Spiritual PracticesSample

Prayer and Fasting

You know how it feels when your foot falls asleep, and you try to start walking? It’s equally painful, funny, and weird all at the same time. The worst part is you end up looking like you have forgotten how to walk. 

Just like moving your toes gets feeling back in your foot when it’s asleep, prayer and fasting reshape the desires of our hearts to become more like God’s. Prayer and fasting wake us up to the truest realities of Jesus and His Kingdom. 

Prayer keeps us engaged with God and what He is doing in the world. Like any other relationship, we grow closer to God as we talk with Him in prayer. 

Fasting reminds our body that it doesn’t rely on food or anything else, but on God alone. When you fast, your body is constantly telling you that you are hungry. Every time you think about being hungry, it’s an opportunity to engage with God. 

While both prayer and fasting can be done with others, they’re primarily between you and God. They are most beneficial when they take place in secret, which is perhaps the only kind of secrecy that brings life! 

So wiggle your toes and wake up to the abundant, amazing intimacy on offer for you when you connect with God through prayer and fasting.

Reflection Questions: 

• Evaluate your prayer life. What’s one new way you can start practicing prayer today?
• What do you find challenging about fasting? Does it make sense to you? Why or why not? Talk to a leader or pastor in your life who can help. 
• What’s one thing you can ask God to help you with today? Go ahead and ask Him now.