LENT Day 3

Lent Devotional

Day 3 – Friday, February 20, 2026

"Fasting: Making Room for God"

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Scripture: Matthew 6:16–18 & Psalm 63:1

Fasting is often misunderstood. It’s not about proving how spiritual we are. It’s not about earning God’s attention. It’s not about impressing anyone. Fasting is about making room. It is choosing to say “no” to something good so you can say “yes” to something better.

When we fast during Lent, we intentionally give something up food, social media, noise, convenience, distraction not because those things are inherently bad, but because our hearts so quickly attach to them. We reach for them without thinking. They become our reflex. And Lent gently asks us:

What do you reach for first?

Fasting creates hunger and that hunger is the point. It creates physical or emotional space. It creates awareness. It creates dependence. When you want the thing you gave up you pray. When you feel the gap you pray. When the discomfort rises you pray. The discomfort is not failure. The discomfort is the invitation.

Psalm 63 says, “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you…”

David understood something we often forget: beneath every surface hunger is a deeper hunger for God. Fasting helps us feel that. It re-centers our desire. It exposes what we lean on. It reminds us that we are more dependent than we like to admit and that our truest satisfaction isn’t found in what we consume, but in who we pursue.

Lent is not about deprivation. It’s about recalibration. It is a season to notice what fills our hands so that we can open them again. When we say “no” to something temporary, we are creating space to say “yes” to the One who is eternal.

Prayer

Father, you know how quickly my heart attaches to things that promise comfort and control. As I fast, help me see what I reach for instead of You. When I feel the hunger, remind me of my deeper hunger for Your presence. When I feel the gap, draw me into prayer. Re-center my desires. Teach me to long for You above all else. Amen.