Fasting Prepares Us to Listen for God

Fasting Prepares Us to Listen for God There are a lot of different things we can fast from, but whatever we’re giving up typically causes desire to stir in us—it’s something we want, that we’re not giving ourselves. That desire can be just the wake-up call we need when we get lost in the grind of everyday life. Desire can be a really helpful reminder to listen for God as we go about our day. Each time we think about what we’re fasting from, that can be our cue to listen for God. Let’s listen to what he might have to say about a work problem, a friend who’s in trouble, or the worries we’re carrying. Because we serve a God who speaks, but whom we—not so different from the people prophets warned in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 7:13)—are often too busy to hear.  “And now, because you have done all these things, declares the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer” (Jeremiah 7:13).