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Contents

Fasting 101

My Plan

Introduction: God Is Great and Good

Day 1: God Is a Miracle-Worker

Day 2: God Is Unchanging

Day 3: God Is In Control

Day 4: God Is Fair and Just

Day 5: God Is Patient

Breaking the Fast: God Is Kind

FASTING 101

Connect

All of us have needs and wants. Needs are things that we cannot live without. Wants are things we would like to have. What are some of your needs? What are some of your wants? There are many things we need and want. But sometimes, we focus so much on our needs and wants that we put aside our relationship with God. Fasting lets us focus more on God by setting aside our needs and wants.

What is fasting?

Fasting is stopping an activity (usually eating) for a period of time to focus more on God. We replace eating or using our gadgets with time with God. This means praying, worshiping, and reading the Bible. These activities strengthen our relationship with God.

When our parents speak to us, we should pay attention and listen to them. Fasting helps us pay attention and listen to God. It helps us put aside distractions. We say to God, “I am going to listen to You because You are my Father. I trust You!”

Jesus gave us an example of fasting in Matthew 4. Jesus knew that He would need strength and power for His ministry. He prepared by fasting for forty days in the desert. During this time, He was tempted by Satan. His response to that temptation is the truth we can hold on to for strength when we fast:

“‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

Fasting is usually keeping yourself from eating and drinking as you devote more time for God. But you can also fast from different media (TV, video games) and technology (gadgets, Internet) if you cannot fast from food. The important thing is to keep your focus away from the things the world offers to spend more time with God.

BEFORE FASTING

Pray. Spend time reading the Bible before the fast. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance in your prayers. Write down your specific prayer requests for your family, friends, church, and nation.

Commit. Pray about the kind of fast that you will do and commit to it ahead of time. Ask God for grace to help you follow through with your decision. Also, ask your parents and maybe even your doctor if you are allowed to do a specific type of food fast.

Act. If you will be fasting from food, start eating smaller portions a few days before you fast. Avoid sugary and fatty foods. Ask someone to be your prayer partner throughout the fast.

WHILE FASTING

Focus. Set aside time to read God’s Word and pray. This devotional will help you go through your fast. Just be ready to listen to God’s voice and do what the Holy Spirit is telling you.

Pray. If you can, join at least one prayer meeting in your church. Pray for your family, church, pastors, nation, campuses, and missions throughout the week.

Fill Up. During mealtimes, if you’re fasting from food, read the Bible and pray instead. Drink plenty of water and rest as much as you can. Keep in mind that you may find yourself becoming physically weak, tired, impatient, or irritated. If you’re doing a different type of fast, read the Bible and pray during the time you would normally do what you are fasting from (for example, browsing through social media or playing video games).

AFTER FASTING

Eat. If you fasted from food, reintroduce solid food gradually. Your body will need time to adjust to a normal diet. Start with fruits, juices, and salad, then add more vegetables. Eat small portions throughout the day. It may be tempting, but try not to eat junk food and sweets right away. If you’ve finished a different type of fast, remember what God revealed to you as you spent time with Him. Take what you learned from the fast into your everyday life.

Pray. Don’t stop praying! Trust that God will keep His promises and knows what He’s doing. Don’t stop believing in and listening to God all year. Be in faith and expect God to answer your prayers!

MY PLAN

Day 1

Fasting Options:

Social media fast

Gadget fast

Skip one meal

Other ____________________________

Prayer Meeting(s) to Attend:

______________________________________

Day 2

Fasting Options:

Social media fast

Gadget fast

Skip one meal

Other ____________________________

Prayer Meeting(s) to Attend:

______________________________________

Day 3

Fasting Options:

Social media fast

Gadget fast

Skip one meal

Other ____________________________

Prayer Meeting(s) to Attend:

______________________________________

Day 4

Fasting Options:

Social media fast

Gadget fast

Skip one meal

Other ____________________________

Prayer Meeting(s) to Attend:

______________________________________

Day 5

Fasting Options:

Social media fast

Gadget fast

Skip one meal

Other ____________________________

Prayer Meeting(s) to Attend:

______________________________________

I AM THANKFUL TO GOD FOR . . .

How did God answer your prayers in 2020?

IN 2021, I AM BELIEVING GOD FOR . . .

What are your prayer requests this year?

My Family (e.g., good health for parents and siblings)

My School (e.g., good grades)

My Friends (e.g., for friends to know Jesus)

Others (e.g., for more people to know Christ, for healing upon people)

“Again, here is what I tell you. Suppose two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for. My Father in heaven will do it for you.” Matthew 18:19

My Prayer Partner’s Name: ______________________________

INTRODUCTION

GOD IS

GREAT AND GOOD

Read

The God who is highly honored lives forever.
His name is holy. He says,
“I live in a high and holy place.
But I also live with anyone who turns away from their sins.
I live with anyone who is not proud.
I give new life to them.
I give it to anyone who turns away from their sins.”

Isaiah 57:15

Have you ever told anyone, “Great job!” or “Good job!”? Maybe you have a friend who dances really well, bakes the most amazing cookies, or always wins at computer games. Maybe you have a friend that paints gorgeous landscapes: mountains, seas, and sunsets. You can really tell that friend that they did a great job! But how about when you look at real mountains, real seas, and real sunsets? Would you just tell God, “Great job, God! Keep it up!” It might be nice—but it’s not the sort of thing you would say to God. That’s because telling your friend that they did a great job or a good job is totally different from what we mean when we say “God is great and good.”

The passage from Isaiah that we just read says that God is highly honored and that He is holy. That means there is no one like our God. He is the highest of the highest. When we think of Him, we should be in awe and wonder. In short, He is awesome!

God deserves our praise and worship. When we say praise, we rejoice at what He has done in our lives. When we say worship, we thank God for who He is and what He has done to and for us. He is a great and good God.

God is good, and we are not. Because of our sin, we were separated from God. He could have just let us all be separated from Him and experience eternal death. But God loved us so much that He made a way for us to live, by trusting in Jesus Christ. How can we not love a God like that? Though He is great and good, the highest of the highest, He gave us a clear path to reach Him directly.

I worship God because He
is great and good.

Reflect

Is it easy or hard for you to believe that God can do a miracle in your life? How can meditating on His character and word help make your faith stronger?

Write down three ways God has been great or good in your life.

Pray

Dear God, there is no one like You. You are great, mighty, and powerful, but You are also good and kind. You are worthy of my worship not just because of what You did for me by giving me a straight path to You, but because of who You are: great and good. Please teach me to better understand Your greatness and goodness. Show me the things you are doing in my life and in the world around me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

DAY 1

GOD IS

A MIRACLE-WORKER

Read

“Lord, who among the gods is like you?

Who is like you?

You are majestic and holy.

Your glory fills me with wonder.

You do amazing things.”

Exodus 15:11

Have you ever had a pet dog or cat? They seemed all cute and cuddly and fluffy at first, but it turned out it wasn’t as easy as you thought to take care of them. Your pet needs food and water. You can’t give it too little food or it will starve. You can’t give it too much or it will be unhealthy! They need a place to do their business. Someone needs to pick up after them. You also can’t just give them food and water; they need time, attention, and love.

Taking care of pets may seem hard, but imagine actually creating pets! Only God Himself can do that. God made animals, plants, and everything else on the earth out of nothing. How amazing is that? He created our complex bodies—every strand of hair and every blood cell. God made each of the 8.7 million species in the world, and this is just what we’ve discovered so far.

God is doing amazing miracles every day, whether we know it or not. In Exodus 15, Moses sang a song of praise after God miraculously parted the Red Sea so that the Israelites could escape from the Egyptians. The Scripture we read is part of his song. The Israelites sang, “Lord, who among the gods is like You? Who is like You? . . . You do amazing things.”

There are many more miracles we can find in the Bible. In the New Testament, God sent Jesus to show us His power on earth. During Jesus’ ministry, He made a blind man see, He made a lame man walk, He raised people from the dead—and so much more. But there is another miracle that God gives us. It is the miracle of having your life changed through believing and trusting in what Jesus did on the cross for us. It is impossible for people to change without the help of God. The great thing is that as we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He will transform us from people who always sin into people who are becoming more and more like Him.

Because God is a miracle-worker, I can trust Him even in situations that seem impossible.

Reflect

God wants us to go to Him and seek Him every day so we can have a stronger relationship with Him. One way to do this is writing down what you are praying for. If you haven’t been doing that, it’s okay! Let’s try it now. But aside from writing your prayers, try drawing them, too.

(Example: If your prayer is for your family to have your dream home, draw the house you are praying for. If you want to be excellent in school, draw a picture of yourself getting high grades on your exams.)

Pray

Dear God, You are indeed a God who does amazing things. You are so powerful that You can do anything, and because of this I can have peace. As You parted the Red Sea to let the Israelites cross through, I pray that You will also help me get through any challenges I’m facing. Thank You for hearing my prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.

DAY 2

GOD IS

UNCHANGING

Read

So God gave his word when he made his promise. He wanted to make it very clear that his purpose does not change. He wanted those who would receive what was promised to know this.

Hebrews 6:17

Have you ever seen a compass? It is a tool used by soldiers, scouts, campers, and adventurers when they travel outdoors. The compass can tell you where north, south, east, and west are, so that you can read a map correctly. How does this work? A compass always points in the same place: What is called the “magnetic north.” Soldiers trust their lives to this compass. But as a matter of fact, the magnetic north changes gradually through the centuries. If they trust their lives to this compass, how much more can we trust God, who doesn’t change at all?

Unlike the magnetic north, God has not changed, is not changing, and will never change. That’s how much we can trust Him. He is always good. His great plans for you do not depend on what you do, but on His faithfulness. They won’t change even though these plans seem impossible right now.

The Bible is the word of God, and it has never, ever changed either. What God has spoken will always remain. What He promised us in the Bible will never change. The phrase “set in stone” means that a thing will never change; it is permanent. God’s promises for us are set in stone. That means that any promise from the Bible will surely come to pass.

I can trust God because He never changes.

Reflect

What are some of God’s promises in the Bible that you can hold on to? On the stone below, write down one or two of God’s promises from the Bible that you are praying for. Be in faith that because God is unchanging, these promises for you are set in stone and will come to pass.

Pray and declare that your faith will grow stronger, knowing that God and His promises will never change.

Pray

Dear God, thank You that You are a safe place for me to run to. You are a promise-giver and a promise-keeper. You have the greatest promises for me and You fulfill them at the most perfect time. Because You are unchanging, I know that Your love for me doesn’t change. That is why I can trust You. Help me to trust You better each day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

DAY 3

GOD IS

IN CONTROL

Read

“I know that you can do anything.

No one can keep you from doing what you plan to do.”

Job 42:2

Back in the day, when the first-ever cars were being made, there was a man who bought a car. As he was driving, his car broke down. He opened the hood and tinkered with it for a couple of hours, trying to fix it. Finally, another man passed by and saw that he was having a problem. This other man approached him and asked if he could take a look. Frustrated and tired from trying to fix his car, the owner gladly accepted the offer. To his astonishment, the car was working perfectly within a few minutes! The owner asked the stranger, “How were you able to fix it so fast?” The stranger replied, “I invented this car.” That man was Henry Ford of Ford Motors.

God made the earth and everything in it. Everything that happens on earth is under His control. Sometimes, especially when things don’t go our way, we tend to feel like God is not in control. In fact, He always is. If we go back to the automobile story, we would see that when the vehicle was in the hands of the one who invented it, everything went well. And so, if everything on earth is created by God, that means if we put matters into His hands, it will be all good.

The Scripture we read is from the book of Job. Job was a good man, but all kinds of bad things happened to him. However, at the end of the book, Job humbled himself and acknowledged that God is totally in control and that whatever God plans will happen.

Look at Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God. He knew from the very start that at a certain point in time, He would become human and would be hurt and killed, even if He was also God and had done nothing wrong. Jesus prayed that God’s will would be done, even if it would be hard for Him. See, the sacrifice and hardship that Jesus had to undertake was for the sake of humanity—so that we could be restored to a right relationship with God. He surrendered to God’s plans, no matter how hard they were, because He knew for sure that God was in control and that God’s plans have an ultimate purpose.

Because God is in control, I can have peace.

Reflect

Write down some things you are afraid of. Beside these fears, write down what the Bible says about them. Pray that you will overcome those fears because you know God is in control of everything.

Pray

Dear God, I know that You are in control. You have the power and authority over everything. The problem is that there are still some things I’m afraid of or I’m afraid will happen. Teach me to have faith in you no matter what. Teach me to be humble and accept that You are in control and I’m not. Grant me peace as I trust in Your ways. In Jesus’ name, amen.

DAY 4

GOD IS

FAIR AND JUST

Read

He is the Rock. His works are perfect.

All his ways are right.

He is faithful. He doesn’t do anything wrong.

He is honest and fair.

Deuteronomy 32:4

Imagine you have an exam coming up. You studied hard the whole week, and you know that one of your classmates wasn’t studying at all. During the exam, you saw your classmate cheating. Unfair, isn’t it? You studied hard to finish this test without cheating. And then when the results came out, you found out that you scored 85 out of 100 and your classmate, who cheated, got the highest score, 97 out of 100. How would you feel? Wouldn’t you be angry because it was unfair?

The next day, the teacher called the attention of your classmate. Someone had seen and reported what happened, and it had been caught on camera. Now how would you feel? This is what justice is—everyone’s actions are fully known, and each action gets its proper consequence.

But what about the people who don’t seem to be getting fair treatment? There may be a lot of questions in our head like, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” “Why are there people who are born poor?” “Why are there people who get away with crime?” Right now, life may seem so unfair. But God is just and is always working. We just have to trust him.

God is fully good, just, and fair. What does this mean? God knows all everyone ever did; He defends the weak and rewards the righteous, and He does this even if we can’t see it right now.

You and I are not perfect. We have also sinned and done wrong to others. But remember Jesus? God had sent His Son Jesus to the earth to die for everyone’s sins. He was perfectly righteous and did nothing wrong, but He suffered unjustly so that we may be “justified.” Being “justified” means we look righteous to God, meaning we look acceptable and innocent as if we have also done nothing wrong. Because of what Jesus did, we can be blameless if we welcome Him to our life as our Lord.

This also means that because Jesus is just and good, we who follow Him are called to stand for what is right, be fair to others, and defend people we know who aren’t strong enough to defend themselves.

Because God is just and fair to me, even giving me more than I deserve, I can be just and fair to others.

Reflect

What are some instances that you feel you were being treated unfairly? Pray about this and give these moments to God. Pray to forgive those who treated you unfairly.

We are called to be God’s hands and feet to those in need. These could be people who are bullied, defenseless, poor, orphaned, or widowed. List some things you can do for those who are in need.

(Examples: Share a meal with a sad sibling, write an encouraging note to a classmate.)

Pray

Dear God, thank You for being just and, at the same time, loving. Because You love us so much, you made a way for us to be righteous, even if we can never be perfect. As I continue to know You in a deeper way, help me to also start caring about others. Help me be Your hands and feet so Your love can be felt in this world full of injustice. In Jesus’ name, amen.

DAY 5

GOD IS

PATIENT

Read

The Lord is not slow to keep his promise. He is not slow in the way some people understand it. Instead, he is patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed. Instead, he wants all people to turn away from their sins.

2 Peter 3:9

One minute seems like a short time, until you try holding your breath for that long. Have you ever tried doing that? Most of us who try it won’t be able to do it! Suddenly, one minute seems like a really long time.

God’s anger is like that—He takes far longer to get angry than we expect or imagine. He is very patient. Yesterday, we learned that God is just. He punishes wrongdoing and injustice. So does that mean if you do something wrong, He is waiting in heaven, ready to strike you? That’s not how it is with God. He is so patient that He can wait for a very, very long time for us to come to Him and allow Him to change the way we live.

This isn’t an excuse for us to keep doing wrong. “Oh, God takes so long to get angry; He’s waiting for me. I’ll take my time before I ask Him to save me from sin and change the way I live.” God can see our hearts. The Bible says it’s actually His patience that is meant to lead us to Him (Romans 2:4).

As followers of Jesus, we should remember what Romans 5:8 says: “But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In God’s great love, He was patient even if we don’t deserve it. He paved the way for us to return to Him.

This isn’t just for us. This also means He died even for people who haven’t received Jesus as their Lord and Savior yet, and He is patiently waiting for them to come to Him. Our job is to be patient with them the same way God is patient with us. It’s not our job to save other people, but God gives us the opportunity to share the truth of His hope with them.

By being patient with others, we express to God how grateful we are to Him for His patience; at the same time, we are showing others how patient our God is.

I can be patient because God is patient with me.

Reflect

Think of the last time you were impatient with someone. What did you do? The next time it happens, how can you show patience instead?

Pray

Dear God, Your patience amazes me and I’m grateful that You have been patient with me no matter what. Lord Jesus, thank You that You showed Your love for me by dying on the cross, even before I had even decided to follow You. Holy Spirit, fill me with patience the way You are patient. In Jesus’ name, amen.

BREAKING THE FAST

GOD IS

KIND

Read

He has done it to show the riches of his grace for all time to come. His grace can’t be compared with anything else. He has shown it by being kind to us.

Ephesians 2:7

Have you ever received a trophy, medal, or other award for something you did? Maybe it was for a sport or game. Perhaps you won a math or science contest at school. Or maybe you like playing games on your phone because of the prizes and badges you get when you level up.

Usually when we receive an award, it is because we did something to deserve it. But God’s kindness to us does not depend on what we have or haven’t done. What’s so amazing about His kindness is that it’s freely given, not earned or deserved. In fact, the Bible teaches us that God shows His loving-kindness to those who don’t deserve it! Because God loves us, He gives of Himself, not for what He can gain, but for what we gain.

How can we respond to this great kindness? Gratitude! God is kind to us in a lot of ways. He has forgiven us. He has healed us. He has blessed us in many ways. He has given us eternal life. He has sent His angels to protect us. He makes us feel better when we feel bad. There’s so much more! He even promises us eternity with Him. Because God shows us so much kindness, we can also be kind to others, so they will come to know God and who He is through us.

I can be kind because God is kind to me.

Reflect

God is kind to us all the time, even when we don’t deserve His kindness. How will this truth change the way you relate with God? With others?

Write the names of three people whom you want to extend God’s kindness to, even when you don’t feel like it. Pray for them. Pray for God’s grace upon you to show His kindness to them.

Pray

Dear God, thank You for Your loving kindness to me. I know that I don’t deserve any of the kindness You have shown me. All I can say is thank You for all the blessings that I have received, all because of Your kindness. I pray that I will always grow deeper into knowing how kind You are to me, so that I will always have a grateful heart. Help me to show kindness to others, no matter what. In Jesus’ name, amen.