How to Pray and Fast: A Simple Guide

Many of us want to draw nearer to God but are not sure where to start. We hear older believers speak of prayer and fasting, and it can sound like something reserved for pastors, or for people with unusual discipline. It is not. If you have been wondering how to pray and fast without feeling like you are failing before you begin, this guide is for you. Fasting is simply setting aside something good — usually food — for a season, so that our hunger becomes a reminder to turn to Christ.

What prayer and fasting really are

Prayer is conversation with a Father who already loves us. Fasting does not earn that love; it clears space for it. When we skip a meal and feel the ache, we are reminded that we do not live by bread alone. The emptiness becomes a bell that rings through the day: turn to Him again.

That order matters. Fasting is never a hunger strike aimed at God, as though we could pressure Him into answering. It is a way of saying, with our whole body, that we want Him more than we want comfort. Grace comes first. The fast is our response to grace, not the price of it.

How to pray and fast: a place to begin

Start smaller than you think you should. A first fast might be one meal — perhaps lunch on a Wednesday — with the time you would have spent eating given to Scripture and prayer instead. Many find it helpful to fast from breakfast and lunch and to break the fast at supper. Water and, if needed, simple liquids are wise throughout.

Give the fast a shape before you begin:

Choose the length. One meal, one day, or a set number of days. Decide beforehand, so that you are not negotiating with yourself while hungry.
Choose the focus. Fasting without a prayer is just skipping food. Name what you are bringing to God — a family member, a decision, a burden in the church, a sin you long to be free of, or simply a desire to know Him better.
Choose the Scripture. A psalm each morning, or a short passage from the Gospels, gives your prayer something to stand on. Let the text shape what you ask for.
Pray at the hours you would have eaten. When the hunger comes, pray. Even a few sentences. This is the heart of the practice.
Break the fast gently, with a light meal and with thanksgiving.

Keep it quiet. Jesus taught His disciples to fast in a way that others need not notice. Tell someone only if you need their help or accountability.

Praying together, not only alone

Scripture shows God's people fasting and praying together as well as in private. That is one of the gifts of belonging to a congregation. At Church of Amazing Grace International we gather for prayer on Thursday evenings at 8:00 PM and for Bible study on Wednesday evenings at 8:00 PM, and we worship together on Sundays at 11:00 AM, with choir practice at 10:00 AM. We worship in English, Gĩkũyũ and Swahili, because the tongue you first learned to pray in matters.

If you are new to Southern California, or far from the family who taught you to pray, praying alongside others carries you on the days when your own words run dry. Our congregation has served the Kenyan diaspora and the wider African immigrant community in San Bernardino since 2009, and a good many of us know exactly what that homesickness feels like.

Be wise and be gentle with yourself

Fasting from food is not right for everyone. If you are pregnant or nursing, if you live with diabetes or another condition affected by eating, if you are on medication that requires food, or if you have a history of disordered eating, please speak with your doctor first — and consider fasting from something else instead: social media, television, or an evening of noise, replaced with prayer.

And if you begin and stumble, do not treat it as a verdict on your faith. Eat, give thanks, and begin again another day. The point was never your performance. The point is Christ, who kept every fast we could not keep and who welcomes us with open arms.

Come and pray with us

If this has stirred something in you, do not carry it alone. You are welcome to join us at First Presbyterian Church of San Bernardino, 1900 North D Street, San Bernardino, CA 92405 — on a Sunday morning, or on a Thursday evening when we simply pray. You can also reach out through our contact page, or read more from our congregation on the blog.

May the Lord meet you in the quiet, and may your hunger lead you home to Him.