Welcome, Friend!

Fasting is one of those topics that can make people uncomfortable. Unlike prayer, which most of us agree we should do more of, fasting feels like a bigger ask. But when you understand what fasting is actually about, it becomes less of a burden and more of an invitation.

Fasting Is Not Just About Skipping Meals

At its core, fasting is not simply about going without food. It is about understanding our desires. It is about what shapes us from the inside and what masters our appetites. It is entirely possible to live in a free nation and still be captive in heart. Political freedom does not automatically mean freedom from fear, anger, greed, pride, anxiety, or unhealthy desires. That is exactly why Jesus addresses fasting. Because fasting helps reveal what is actually ruling our hearts.

What Does Fasting Reveal About Your Heart?

Food is a wonderful gift from God. But every good gift can become an ultimate thing, something we depend on more than we depend on God. Fasting gently surfaces some important questions:

• What do I reach for first?
• What do I depend on most?
• What have I allowed to master me?

Think of the warning lights on a car’s dashboard. The light is not the problem itself. It reveals a problem under the hood. Hunger works the same way. When we fast, our cravings begin to surface. We discover we are not just hungry for food. We are hungry for comfort, control, distraction, or approval. Fasting does not create those desires. It reveals them.

Is Fasting About Impressing God or Other People?

Jesus is clear on this point. In Matthew 6:16-18, He says: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:16-18

Just as giving can be performative and prayer can be performative, fasting can be performative too. Jesus is not interested in outward displays of spirituality. He is interested in the heart. Kingdom alignment always moves us away from appearances and toward authenticity. Performative fasting does not draw us closer to the Father. The book of Isaiah makes this plain when God rebukes a people who were fasting outwardly while acting in anger and exploitation. Fasting that does not come from a sincere heart misses the point entirely.

What Was Biblical Fasting Actually Designed to Do?

In Jesus’ time, a typical fast meant eating your normal evening meal and then not eating again until the following evening. Meal preparation was extremely time-consuming back then. The time saved from not preparing meals was intentionally given over to God. The whole point was making space and time for relationship with the Father. That is where alignment starts. Not just the act of not eating, but the intentional decision to be with God. The Psalms capture this beautifully:

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” – Psalm 42:1-2

Fasting reminds us that we were created for more than physical satisfaction. Every time our stomach reminds us we are hungry, we have an opportunity to turn our attention toward God. The physical hunger becomes a reminder of a deeper hunger.

What Is Our Deepest Need as Human Beings?

Jesus addresses this directly: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” – John 6:35

Our deepest need has never simply been something physical. Our deepest need as humans is communion with God. Fasting clears the table of our hearts. When our lives become so full of lesser things, we lose our appetite for what matters most. Fasting creates the opportunity to clear that clutter and make room for what is truly nourishing.

What Does True Freedom Look Like?

Freedom is not simply the ability to do whatever we want. Biblically, freedom is becoming the kind of person who is no longer mastered by anything except Christ. Paul puts it this way: “I have the right to do anything, you say, but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything, but I will not be mastered by anything.” – 1 Corinthians 6:12

Fasting helps us discover whether something besides Jesus has quietly taken first place in our hearts. True freedom is not found in getting everything you want. It is found in wanting the One who gives us life.

What Does Fasting Look Like in Everyday Life Today?

Food is far more accessible today than it was in Jesus’ time. That means fasting might look a little different for us. The goal is still the same: create time and space to be with the Father. Here are some practical ways that might look:

• A fast from your phone for a day
• A fast from a specific app or social media
• A fast from the news or constant background noise
• A traditional food fast, if your health allows

If you have medical issues, please do not skip meals without consulting a doctor. The goal is never to harm yourself. The goal is always to draw closer to God. None of these things are bad in themselves. We do not fast to earn God’s favor. We fast to align our hearts with His and to pursue Him above everything else. That is where we find real freedom.

Life Application

This week, take one practical step toward fasting. It does not have to be dramatic. Choose one thing, whether food, your phone, social media, or constant noise, and intentionally set it aside for a period of time. Use that time to be with God. Pray, read Scripture, or simply sit in silence and let Him speak. Before you do, ask yourself these questions:

• What do I reach for first when I am stressed, bored, or anxious?
• Is there anything in my life that has quietly taken first place over God?
• What would it look like for me to hunger for God the way I hunger for comfort or distraction?

What shapes your desires shapes your life. This week, ask God to reveal what your heart is truly hungering for, and then take one step toward making space for Him to fill it.

Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.

The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most recognized passages in all of Scripture, but it was never meant to be just a recitation. It was meant to align our hearts with God. This post picks up in the second half of that prayer, found in Matthew 6:11-13, where Jesus shifts from worship and surrender into something deeply personal: our needs, our failures, and our struggles.

Why Does Jesus Teach Us to Ask for “Daily” Bread?

Jesus does not teach His disciples to pray for a year’s worth of provision or a decade of security. He teaches them to ask for today’s bread. That is intentional. For the original listeners, this would have immediately called to mind the story of manna in the wilderness. After God rescued His people from 400 years of slavery in Egypt, He led them into the desert where they could not provide for themselves. Every morning, manna appeared on the ground. The instructions were simple: gather enough for today, no more. When people tried to collect extra, it rotted overnight. It grew maggots. It smelled. The only exception was the sixth day, when they gathered enough for two days so they could rest on the Sabbath. That portion did not spoil. God was not just feeding His people. He was teaching them to trust Him.

What Is “Warehouse Christianity” and Why Does It Miss the Point?

Many of us would prefer what could be called warehouse Christianity. We would love God to hand us enough faith, enough peace, and enough provision to last the next twenty years so we could feel settled and secure. But daily bread keeps us close to the Giver. That is the whole point. It is not primarily about provision. It is about relationship. Every sunrise becomes a new opportunity to trust God and experience His faithfulness firsthand. Kingdom life, as Jesus describes it throughout the Sermon on the Mount, is not about self-sufficiency. It is about dependence. That might be one of the hardest lessons in all of Scripture, because from a very early age, culture teaches us to be strong, independent, and self-reliant. Jesus teaches something completely different.

What Does the Lord’s Prayer Say About Forgiveness?

After provision, the prayer moves to forgiveness: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Forgiveness is not just the doorway into a relationship with God. It remains part of the daily journey. As followers of Jesus, we never outgrow our need for mercy. We never graduate from grace. 1 John 1:9 puts it plainly: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9 The word “confess” in the original Greek is homologeo , which literally means “same word.” It is the act of agreeing with God. When we have gone our own way, we come to Him and say, “I know your way was right. I want to go your way. Help me go your way.” That is confession. That is where cleansing happens.

Does Forgiving Someone Mean You Have to Let Them Hurt You Again?

This is one of the most common reasons people struggle to forgive. They believe that extending forgiveness means saying, “That’s fine, come back and do it again.” That is not what forgiveness means. Forgiveness is releasing a person to God. It is saying, “I am going to let this go, and I am going to trust You to handle it, because I know what You have done for me.” It does not mean removing all boundaries. It does not mean pretending the harm did not happen. If someone has wronged you and is genuinely repentant, and demonstrates that repentance over time through real change in direction, then trust may be restored. But if they have not shown that, you can still forgive them in your heart while maintaining loving boundaries to protect yourself and those you love. That is not unforgiveness. That is wisdom. Unforgiveness, on the other hand, is a prison. And the person trapped inside it is not the offender. It is you. Paul writes: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:32 As people receive mercy, they become merciful. As people receive grace, they become gracious. Understanding how deeply you have been forgiven is what makes it possible to forgive others.

What Does “Lead Us Not Into Temptation” Really Mean?

The final movement of the prayer is a request for guidance and protection: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” This is not a suggestion that God tempts people. It is a humble acknowledgment that we need His guidance. We cannot navigate a fallen world in our own strength. Evil is real. Spiritual opposition is real. And we need Him to lead us through it. Paul echoes this in his letter to the Ephesians: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” – Ephesians 6:10-12 Our hope is never ultimately in our own strength. Our hope is always in Christ.

What the Whole Prayer Is Really Teaching Us

Taken together, the second half of the Lord’s Prayer covers three deeply human realities:

• Our needs: We require daily provision and we cannot manufacture it on our own.
• Our failures: We sin, we fall short, and we need daily forgiveness and grace.
• Our struggles: We face temptation and spiritual opposition that is beyond our ability to handle alone.

In every one of these areas, the answer is the same. We need God. That is not weakness. That is alignment. That is what a heart that is oriented toward the kingdom actually looks like.

Life Application

This week, try living the Lord’s Prayer rather than just reciting it. Here is a practical challenge to carry into your days ahead:

Start each morning by asking God for today’s bread, not tomorrow’s. Resist the urge to carry anxiety about what is ahead. Ask Him for what you need right now, and trust that He will show up again tomorrow.

Then take a moment to receive His forgiveness for anything you are carrying. Use 1 John 1:9 as a guide. Agree with God about where you have gone your own way, and let Him wash you clean.

Finally, if there is someone you have not forgiven, ask God to help you release them to Him. You do not have to feel ready. Just ask Him to help you begin.

Ask yourself these questions as you reflect:

• Am I trying to live on “warehouse faith,” or am I trusting God one day at a time?
• Is there an area of my life where I have not fully received God’s forgiveness for myself?
• Is there someone I am holding unforgiveness toward, and what would it look like to release them to God this week?
• Where am I trying to handle spiritual battles in my own strength instead of leaning on God’s power?

The Lord’s Prayer is not a formula. It is an invitation into a life of daily dependence on a God who is faithful, forgiving, and present. There is nothing quite like knowing Him.

Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.