Turn my heart to your decrees
and not to dishonest profit.
Turn my eyes from looking at what is worthless;
give me life in your ways.

Psalm 119:36-37, CSB

Fasting almost universally means abstaining from food — either all food or certain kinds of food — for a set period of time, for the purpose of prayer and devotion to God. 

But let us consider what else we “take in” during any given day. One recent estimate says we may consume as many as 10,000 advertisements a day, whether through television, radio, print, or social media. And that’s just what’s in the margins of what we’re actually watching or listening to. The average American spends between 6 and 7 hours a day looking at some kind of screen. And extended exposure to screens releases greater levels of dopamine (a hormone connected with pleasure) in our brains, giving us an artificial spike of happiness that can become addicting.

This week, take inventory of the content you’re consuming. How many times do you check your phone, or scroll social media? How often do you have music or talk radio on? How much TV do you watch? And what messages are these media trying to feed you?

For one day, choose to replace these voices and influences with Scripture. Obviously, you may not be able to go an entire day without your phone — they have truly become indispensable. But commit in your heart to replace the usual chatter and chaff you passively consume with intentional times of devotion and meditation on God’s Word. Read (or listen to) Psalm 119, and let these words fill you instead.

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