Louie Giglio looks to the Gospels to illustrate how we can adopt a spiritual discipline that paves the way for heavenly impact.
Key Takeaway
Fasting is all about tuning ourselves to God's purpose and plan for our lives, and in doing so, leveraging our access to heaven on behalf of the world around us.
Prayer is not meant to be limited to the moments you're sitting around your dining room table. We are meant to use prayer to contend for those around us, pleading earnestly to see a shift in the spiritual and physical realms.
It is a gift to experience mountaintop moments in our faith, but so quickly those high highs can turn into low lows, and we could be facing hand-to-hand combat. In the high highs, and the low lows, Jesus invites us to pray and fast for our lives, but also to contend for our friends, who the enemy may have a hold of right now. We are contending for the people around us to see God's power in their life.
In Matthew 6:16, the assumption is that we will fast. A part of spiritual life is spiritual things. A part of being a follower of God is to love the things of God.
It seems as if the Church tries to establish levels. But there are no levels, there is growth. It's all spiritual. Our whole life should become spiritual. We can still relate with those on earth, but our focus has just shifted to the spiritual world.
We aren't praying and fasting for the applause of others; we're praying and fasting to Seek God, pressing in to touch the heart of God and receive a connection that He then can move through us in power.
Fasting isn't an expectation Jesus just put on us, He himself fasted for 40 days in the wilderness, and we see that in Luke 4:1-14, when He fasted because of the purpose on His life.
Jesus sets the example of praying before His plans are made—counter to our usual rhythm of making plans and seeking God to bless our plans.
What is fasting?
Creating space through the withdrawal from earthly appetites in an intentional and concentrated effort to access the things of God (and God Himself) for satisfaction of the soul and supernatural breakthrough.
Fasting is not just the activity—it's more of the attitude, altitude, or all-to-tune. Fasting is all about tuning ourselves to God's purpose and plan for our lives.
How desperate are you? Is there anyone in your story that you are desperate for? Not just offering to pray for someone, but contending for them until it comes to fruition, pleading God to do something miraculous on their behalf.
God is asking for us to open our mouths wide, allowing Him to fill us up, rather than looking to the world to fill us.
Many of us feel comfortable in life right now, and we aren't genuinely seeking to be filled by God. Philippians 2:12-13 reads, "for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." When we wrestle with these feelings, we can pray and ask God to change our desires to desire Him and what He wants for our lives.
Prayer
God, please give me a new desire for You and what You want for my life. I know I can't produce what I need, so I'm asking You to work in me to change my desires and change me today, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Discussion Questions
- Which translation do you read from? Does your version say "prayer and fasting" or just "prayer"?
- How often do you find yourself praying over your dinner out of habit, rather than praying and contending for the people around you?
- In what seasons of life do you tend to put prayer on the back burner?
- Have you had a mountaintop experience in your faith? What was it like? What happened when the mountaintop experience became level ground?
- Do you pray before your meals and before you go to bed, but stop there? How can you invite prayer into your daily rhythm?
- When we see fasting as an attitude or an altitude, we uncover the true meaning behind fasting. Have you ever fasted with the wrong intentions? How can you fast moving forward with the right heart posture?
- How can you shift your prayers to align with God's plan for your life rather than praying for God to bless the plans you have made for your life?
- In Psalm 73, we read of the desperation of the psalmist. How desperate are you for God to move in your life or the lives around you?
- Who are you contending for to see God's power in their life?
- We may struggle with the desire to be filled with the things of God, seeking comfort over Him. But Philippians 2:12-13 reminds us that we can ask Him for the desire to fill us. How often this week are you going to commit to praying the prayer of desire that Louie mentioned?
