I always understand something better when I can do it myself. That’s one of the things I love about martial arts: I get to do it myself. Our instructor will show us a technique, but I only sort-of understand it at that point. It’s not until we spread out across the mat and start doing it ourselves that I really get it.

Sunday’s sermon was about fasting, which is probably one of the least familiar spiritual disciplines for Christians today. Hopefully you understand it a little better now, but there’s still nothing like doing it for yourself.

Our Easter weekend will be different this year, since we can’t gather together in person. But don’t lose heart! That won’t stop us from worshipping together. Our brothers and sisters across the Presbyterian Church in America, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and the Anglican Church in North America have dedicated this Good Friday as a day of fasting and prayer. I hope you’ll join with us and put Sunday’s sermon into practice.

Here’s a couple of practical considerations for us as we prepare to fast:

1. Be realistic – Fasting is hard. Don’t try to be a spiritual hero. Remember that Jesus said worship isn’t about impressing other people. If you’ve never fasted before, it’s probably not a good idea to go the entire day with out eating. Set a goal and pursue it in faith. After all, that’s what fasting is about: faith. My goal is to fast between breakfast and dinner, but yours may differ.

2. Be specific – Rather than fill our bellies with food, our goal on Friday is to fill the day with as much prayer as we can. That’s easier to do if you have some clear ideas of what to pray for. This page has a wonderful document called, “A Suggested Prayer List” with twenty-one specific ways we can pray. Start there!

3. Be together – We’re not doing this alone. We’re doing it together. Email me if you’d like to join our noon Good Friday prayer service on Zoom. However, even if you can’t do that, you can still pray together. Call each other up and pray on the phone. Some kind of video chat like Facetime or Google Hangouts is even better, since we can see each other’s faces. We’re not a bunch of individuals moving in the same direction. We’re a family gathering in the kitchen together.

I’m excited about this! Our Father in heaven urges us to pray and he meets us when he does. What might he do if thousands of his people are praying together? Let’s find out!