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The intention of these kingdom fasts is to build solidarity among those who are fasting as they remind their bodies (flesh) that their spirits are in charge – and that both body and spirit are to be under the Lordship of Jesus. The hunger or difficulty of going without a good thing serves us to long for the most rewarding and best of all things and all persons – Jesus Himself.

Did you ever say something really dumb? I was in a language lesson the other day, trying to figure out what the verb was that my tutor was using. I thought he was referring to when babies are teething, so I asked him if adults do the same thing. My tutor burst into laughter and actually started crying. After he calmed down from his fit of laughter, he repeated back to me what I had asked him, “Do adults bite other adults?”

Insert face in palms here.

The reality is, a lot of us say silly or meaningless things throughout our day. Whether it’s the first thing that pops into our head (that maybe sometimes we need to filter), or just small talk to fill those “awkward” moments of silence.

This month’s kingdom fast is speech. Now wait, you may be thinking, you can’t expect me to go a whole month without communicating. And you’re right. We’re not saying you can’t communicate.

The point of a speech fast is to avoid unnecessary speech.

At the same time, we maintain encouraging and exhorting our children, and necessary communication in work and ministry environments.

In his book, James talked about the power of the tongue, and the never-ending quest to control it. With our tongue we have the power to build up or to tear down. Many times, James observes, we can do more damage simply by not taking the time to bridle what comes out of our mouth.

This month, join us in intentionally monitoring what comes out of your mouth, and keeping your thoughts on heavenly things.

You may want to consider a personal pronoun fast (both in speech and writing), to refrain from saying “I,” “me,” “my,” or “mine.” This type of fast leads you to feast on God as the center of all things and others as more important than yourself.

James said, “Each of you should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry” (James 1:19). As we humble ourselves by giving up our words, it helps us feast on the words of others, and especially the words of Jesus.

An Introvert’s Perspective

When I heard that the kingdom fast for the month of November was speech, I secretly started cheering on the inside. Piece of cake. I now have a good excuse to be silent for a month. Oh the joy!

Then I realized that’s probably not the right attitude to have about a fast.

So if you’re an introvert like me and just read through the first part of this post, you might have already decided that this fast is not for you. However, when I seriously started to consider this fast I realized that there are things I need to challenge myself on when it comes to speech.

My voice is important, but sometimes I withhold it because I simply don’t feel like talking, or I think that others can say it better than me.

But the truth is that there are people God has placed around me that could benefit from my voice.

This month I want to make an effort to encourage those around me – my friends, my teammates and my neighbors. I want to speak up when it matters, rather than always keeping my thoughts to myself.

“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29).

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