Series: Focus 2024 – Disciplines for an Abiding Life
Title: Seeking God through Prayer and Fasting
Text: Joel 2:12-13, Ezra 8:21-23

In the Bible, the people of God fasted and prayed to indicate or express the inner conditions of their hearts. Today, we are not required to fast and pray. But we can still benefit from this spiritual discipline when we practise it from the heart. What is the value of sincere fasting and praying?

General Questions:

1. Share about a previous experience with fasting. Why did you choose to fast? How did it go? How did you experience God through the period of prayer and fasting?

Perspective Questions:

1. In our struggles with different sins, what might lead us to depend on our willpower and wisdom, instead of taking the fight spiritually? How does the way we deal with sin reflect our relationship with and understanding about God?
2. What hinders you from fasting (apart from medical conditions)? What do these hindrances reveal about our understanding of the purpose and impact of fasting? How has the sermon addressed these hindrances, if any?
3. Think of different ways in which you might fast. How does fasting set us in the posture to allow God to change our hearts?

Application Questions:

1. What are some steps we can take to help us practice fasting (examples given below)? How can the LG support one another in fasting?

E.g.
• • Ensure we have sufficient rest and hydration, and our other meals are proper nutritious meals
  • Adjust the timing of meals, such as planning for a slightly later breakfast and an earlier dinner, and fasting over lunch
  • Schedule a fast