Take all the God has been doing in your life over the past four weeks. See how these questions and scriptures work together to make us better at reaching those who are lost and discipling those who have been found.

• Who has God been laying on your heart?
• Is there an aspect of your Christian character where God has shown you that you need growth?
• Is there a step that you can take which furthers the mission?
• Is there an act of service or a ministry opportunity which you have a vision for?
• And how do any or all of these insights come from you centering on God?

Fasting is a discipline of faith. Fasting is when we abstain from something which we normally enjoy or find to be beneficial. In place of the activity, we spend time in prayer, bible reading and reflection to draw closer to God.

Important note: we don’t fast from things that are sinful! Those things should already be in the process of being removed from your life. If you need help overcoming sin, talk to a pastor as soon as possible.

We will likely experience strong desires to quit our fast. We can also expect powerful temptations and spiritual warfare. Remember the scripture: you can do ALL things through Christ Jesus who gives you strength (Phil 4:13). Overcoming temptations to quit or sin will prove to be an incredible testimony to God’s work in us.

There are a few types of fasts that can be done:

• Food. Don’t eat at all for a certain number of days or only eat during a certain time period (e.g., eight hours to eat, 16 without), sun-up to sun-down (eating only after sundown), or some combination. During the fasting time, only drink water or clear broth.
• Media/Entertainment Fast. Stay away from any kind of media (social media, television, internet, newspapers, radio, etc) except for what you need to do job-related work. You can combine this with food abstinence also.
• Selective Fast. This is an option which is particularly good for those who are on medication, or who are too old or young to do another kind of fast. With this kind of fast, we give up foods which are not necessary (sweets, fast food/pizza, wine and alcohol, soda, coffee, etc).

Once you have decided what you will fast from, you need to add some structure to your process. Each weekday (M-F) will have a question to prompt your prayers and a scripture for reflection. As an example, we’ll assume that you’re fasting from lunch (so your only meals are breakfast and dinner). Your day should look like this:

• Wake up: Humble yourself before God. Pray for the Holy Spirit to enable, guide and protect you during your fast. Read the scripture for that section and read the question for the day. Pray for God’s insight during the day.
• Lunchtime: When you would normally eat, reflect on the question more deeply.
• Spend time considering how the verse relates to the question of the day.
• If you’re praying for particular people, be specific in how you’re asking God to open doors to conversation with them.
• If you’re reflecting on a question, be specific in how you answer. Don’t just say “yes, I’m doing this” and move on. Challenge your initial response. If you find that you’re not really doing as well as you thought you were, repent and tell God you’re ready to pursue him more deeply in that area.
• Close with prayer, thanking God for the time you spent with him.
• Evening. Before breaking your fast, spend a little more time reflecting on the question. This is a great time to journal your thoughts so you can see your growth over time.

Breaking a fast (which is where we get the name for the first meal of the day) is something to be done carefully. If you’ve been limiting your food, eating excessively and unhealthily can be uncomfortable or harmful. If you’ve been limiting your media, don’t binge watch a series as a “celebration.” You’ve hopefully learned during the fast where you may be overindulging. This is a chance to correct that behavior permanently. Break your fast slowly and treasure the time you’ve been spending with God.