Preview: Fasting: to voluntarily abstain from (usually) food and/or drink for a specified period of time for a spiritual or health-based reason. Fasting, in the modern definition, isn’t only denying yourself food, as you can also fast from seeking out worldly pleasures, such as abstaining from having intercourse with your spouse, though this is not mentioned explicitly in the Bible.
Scripture Reading: Esther 4:1-17.
Memory Verse: I Corinthians 7:5.
1. What does fasting do to prayer? Psalm 35:13.
2. In what circumstances should we fast? Nehemiah 1:3-4, Psalm 35:11-14.
3. How long are fasts? Do they vary? Acts 10:30-31, Judges 20:26, Matthew 4:1-4.
Note: It is important to note that Jesus has more faith and control than any of us and is therefore capable of fasting both food and water for extremely long periods of time (i.e., 40 days and 40 nights). He is upheld by His utmost faith in God to sustain Him. He fasted for this long as a way to show His ability of faith, self-denial, and resistance to Satan’s temptations. He also began this fast right after being baptized and right before He was about to start His mission, which is something He needed extreme clarity and spiritual readiness for. You do not have to fast this long to prove yourself to God; as long as you are fasting for the right reasons with a genuine spirit, the amount of time is not paramount.
4. How are you not supposed to act while fasting? Isaiah 58:3-5, Matthew 6:16.
5. How are you supposed to act while you fast? Isaiah 58:6-10.
6. What happens if you only seek to exalt yourself by fasting? Luke 18:11-14.
7. Should it be obvious that you are fasting? Discuss. Matthew 6:17-18.
8. How often do we think of God when we are full? Deuteronomy 8:3, Luke 21:34 Luke 12:16-23.
9. What does it mean to be spiritually minded? Romans 8:1-5.
10. How can fasting lead us to be spiritually minded? Romans 8:6-10, Galatians 5:17.
Note: Fasting is self-denial as a means of coming closer to God and acting spiritually instead of worldly. When you deny yourself, it is not as punishment but as a physical act of submission and worship to God.
11. What does the Bible say about those who think only of material needs? Matthew 6:25-34, Psalm 37:16.
12. Do groups of people fasting strengthen prayer? Discuss the outcome of Esther’s mass fasting and prayer. Esther 4:11-16, Esther 5:1-4.