Try This: Practical Ways to Experiment with Fasting

Grow In Faith

Grow In Faith
Try This: Practical Ways to Experiment with Fasting
Mar 26, 2026 Season 15 Episode 24
Christ Church IL

It's not too late to engage with Lent on a deeper level. And fasting might be the practice that opens the door.

Hi, I'm Brad Coleman, the Campus Pastor at Christ Church Highland Park. This is our final devotion in this week's "Holy Habits" series on fasting. We've covered the biblical foundation, fasting as worship, and fasting as training in righteousness. But if you've never tried fasting before—or if it's been a while—you might be wondering: How do I actually do this?

Today, I'm giving you practical suggestions to begin experimenting with fasting.

In this devotion, we explore:

  • The key to fasting: it doesn't work unless you're intentional. Every pang of hunger becomes a reminder—a trigger for prayer and worship.
  • A simple approach: find a day that works for you. Some people fast from sundown to sundown. I fast from after dinner one night until dinner the next day.
  • What to do when hunger hits: use it as a prompt to say, "Lord, I worship You. I surrender all to You. I need You above all else."
  • Other ways to fast: it doesn't have to be food. During Lent, I remove all social media apps from my phone—and the NBA app (that one's tough for me!).
  • The principle: fasting from something we enjoy is what makes it effective. Giving up something we already hate isn't the point. Fasting says, "This pleasure in my life is not master over me."

If fasting is new for you, I encourage you to give it a try this Lent. Allow it to become part of what makes this season unique. You may find it as beneficial as I have in my own walk with the Lord.

Thank you for joining us for this week's Holy Habits series. Don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss future devotionals!

Episode Artwork Try This: Practical Ways to Experiment with Fasting 5:58 Episode Artwork Fasting as Training: Strengthening Your Soul for Righteousness 7:02 Episode Artwork Fasting as Worship: Surrendering Our Appetites to God 6:11 Episode Artwork When You Fast: A Biblical Foundation for an Ancient Practice 7:34 Episode Artwork E.A.R. to H.E.A.R.T.: A Practical Guide to Silence and Solitude 4:57 Episode Artwork The Whisper: Why God Meets Us in the Silence 4:31 Episode Artwork Like Jesus: Why Solitude and Silence Are Not Optional 4:34 Episode Artwork Don't Drift: How Silence and Solitude Anchor Your Soul 4:35 Episode Artwork From Doing to Being: Learning to Attend to God 5:14 Episode Artwork More Than Empty: The Difference Between Christian Meditation and the World's 5:06 Episode Artwork The Soundtrack of Your Soul: Why Scripture Memorization Changes Everything 5:32 Episode Artwork Writing God's Word on Your Heart: The Lost Art of Scripture Memorization 4:53 Episode Artwork A Prayer of Confession: Bringing Sin into the Light 6:53 Episode Artwork Coming Out of Hiding: The Heart of Confession 8:10 Episode Artwork A New Way to Pray: Praying the Scriptures 5:35 Episode Artwork Prayer is Simple: Talking and Listening to God 5:09 Episode Artwork Making It Real: Practical Steps for Sabbath and Service 2:56 Episode Artwork Called to Serve: Using Your Freedom to Love Others 3:26 Episode Artwork Should Christians Keep the Sabbath? A Biblical Guide 4:16 Episode Artwork Mary or Martha? Choosing the Better Thing in a Busy World 3:11 Episode Artwork Time with Jesus Changes Everything: Lessons from the Children of Narnia 4:51 Episode Artwork Small Steps, Big Transformation: The Faithfulness of Samwise Gamgee 5:16 Episode Artwork Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry: The Power of Silence and Solitude 6:57 Episode Artwork Cultivating a Deeper Walk: An Introduction to Holy Habits 7:06 Episode Artwork What Does It Mean to "Overcome" in Revelation 4:52