I’ve never been very good at fasting. Some followers of Jesus are geared in that direction – a three-day retreat, a seven-day seeking of the Lord’s will, a massive 40-day total recalibration of life. Fasting has never served to make me more spiritual or more in tune with the Lord. It usually just makes me sleepy.

The exception to that rule, however, is Lent. I love a good Lenten fast. It’s good for breaking addictive strongholds in my life (often caffeine, Netflix or – one of God’s good and perfect gifts – Dairy Milk chocolate) and inserts a rhythm into the first half of each year. There’s a sense of rise and fall and rise again as I pass from the New Year into the Lenten season and back into the sunrise of Easter. There’s a holiness in the trough that is Lent; the low simmer of self-denial that eventually bubbles over into the raucous joy of Easter.

Lent isn’t a time for asceticism for asceticism’s sake, though. Rather, it’s an opportunity to use self-denial to reflect on all that Jesus has done for us - to sharpen our senses to his movements around us. And, as we tune in to him, it’s only natural that we will also tune in to a clearer sense of how he wants us to be involved with his Kingdom work.

For Lent this year, one way to join in God’s Kingdom work is pretty obvious, even before we start fasting. In 2026, Christians and Muslims will begin their seasons of fasting on the exact same day. This is an extraordinarily rare occurrence and should be enough to give Christians pause. Is this, perhaps, an opportunity to see Lent not only as a time of fasting, but also as a time for mission? Could ‘Fasting as Mission’ be a reality this Lent?

This year, the shared season of fasting provides a perfect opportunity to open conversations with Muslim friends, neighbours and acquaintances. Why do the Muslims in your life fast? What are their motivations, their hoped-for outcomes? If our own Lenten fasting is to become Fasting as Mission, perhaps we should ask them.

And in return, perhaps they’ll wonder about our own motivations for fasting. Perhaps they’ll ask if we have an equivalent to Eid al-Fitr at the end of Lent – a day of celebration. Perhaps they’ll wonder about Easter and why we celebrate. And maybe, just maybe, if we’re tuned in to the Spirit through our own season of fasting, we will grasp that opportunity with both hands and full hearts and proclaim the gospel with great joy and conviction, as Jesus has called us to do.

Will large numbers of Muslims come to faith in Jesus over Ramadan this year? Without a doubt. As Muslims seek Allah over Ramadan, Jesus often reveals himself to them in dreams and visions, and through the genuine friendship of gospel-proclaiming Christians right around the world. The real question is not whether this season will result in both Muslims and Christians encountering the living Christ through their fasting, but whether or not you’ll choose to be a part of it.