Pray that as a church community, our corporate prayer and fasting will serve as an open door for more people to know God and grow in their relationship with Him.