This time of year, known as Lent, many of us find ourselves in a season of fasting, abstaining from various comforts or habits for the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. But even if Lent isn’t part of your spiritual rhythm, fasting remains a timeless practice that holds immense potential for bringing us closer to God.
You may choose to fast meals, coffee, sweets, social media, or TV, or any number of things. And simply abstaining from these comforts can indeed help us to build self-discipline—a valuable trait to be sure!
But there’s an even sweeter reward waiting if we take it a step further to intentionally redirect our focus towards God and create space in our lives for prayer and reflection. By using those hunger pangs and urges to scroll the socials or channel surf as gentle nudges to turn our hearts back to God, we open the door to a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him.
Today, I want to share how this simple shift can make all the difference.
On Day 7 of the 10-Day Do Something Challenge, I talked about finding simple sparks cues that can serve as a gentle nudge for us to take a moment to chat with God, or simply point your heart toward Him. If you want to go listen to that episode, I’ll drop a link in the show notes for you.
The point is, fasting can be a great spark. Or rather, the void created by fasting. Instead of viewing them as mere discomfort, we can embrace them as prompts to connect with God throughout the day. Here’s what I mean.
If you’re fasting coffee -I know…shudder the thought but stay with me. During that time you would normally sip your morning brew, take a moment to pray or read scripture. Later, during the day, anytime you feel a lack of caffeine-induced energy, once again, stop and pray. This might even be a good time to thank God for His all-sufficient grace to carry you through the rest of the day.
If you’re abstaining from whole meals, the growling pangs in your belly can be the reminder to refocus on God.
Similarly, when fasting social media, the urge to mindlessly scroll can be redirected towards spiritual nourishment. Instead of reaching for our phones out of habit, we can turn to a Bible app or online devotional for inspiration and guidance.
To make your fasting experience even more meaningful and focused, ask Holy Spirit to give you a verse or prayer focus for your fast. *I share more about this on Days 1 & 2 of the 10-Day Do Something Challenge. Here are the links for those, if you’d like to check them out.
Day 1
Day 2
Then, anytime you feel the hunger pangs of your chosen fast, read the verse or pray for whatever Holy Spirit gave you. This is where the fasting experience really starts to change your heart.
Here are a couple examples from my own fasting seasons from the last couple years
During one fast, I chose to eat only the evening meal and during the morning meal, I took communion. Then, I read and prayed through Romans 7:15-8:4, specifically in The Passion Translation. Throughout the day, whenever I felt hungry, I revisited the passage.
Ya’ll…it was transformative for me. Maybe we’ll do an episode on that later. But wow, it was so good.
And during another fasting season, I felt led to pray for a specific person with whom my relationship was filled with turmoil. Every rumble of the tummy reminded me to pray for that person.
One note of caution: It’s important to remember that fasting isn’t about perfection; it’s about intentionality. So, when we accidentally break our fast, we shouldn’t beat ourselves up. God isn’t surprised or frustrated with us when we slip into our human patterns and it isn’t helpful for us to be either.
Instead, we can use that as an opportunity to recognize our need for Him, to humble ourselves, and to refocus and reconnect with God. Thank the Holy Spirit for gently nudging us back on track and for giving us the grace to keep pressing into God’s best for us.
Again, it’s not about perfection—it’s about drawing closer to the One who loves us unconditionally.
I’ve also created a Scripture Cultivations list for this Lenten Season. I’ll drop the link in the show notes for you. If you’re new to the Figs Community and don’t know what Scripture Cultivations are well, they’re like a scripture reading or writing list…They’re actually both, and more.
Here are your cultivations
You have lots of options! Start by printing off the Scripture Cultivations Plan for free.
Prefer listening? Tune in to our podcast episodes.
If visuals are your thing, catch us on YouTube for insightful videos.
And for some community vibes, grab a cuppa and hop over to the FIGS Community Facebook Group.
What are Scripture Cultivations?
If you’re new to the Figs Community, you may be wondering why I call them Scripture Cultivations instead of a Scripture Writing Plan or Scripture Reading Plan. Hop on over to this page to find out more.
