July’s Kingdom fast is the Internet. Yes, the Internet. Which you are currently using.

As with every month’s fast, feel free to participate with us for part or all of the month.

For those who want to participate in July’s Internet fast but due to circumstances cannot close their computer and shut off their email for the whole month, we’ve created a four-week challenge, a little something to break away from the Internet in various ways.

Below are the four weeklong challenges. Each include a prayer focus to help you fast from the Internet and feast on God’s world around you and pray for the unreached of the Arab world.

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Challenge: Post an away message to your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blog, email, wherever you hang out the most socially online. Tell your friends and followers you’re taking a break from the Internet to spend time with some flesh-and-blood people and to pray for unreached peoples. (Find a sample postable here.)

Prayer Focus: Take time during your abiding this week and as you hang out with family and friends or meet with a small group to pray for the sixteen countries where Live Dead Arab World serves: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Oman. (Prayer map available to download here.)

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Challenge: Put your phone in your pocket (or purse or backpack). If you take the train or bus to or from work, during your commute keep your phone in your pocket. If you drive to work, you probably shouldn’t be staring at your phone anyway—so double check that it’s in your pocket.

Prayer Focus: Take time during your commute to observe the world and people around you. If you’re on the bus or train or in a carpool, ask God for opportunities for gospel conversations. If you’re driving, take time to pray for the training teams and church planting teams across the Arab world. Pray for favor in culture and language acquisition; pray for boldness in gospel proclamation.

Smartphone users, looking for more of a challenge? Only use your phone for calls and text messages. No Internet browsing, no social media, no games. Just basic communication…and maps if you need them. Whenever you feel yourself reach for your phone, say a prayer for the Arab world.

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Challenge: Take no photos. None. See the world with your own eyes rather than through a lens. Sorry, Instagrammers and Snapchatters; fast photos for one week. Perhaps you don’t take many photos. Repeat Week 1 or Week 2.

Prayer Focus: Many of the cities in the Arab world are full of ancient history and are very photogenic. This week pray for cities of the Arab world, that the name of Jesus would rise in them: Casablanca, Fes, Tangier, Algiers, Tunis, Sousse, Tripoli, Benghazi, Cairo, Alexandria, Beirut, Aleppo, Damascus, Amman, Baghdad, Irbil, Kirkuk, Kuwait City, Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, Doha, Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Salalah, Muscat, Sana’a, Ta’izz, and Aden.

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Challenge: Look around you. This week intentionally take note of one person or noteworthy event that crosses your path each day. This week you could check into your online social world, keep your phone in your hand, and take photos—but would you consider fasting any or all of them for one more week?

Prayer Focus: As you encounter one person or event (in your community or on the news), ask God for wisdom in how to pray for that person or event. If the opportunity for a gospel conversation presents itself, prayerfully approach the person.

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