Groundwork || Fasting

Josh Wright - October 7, 2026

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Groundwork Session 4 – Fasting Training Our Appetites to Hunger for God

THIS WEEK’S GROUNDWORK CHALLENGE
Choose one day in the next two weeks and fast from breakfast and lunch. Choose the meal ahead of time. Be intentional, and spend the time you would normally eat seeking God.
Take these three questions with you:
• God, what am I hungry for?
• God, what has more control over me than I realize?
• God, what would it look like for me to want You more?
Every time you feel hungry, let it become the reminder: “Jesus, I need You.”
The goal is to become men who are so deeply rooted and satisfied in Christ that nothing else gets to master us.

Spiritual disciplines don’t earn God’s love. They put us in a position to be transformed by God’s grace.

1. WHAT IS FASTING?
Matthew 4:1–4; Acts 13:2–3
Biblical fasting is voluntarily abstaining from food for a spiritual purpose. Fasting isn’t fundamentally about going hungry. It’s about seeking God. We’re intentionally laying down something good and saying, “God, this is good. But You are better.”

2. JESUS EXPECTED HIS DISCIPLES TO FAST
Matthew 6:16–18; Matthew 9:14–15
Jesus said, “When you fast,” and “Then they will fast.” He expected fasting to be part of His followers’ lives. The question isn’t, “How often do I have to fast to be a good Christian?” A better question is, “If Jesus practiced this, taught about this, and expected His followers to do it, why wouldn’t I want to learn how?”

3. FASTING IS ABOUT GOD — NOT GETTING SOMETHING FROM GOD
Zechariah 7:4–6; Luke 2:36–37
Fasting isn’t a hunger strike against God. We’re not twisting His arm, earning spiritual points, or convincing Him to listen. If God gave me absolutely nothing else, would I still want Him? I don’t just want something from God. I want God.

4. FASTING REVEALS WHAT CONTROLS US
Psalm 69:10; 1 Corinthians 6:1
Fasting can expose anger, impatience, anxiety, and how much we depend on comfort. Fasting didn’t necessarily create those things. It revealed them. Food, comfort, technology, and entertainment can be good. But good things make terrible masters. My appetite doesn’t get the final vote. My cravings don’t get the final vote. My comfort doesn’t get the final vote. Jesus does.

5. FASTING TRAINS OUR APPETITES
1 Corinthians 9:24–27; Galatians 5:16–17 If every appetite gets immediately satisfied, eventually our appetites start training us. Fasting gives us practice in saying, “Just because I want something doesn’t mean I have to have it.” We’re saying no to something smaller so we can say yes to something greater. My desire doesn’t control my decision.

6. FASTING REMINDS US WHAT ACTUALLY SUSTAINS US
Matthew 4:4; John 4:31–34
“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Every craving becomes an invitation to prayer. Every hunger pain becomes a reminder of our dependence on God. “God, make me hungry for You.”

7. SO HOW DO WE ACTUALLY FAST?
Matthew 6:17–18; Acts 13:2–3
Start small. Start with one meal. Use the time you would normally spend eating to read Scripture, pray, worship, and listen. Seek God without making a show of it. Turn the hunger into prayer. There’s no trophy for going longer. The goal isn’t duration. The goal is devotion. Use wisdom. If food fasting may be unsafe because of a medical condition, medication, or a history of disordered eating, talk with your doctor and consider another meaningful form of abstinence while intentionally seeking God.

CLOSING- WHAT ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR?
Psalm 42:1–2; Matthew 5:6 What am I really hungry for? Fasting reveals what’s controlling us so we can bring it to Jesus. Don’t fast so God will give you what you want. Fast so God can reshape what you want.