Formed in Extraordinary Prayer and Fasting

Dec 16

Episode Summary

In this episode, Cory and Brian dive into the transformative power of extraordinary prayer and fasting. In this episode, we discuss how these spiritual disciplines shape our identity and align our hearts with God's will. We talk about how solitude and fasting form us to be people that long to abide in Christ which then empowers us to live missionally. These rhythms are what shape us to sustain on mission throughout the rest of the journey.

Key Themes & Takeaways

1. From “Pray More” to “Who Am I Becoming?”

In past Disciple Maker Pathway content, Phase 1 (Extraordinary Prayer & Fasting) has often sounded like:

Pray more
Use this tool
Learn from movement leaders who pray for hours a day

These are all good things, but the focus has often been mostly activity. In this episode, the question shifts from “How do I pray more?” to “Who am I becoming as I pray and fast?”

This reframe centers identity and formation instead of just performance.

2. Abiding vs. Hustling: John 15 Revisited

The foundational text for Phase 1 is John 15, “Abide in me… apart from me you can do nothing.”

Many translations say “remain”, which can sound static or passive.
“Abide” carries a more active, aware staying—a relational presence, not just “don’t move.”
The branch doesn’t strive to suck life out of the vine; the vine pushes life into the branch. The branch’s role is to stay open, connected, and receptive.

Identity in this phase is about becoming someone who:

Lives aware of union with Jesus
Lets God’s life flow into them and out through them
Sees fruit not as proof of their effort, but of their connection

3. What Extraordinary Prayer & Fasting Form in Us

Phase 1 is about formation far more than technique. Over time, extraordinary prayer and fasting shape us into people who:

Live as beloved sons and daughters
- Not trying to earn approval, but praying from a secure identity.
Align their hearts with the Father’s heart
- Time with God reshapes desires, priorities, and pain points.
Carry the fruit of the Spirit into everyday spaces
- Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control begin to show up more naturally—in parenting, neighboring, working, and mission.
Hold authority with humility
- In God’s presence, we’re reminded who He is and who we are, which gives quiet confidence instead of ego.

4. Fasting: Desperation, Dependence, and Breakthrough

They highlight that fasting isn’t just “advanced spirituality,” it’s about:

Cultivating holy desperation for God to move
Seeking clarity, breakthrough, and direction
Allowing hunger to surface deeper hungers—places where we need God, not just answers

Fasting forms us into people who:

Wait on God instead of rushing ahead
Learn to long for His presence and voice
Are willing to be uncomfortable for the sake of intimacy and mission

5. Solitude: The Fire Where False Selves Burn Off

Drawing on Henry Nouwen, they talk about solitude as the place where:

We stop numbing with noise, tasks, and distractions
Our idols and attachments float to the surface
We can finally see how much we’re shaped by our culture’s hurry, hustle, and anxiety

Without solitude, we stay victims of our cultural formation.
With solitude, we become people who:

Can actually hear God
Let Him confront and heal our false selves
Are increasingly captivated by God, not just busy for Him

6. Ordinary People, Extraordinary Presence (Acts 4)

They revisit Acts 4:13:

The leaders were astonished at Peter and John—unschooled, ordinary men—and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

The point here isn’t just “ordinary people can be used.” It’s:

What made them compelling was not their status, but their proximity to Jesus.
Being with Jesus is what made their courage and clarity possible.

Identity in Phase 1:

I am someone who has been with Jesus.
That’s the kind of person the world can’t easily ignore.

7. Abiding as the Foundation for the Rest of the Pathway

Brian sums it up with two big ideas:

If you try to act like Jesus without being with Jesus, your soul will crack under the pressure.
Abiding is the inner scaffolding that sustains external obedience.

Every other phase of the Disciple Maker Pathway—
live missionally, gospel planting, church emerging, multiplication—
depends on returning again and again to extraordinary prayer & fasting as the formative center.

Final Thoughts

Phase 1 reminds us that the Disciple Maker Pathway is not ultimately about producing outcomes, but about becoming the kind of people who can faithfully walk with Jesus over the long haul. Extraordinary prayer and fasting form us into grounded, secure sons and daughters who live from union rather than striving. As we linger with Jesus—through solitude, desperation, and dependence—our hearts begin to align with the Father’s heart, and the fruit of the Spirit naturally takes shape in our lives. This is why prayer is not a box to check before moving on to “real ministry,” but the place we continually return to so that our lives, not just our words, reflect the presence of Christ. When we are formed by being with Jesus, obedience becomes sustainable, mission becomes joyful, and the pathway becomes a way of life rather than a strategy.