Thought for the Weekend: From Prayer to Fasting

Weekend 1, Saturday – Sunday, January 9-10 (Days 6-7)

One of the themes that I want you to take from our week-long emphasis on prayer is that we can have our eyes opened to God’s work when we simplify our prayer lives and bring very specific requests before Him. During this weekend, look back at your journal, and continue to write ways that you can exercise the fruit of the spirit (from Day 5), and ways that God might be calling you to serve Him in His Kingdom.

Next week, we will begin to focus on the spiritual discipline of fasting. Fasting is usually thought of as the avoidance of food or drink. During the upcoming week, I want you to think of fasting as the voluntary act of giving up a normal part of your life, in order to take that time to focus on God in prayer. You may fast by giving up food, but you might also want to fast by giving up television, newspaper reading, unnecessary purchases, or another normal part of your life that you will noticeably miss. The discipline of fasting will serve as a reminder that we live to please God, rather than living to satisfy our routine desires. Pray for wisdom and a powerful experience as we continue our journey with God through spiritual disciplines.