Pursuit - Hungry For More - Fasting for Life

Devotional

Day 1: Fasting and Prayer Thwart the Devil's Deadly Plans

When a community collectively seeks God through prayer and fasting, it has the power to dismantle the enemy's strategies. This spiritual discipline is not about earning favor but about positioning oneself in desperate dependence on God. Throughout Scripture, we see God's people turn to Him in their most dire moments, and He responds to their cries. It is a powerful tool for spiritual warfare that God honors. [37:03]

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
Esther 4:15-16 (NIV)

Reflection: Consider the "deadly plans" the enemy might be orchestrating in your sphere of influence—perhaps against a family member's faith, a friend's future, or the spiritual climate of your workplace. What would it look like for you to engage in prayer and fasting specifically for God to intervene and destroy those plans?

Day 2: Humble Surrender in Our Dependence on God

Sackcloth and ashes were outward signs of an inward posture: one of complete humility, surrender, and dependence upon God. This symbolism reminds us that our own strength and wisdom are insufficient for the battles we face. True power is found not in our ability to fix things but in our willingness to admit we don't know what to do and to fix our eyes solely on Him. This is the heart of surrender. [44:12]

“Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
2 Chronicles 20:12 (NIV)

Reflection: Where in your life are you currently trying to manage a situation in your own strength, and what would it look like to truly surrender it to God with the prayer, "I do not know what to do, but my eyes are on you"?

Day 3: Seeking God's Guidance to Avoid Foolish Fasts

Not every fast is ordained or blessed by God. A fast can be foolish if it is undertaken for selfish reasons, without godly counsel, or in a way that causes harm. The key is to seek the Lord's specific direction, listening for His voice to guide the timing, duration, and nature of the fast. This ensures our actions are led by the Spirit and not by our own flawed understanding or pride. [46:38]

The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot.
Acts 23:12-13 (NIV)

Reflection: Before beginning a fast, what practical steps can you take to ensure it is led by God and not by a personal agenda, a legalistic rule, or a desire for spiritual appearance?

Day 4: Turning from What Hinders to Focus on Christ

Fasting is not merely about abstaining from food; it is about creating space to connect with Jesus. It involves identifying the things that consume our time and attention—like media, entertainment, or our phones—and intentionally setting them aside. This act of turning away creates an opportunity to turn toward Christ, to listen for His voice, and to be nourished by His presence in a deeper way. [52:05]

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
Hebrews 12:1-2a (NIV)

Reflection: What is one specific distraction or habit in your daily routine that you could fast from this week to create more intentional space for prayer and listening to God?

Day 5: Answering the Call to Pray for Lost Souls

The ultimate purpose of prayer and fasting is alignment with God's heart, which beats passionately for the salvation of the lost. It moves us beyond our personal needs to intercede for those who are far from God. We are called to be the "somebody" who is willing to pray, to fast, and to care deeply for the souls of those who are running from Him, just as we once were. [01:04:37]

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Luke 10:2 (NIV)

Reflection: Who is one person in your life who does not know Jesus, and how might you faithfully and consistently lift them up in prayer this week, asking God for their salvation?

Sermon Summary

Fasting for life frames prayer and fasting as both a regular spiritual discipline and an emergency plea for survival. Biblical cases show communities fasting to avoid literal destruction: the Jews in Esther put on sackcloth and ashes and fasted when a royal edict threatened annihilation, and the people of Nineveh proclaimed a citywide fast and repentance when Jonah warned of imminent judgment. Both responses paired visible humility with urgent prayer, and both moved God to intervene and avert disaster. Sackcloth and ashes functioned as embodied surrender—public signals that people rejected self-reliance, humbled themselves before God, and placed their hope fully in divine mercy.

The sermon warns against fasts that lack God’s direction. Scripture examples expose destructive or misled vows—from a king forbidding soldiers to eat in battle to conspirators swearing to starve until a plot succeeded—showing that ritual abstinence without wisdom or hearing God harms rather than helps. Modern fasting should extend beyond food: abstaining from phones, social media, or other idols redirects attention to prayer, fosters listening, and breaks habits that dull spiritual sensitivity. Intentional silence and waiting on God create space to hear clear guidance rather than merely perform pious acts.

God repeatedly chooses unlikely instruments—an unnoticed gatekeeper, a beauty-turned-queen, and a reluctant prophet—and uses communal repentance to change a community’s course. Running from God only drives people deeper into trouble, but returning in humility brings restoration. The ultimate aim of fasting and prayer lies in soul-care: not ritual for its own sake, but sustained intercession for healing, conversion, discipleship, and Spirit-empowered ministry. The call challenges people to fast with purpose, listen for God’s voice, and mobilize toward saving souls and renewing churches. The text insists that fasting paired with sincere repentance and obedient action can shift outcomes, reorient faith, and ignite revival when directed by God’s leading.

Key Takeaways

1. Fasting can save a people Fasting here functioned as a collective emergency appeal that combined public humility with earnest petitions. When communities responded corporately—wearing sackcloth, fasting, and praying—they demonstrated covenantal dependence and opened the way for God’s intervention. Such fasting surfaces faith under pressure and moves communal history away from destruction and toward mercy. [39:56]
2. Sackcloth shows humble dependence Sackcloth and ashes expressed tangible surrender: an outward marker of inward brokenness and reliance on God rather than human schemes. That embodied repentance clarifies motive, strips illusion of control, and prepares hearts to receive divine mercy. The physical act aligns attention and posture toward God’s rescue. [44:12]
3. Avoid foolish, unguided fasts Scripture condemns fasts made from pride, ignorance, or rash vows that ignore context and counsel. True fasting listens first—seeks God’s direction—rather than proving zeal by harmful abstinence. Wisdom preserves health, mission, and discernment so fasting builds rather than destroys. [46:38]
4. Fast to turn hearts to God Corporate fasting redirected entire cities and saved multitudes when repentance accompanied practical change. Abstaining from idols or distractions reallocates time and longing, cultivates repentance, and places people within the circle of God’s compassion for revival and conversion. Fast with purpose: seek souls, obedience, and sustained change. [41:51]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[35:57] - Prayer and fasting introduced
[36:40] - Fasting for life explained
[37:03] - The devil's opposition
[38:09] - Esther: Jews fast and mourn
[40:54] - Jonah: Nineveh's fast and repentance
[44:12] - Sackcloth, ashes, and humility
[46:38] - Avoid foolish fasts
[51:35] - Modern fast: phones and media
[55:59] - God uses unlikely people
[59:09] - Running from God leads down
[63:55] - Redemption stories and hope
[66:21] - Call to fast and pray

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading: Jonah 3:3-10 (ESV)
Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Observation questions

What specific actions did the king of Nineveh take in response to Jonah's warning?
The people of Nineveh "believed God" (Jonah 3:5). What was the immediate, tangible evidence of their belief?
According to the sermon, what was the dual purpose of fasting presented: one for regular spiritual life and another for what specific circumstance? [36:40]
What were the two biblical examples given of communities using fasting as an emergency plea to avoid literal destruction? [37:39]

Interpretation questions

The king's proclamation included a fast for animals as well as people (Jonah 3:7-8). What might this unusual detail communicate about the depth and totality of the city's repentance?
The king expresses a sliver of hope with the words, "Who knows? God may turn and relent" (Jonah 3:9). In a situation of certain judgment, what does this statement reveal about the nature of God and the power of humble repentance?
The sermon warns against "foolish fasts" that are not led by God, giving examples from 1 Samuel 14 and Acts 23. [46:38] What is the fundamental difference between a fast led by human impulse or pride and one directed by God?
The physical act of putting on sackcloth and ashes is highlighted as "embodied surrender." [44:12] Why is a physical, tangible act of humility often a more powerful expression of repentance than words alone?

Application questions

Fasting is presented as both a regular discipline and an emergency response. [36:17] What is one area of your regular spiritual life that could be strengthened by incorporating a form of fasting? Conversely, what is a current "emergency" situation—personal, familial, or in your community—that might call for this kind of urgent, focused prayer?
Sackcloth and ashes represented a public, visible humility. [44:12] In our modern context, what would it look like to "put on sackcloth"—to make a tangible, perhaps even noticeable, act that signifies your complete dependence on God and rejection of self-reliance in a specific struggle?
A challenge was issued to consider fasting from things other than food, such as phones or social media. [50:31] What is one distraction or "idol" that consistently dulls your spiritual sensitivity and steals time from prayer? What would it look like to intentionally abstain from it for a set period to redirect that attention to God?
The sermon emphasized that the ultimate aim of these practices is "soul-care"—intercession for healing, conversion, and discipleship. Who is one person in your life who is "digging their grave down 12 feet deep" and running low on grace? How could you intentionally fast and pray for their soul this week?
God used unlikely people like a gatekeeper (Mordecai), a beauty queen (Esther), and a runaway prophet (Jonah). [55:59] What is one reason you feel God couldn't use you in a significant way? How does the truth that God specializes in using "peculiar people" challenge that feeling and call you to surrender?
The path of running from God is described as a continual descent. [59:09] If you are honest, in what area of your life are you currently "running down" instead of turning toward God? What is the first step you can take to stop your descent and turn back?

Sermon Clips

When god saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways. I love this. It wasn't just words. It was it was words. It was action, and they turned from their evil ways. That's repentance. [00:43:05] (17 seconds) #RepentanceInAction

Second Chronicles chapter 20 and verse 12. The second half of this verse is just my favorite. It says, our god will will you not judge them for we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. Now I love this part. Pastor Riley, he used it last week. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. [00:45:05] (23 seconds) #EyesOnYouTrust

Look at your second point. Sackcloth and ashes represents humble, surrender, and dependent upon god. I love the last song that we were singing. You see, my refuge is god. It's god alone. [00:44:01] (20 seconds) #SackclothAndAshes

And we have to learn to call on him. And when they put on sackcloth and they put on ashes, it represented that they humbled themselves, and they surrendered, and their dependence was totally upon god. [00:44:22] (16 seconds) #HumbleDependence

But, again, seek the lord. What are those things that grab you and keep you? And fast from that and turn to Jesus, and and mountains will move. [00:52:51] (18 seconds) #FastAndTurn

But I really wanna challenge you. If if you're stuck on Facebook for hours, if you're stuck on the media for hours, I dare you to shut it off and spend that time with Jesus. Spend that time with your lord and savior. [00:51:56] (22 seconds) #UnplugAndPray

Now in the middle of the message, I put this silly this silly point, avoid foolish fasts. Avoid foolish fasts. Because there are some foolish fasts in the bible, and we need to be hearing from god. Pastor Bo said it. Pastor Riley has said it. You need to talk to god, and god will guide you, and god will direct you. [00:46:35] (26 seconds) #AvoidFoolishFasts

And when you say, Lord, I don't know what to do, but my eyes are on you. He says, Gabriel, we gotta do something about this. It's a surrender. Have you surrendered? [00:46:01] (16 seconds) #HaveYouSurrendered

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Pursuit - Hungry For More - Fasting for Life

Devotional

Day 1: Fasting and Prayer Thwart the Devil's Deadly Plans

Day 2: Humble Surrender in Our Dependence on God

Day 3: Seeking God's Guidance to Avoid Foolish Fasts

Day 4: Turning from What Hinders to Focus on Christ

Day 5: Answering the Call to Pray for Lost Souls

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Pursuit - Hungry For More - Fasting for Life

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