Unforced Rhythms of Grace, Pt. 4: Fasting
Take Communion
Leader: Begin your time together by taking communion, whether as a full meal or some version of the bread and the cup before or after your meal. If you don’t already have a Communion liturgy, have someone read from the gospel of Matthew 11v28–30
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Review the Last Practice
Leader: As you review last week’s Practice, it may be helpful to remind everyone that this is a space to simply notice how it went, not to correct or advise anyone.
Before we jump into tonight’s Practice, let’s reflect and talk about how this previous week went with setting aside intentional time daily for Solitude, to pause and be alone with God.
Where did you sense God’s voice, presence, or action in the practice of Solitude?
Where did you experience resonance or resistance?
How did the Silent Prayer (example: In Him, I live; In Him, I rest, In Him, I delight, etc.), play a part in your time alone with God? How did it impact your posture towards the Spirit?
Read This Overview Aloud Together
In the book of Genesis we read that God created man and woman not as floating souls but embodied image bearers. Humans are set apart from every other aspect of creation in that we image God on the earth, and we do that in our bodies. Scripture teaches us a way of relating to God as body and soul. This is where the practice of Fasting comes in. If fasting is going to make any sense and have any formative power in our lives, we have to begin by reconnecting the body and the soul. Most of us have learned to know our souls through the story of God but know our bodies through the story of Western Culture. So, rather than relating to our body as a creature to be conquered, an image to be glorified, or a pleasure tank to be filled, Jesus offers us an invitation to return to our roots: an embodied spirituality.
Practiced consistently over time, Fasting is a way of internally entering into the experience of another until our stomachs start to guide our feet. Externally, things start to broaden because the practice of Fasting can open our eyes and change our hearts as we respond to the world around us. As we enter into the season of Lent, we have the opportunity to participate in this Practice with 40 days of Prayer and Fasting as a church. Our motivation for this season is not coming from a place of duty but desire, as we increasingly become a community of holiness in a culture of indulgence.
Do This Practice Tonight
Leader: While this is true for every Community Guide, it’s especially important for everyone to have listened to the Sunday teaching, so that they can best understand the broader context for and engage in these 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting. Encourage them to do so if they haven’t.
Tonight, we are going to take some time to talk through how we can participate in this churchwide 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting in this Lenten season, which starts on Ash Wednesday leading up to Easter. Lent is observed by the church around the world as 40 days of abstinence identifying in our bodies with Christ’s 40 day fast in the wilderness and his suffering on the cross. Lent is about living in step with our deep desire for resurrection life; it’s about shedding our attachment to the lesser loves that have a hold on us, and it's about compassion—willingly entering into the suffering of another: Jesus.
The engagement may look different for each of us, whether we decide to fast from food or abstain from something else. And, as a brief reminder, when we fast (from food) or abstain (from other things), we only do so from neutral appetites, never from sin. With sin, we confess it, renounce it, and run from it. By neutral appetites, we mean good things that God has made that delight us when held in their proper place but can imprison us when they become ultimate things.
So, for our Practice tonight, we are going to engage in a conversation about 1) the practice of Fasting and 2) how God might be prompting a specific, personal response in us for this upcoming 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting.
Let’s begin by reflecting on Fasting with these questions:
What has the practice of Fasting been like for you? If it’s a new practice, where do you feel resonance or resistance to it? And where might you feel invited to rhythmically incorporate it in your life?
When you feel empty or restless, what do you normally do to try to fill the emptiness? What might your body and soul be saying to you in this?
When has the self-denial of fasting and abstinence cultivated something good in you? How has it impacted your relationship with the Father?
Next, let’s talk about our Lenten 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting.
These 40 Days are designed to help each of us listen prophetically, pray, and fast for God to increase our faith. As we do this, we sense that there are 4 expressions of faith, or 4 deep desires, that God could be stirring in us: Dreams, Power, Family, & Direction. A quick refresher on each:
Dreams: Those of us who have followed Jesus for a long time and may find ourselves dreaming less and less are invited to make space for the Spirit to teach them to dream Kingdom dreams again.
Power: Those of us longing for the Spirit to write adventure stories in the ordinary environments of our lives that discomfort us, thrill us, and raise our faith in the end.
Family: Some among us, particularly parents, who have hopes that have never become prayers for a family member(s) are invited to turn hopes prayers over these 40 days.
Direction: Some are living at a decisive moment, and this is a time for seeking God’s direction, moving forward not only with wisdom but conviction.
Do any of these resonate with any of us? How do you feel invited to participate in this Lenten season of prayer and fasting? What might we abstain from in order to cultivate that faith in this season?
Leader: Close by praying for the person or people who resonate with any of the 4. Ask God to do immeasurably more than any of them could imagine, as a pathway to even greater healing, wholeness, joy, and faith.
Read The Practice for the Week Ahead
This week, we want to begin our practice of fasting or abstinence to kick off the Lenten season.
For those who want to practice fasting from food, consider starting by fasting one meal and spend that meal time in prayer. If fasting is more of a regular rhythm for you, consider fasting for 24 hours or more per week. When you feel hungry, welcome Jesus’s presence and consider what his self denial means for you.
For those who are practicing abstaining (e.g. TV, social media, shopping, sugar, alcohol, sports, sleeping in, coffee, etc.), dedicate that time you now have to God. Start by abstaining from one of these neutral appetites for one week. What feelings arise in you? What thoughts interrupt your prayers? What do you want God to transform, renew, heal in you to bring about even greater faith?
One last thing to keep in mind for Lent is that Bridgetown will be releasing a morning and evening prayer podcast designed to guide you through these 40 days of prayer according to the Psalms. Both morning and evening episodes will be released daily on the podcast feed. Each episode will be relatively short (6-10 minutes), and you’ll be guided into prayer as you begin and end your day. Episodes will be available starting Monday, Feb 19.
Next week, we’ll begin our time by hearing from one another how the practice of fasting or abstinence went for each of us.
End in Prayer
Leader: Close your time together in prayer, asking God to continue teaching your Community that his yoke is easy and his burden is light through the practice of Fasting.