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Lesson OneWhy Pray?4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TwoWhy Not Ask?4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson ThreeWhen You Don’t Know What to Say4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FourObstacles to Prayer4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FivePraying for Others4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson SixPraying with Others4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson SevenPrayer and Fasting4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson EightWhat about “Unanswered” Prayer?4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson NinePersevering in Prayer4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TenLiving a Prayer-Filled Life4 Activities1 Assessment
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Course Wrap-UpCourse Completion1 Activity1 Assessment
Participants 3
Discussion Questions
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As a group, see how many examples of fasting you can name from Scripture.
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Ezra, Esther, Moses, Paul, the early church leaders, David, King Jehoshaphat, Daniel, Jesus
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Moses
David
King Jehoshaphat
Esther
Daniel
Ezra & Israelites (exiled)
Jesus
Paul
Early Church -
Restore your life to your first love
Discipline
Ministry preparation
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How is fasting a way of telling God, “You matter more than anything else”?
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Our God is a jealous God and He wants us to realize how much He matters to us. He already knows our hearts and our priorities, so by giving up what we love to eat or to do, proves to ourselves, that we really love the Lord.
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Although fasting in Scripture is almost always a fasting from food, there are other ways to fast. When we fast without food and water to focus our hearts and minds on God and His purposes, we are humbling ourselves and tell God that He matters more than anything else. This is because we intentionally cut off our energy source- food and rely entirely on God for His sustenance of power.
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It helps us to think more deeply and form a greater connection with God by showing our dependence on him.
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If we are willing to give up things that matter to us and spend that time interacting with God instead, we are putting him at a higher priority in our lives than these other things.
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As we fast we are putting God before everything else including food. This shows God we are reliant on him to fully sustain us!
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Why do you think Jesus indicated that we shouldn’t “broadcast” when we are fasting to others?
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We shouldn’t “broadcast” when we are fasting to others because the objective of fasting is not to show his painfulness to gain others’ attention and compassion. God will only reward our fasting if we do unto him and not getting attention from others. Fasting aims to focus on God and His purpose. Therefore it symbolizes that one denies himself and takes up his own cross and follows the Lord (Matt. 16:24).
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We should only fast and pray when we want to communicate with God. God an see what we do in private and doesn’t want people to create and scene and get attention during prayer.
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Fasting is a way of reaching out to God to seek his will and to come closer to him. It isn’t meant to involve the praise of others which can distract us from the ultimate purpose; we are setting out to please God, not man.
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Because fasting is directly related to your relationship with the Father. It is not to gain attention for what you are doing.
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Your Father rewards that which is done in secret with Him .