40 days of fasting & prayer

We have been focussing on the topic of fasting for a few weeks now. During the 40-day period of fasting and prayer before Easter, you are invited to join in and try out fasting for yourself. This blog post gives you various ideas on how you can personalise this time.

The 40 days start on 18 February and end on 5 April 2026, always excluding Sundays, as these are for celebrating and not for fasting. The important thing is to start where you are and not where you want to be. For most people, going without food for 40 days is too much of a challenge and does not help. The following things can provide you with guidance:

• Fasting primarily means abstaining from food, as it leaves out one of our basic needs in order to spend more time with God.
• It is better to start small: with one skipped meal per week or per day, one fasting day per week or according to your own ideas.
• You can also combine this with abstinence (giving up smartphones, special foods, social media, alcohol). On the one hand, you will have more time at your disposal depending on the abstinence, and on the other hand, it is an expression of seriousness: «God, you are more important to me than ...!»
• There are several people in seetal chile who fast regularly. A.G. fasts for up to five days from time to time. She will be happy to support you if you have any questions or concerns about a longer fast. You can contact her using the form below and she will get in touch with you.

The focus is always on using the time gained for time with God. Fasting also has other positive side effects, but the time before Easter is all about focussing on God. An important part of this is prayer. Here are two prayer actions you can use to guide you during this time. You can either download them here or take your printed copy to seetal chile.

• Passion 40 2026: Prayer and fasting before Easter. Here you have one Bible passage per day and a short impulse for you.
• 30 days of prayer for the Islamic world: Here you will find a brief daily insight and prayer requests. This brochure is also available as Edition for children & families available.

During Holy Week, there will be a «Pray» week in seetal chile, which will also focus on fasting, among other things. More information will follow in a separate blog post.