22/08/2026
HOW I FASTED FROM AN ANDROID PHONE FOR 2 YEARS
I promise you—there is a prophetic lesson at the end of this.
There are seasons when God will deliberately remove something from your hand—not because He hates you, but because He wants to put something greater in your spirit.
Sometimes, what you call a setback is actually divine separation.
Since 2018, I became increasingly intentional about my online presence. By 2020, the passion had become stronger. I wanted to understand the digital space, build influence, communicate the Gospel, and impact lives.
I was everywhere.
Posting. Learning. Connecting. Building.
And it was during that season that I received the phrase “Driven By Impact” through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
But while I was busy trying to build an online presence, God was trying to build a deeper spiritual presence in me.
I wanted visibility.
God wanted consecration.
I wanted reach.
God wanted depth.
I wanted to influence people.
God wanted to transform me first.
And I didn't understand it at the time.
There is a dimension of God's dealings that you may never understand until you look back years later.
Sometimes God will interrupt what you are building because what you are building is beginning to compete with what He is building in you.
And if you don't discern His dealings early, you may be forced to learn the hard way.
THE PHONE THAT BECAME A PROPHETIC INSTRUMENT
My Android phone began giving me serious problems.
The battery could drop from 90% unexpectedly.
Sometimes the phone became so hot that, honestly, it looked like it could cook noodles!
I would try to save money to replace it, but somehow something would always happen and the money would disappear into another need.
I couldn't explain what was happening to my finances.
Looking back now, I realize something:
God was using disappointments to discipline me.
Then came August 8, 2023.
I was still in the seminary.
The phone developed another battery problem, so I took it to a technician. The battery was replaced. But after everything was fixed, the phone became hot again.
That day, I said:
“Enough is enough!”
I got angry.
I sold the Android phone for ₦5,000 as scrap.
And I made a decision:
“I'm not getting another Android phone for now. Let me pause.”
I didn't know that what I called a phone problem was becoming a divine invitation into consecration.
THE FIRST TWO WEEKS WERE NOT EASY
I had become accustomed to learning, researching, posting, connecting and being online.
I am passionately curious. I love learning. I love growth.
But the phone was becoming a major distraction, especially whenever my data was turned on.
Then I discovered something:
Sometimes what we need is not another motivational message about discipline. Sometimes we need a disappointment that will force us into discipline.
I put my SIM card into someone else's phone and called home.
My family didn't want me to become completely disconnected from them, so my mother eventually sent me another simple phone along with foodstuffs through my pastor.
I was now using a button phone.
Calls.
SMS.
That's it.
As a seminary student, it wasn't easy.
I felt disconnected.
I felt like the world was moving while I was standing still.
For the first two weeks, I felt lonely.
There were moments I wondered:
“What is happening to me?”
But I didn't know that God was taking me through a season of divine pruning.
GOD WAS NOT PUNISHING ME. HE WAS REFINING ME.
That season became one of the most transformational seasons of my life.
My memory capacity improved.
The digital overload reduced.
My prayer life changed.
My spiritual sensitivity increased.
My ability to discern became sharper.
The prophetic dimension of my life became more pronounced.
My roommate, Papa Osuji Moses, can testify to the transformation he witnessed.
What I initially interpreted as loss became an encounter with depth.
What looked like disconnection from the world became deeper connection with God.
What looked like being left behind was actually God pulling me ahead.
I thought I was missing the world.
Meanwhile, God was making sure I didn't miss Him.
There were times I was tempted to borrow my friend Apostle Peter Gyang's phone just to check what was happening online.
One day, the temptation became so strong that I asked him in class:
“Please, borrow me your phone. I want to check something online.”
It didn't even take up to an hour.
But when I look back, I realize how strong that attachment had become.
I felt like the world had left me behind.
But heaven was saying:
“Stay here. I am dealing with you.”
I LOST FOLLOWERS—BUT I GAINED DEPTH.
During those two years, I lost followers.
I lost online connections.
Some people moved on.
Some relationships disappeared.
Some digital opportunities passed me by.
But I gained something that numbers cannot measure:
I gained depth.
And sometimes God will allow you to lose numbers so He can increase your weight.
You may lose visibility and gain authority.
You may lose connections and gain communion.
You may lose platforms and gain the presence.
You may lose applause and gain conviction.
Never measure a season only by what disappeared from your hands.
Ask God what He was depositing in your spirit.
TWO YEARS WITHOUT AN ANDROID PHONE
From August 8, 2023, throughout 2024, I did not own an Android phone.
I used a simple button phone for calls and SMS.
I remained offline.
I watched the digital world continue without me.
And eventually, I knew the season was over.
I began preparing to return.
Then, on May 23, 2025, I got another Android phone.
I resumed my online presence.
And yes, I had to start again.
But I was no longer the same person who left.
The phone came back, but it no longer had the same place in my heart.
That is the difference between removing a distraction and conquering an attachment.
The goal was never to hate technology.
The goal was to ensure that technology never became my master.
LISTEN TO ME:
One of the greatest distractions in our generation is the mobile phone.
Yes, technology is useful.
Yes, social media can help us preach.
Yes, the internet can create opportunities.
Yes, you can reach thousands of people from your bedroom.
But hear this:
A platform can amplify your voice while quietly weakening your altar.
You can be trending online and declining spiritually.
You can have thousands of followers and still have no depth.
You can be posting scriptures while losing your prayer life.
You can be building a digital ministry while neglecting your secret place.
Don't become famous online and empty in the spirit.
If you want to maximize your potential, you must become intentional about distraction.
Know what God has called you to do.
Know what season you are in.
And have the courage to disconnect from anything that is competing with your assignment.
FIVE THINGS YOU MUST NEVER ALLOW TO SEPARATE YOU FROM GOD
1. DON'T LET YOUR PHONE BE THE FIRST THING YOU TOUCH IN THE MORNING.
I know many people want to catch the early-morning algorithm traffic.
I understand.
Engagement matters.
But before you check notifications, check your spiritual atmosphere.
Before you respond to people, respond to God.
Before you scroll through timelines, open the Word.
Before you check who liked your post, check the condition of your heart.
Don't give social media the first fruit of your attention while God receives the leftovers.
2. DON'T STAY ONLINE WHEN IT IS TIME TO BE WITH GOD.
There are moments when you know you should be praying.
You know you should be studying Scripture.
You know you should be preparing.
But you keep scrolling.
One more video.
One more post.
One more notification.
One more comment.
And suddenly, an hour is gone.
Don't allow a device you purchased to become a master over you.
You have the power to control the phone.
The phone must never control you.
3. DON'T LOOK SPIRITUAL ONLINE WHILE YOUR ALTAR IS COLD.
This is one of the most dangerous forms of deception.
You can post about prayer without praying.
You can post about revival without carrying fire.
You can post about intimacy with God while being distant from Him.
You can preach holiness while secretly living carelessly.
People may be impressed by your online appearance.
But God sees beyond the screen.
Never build a public image that your private life cannot sustain.
4. DON'T COME ONLINE WITH A CORRUPTED MOTIVE.
Before you post, ask yourself:
Why am I posting this?
Is it to glorify God?
Is it to genuinely impact people?
Or are you trying to prove that you have arrived?
Are you seeking souls—or applause?
Are you building the Kingdom—or building your ego?
Are you spreading fire—or advertising yourself?
Check your motive.
Because sometimes the same thing can be done by two people, and God accepts one while rejecting the other—not because of the action, but because of the motive.
5. DON'T BECOME ENEMIES WITH PEOPLE BECAUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS.
Don't fight everyone online.
Don't insult people because you disagree with them.
Don't enter every argument.
Don't turn somebody's comment section into a battlefield.
Don't allow someone else's post to steal your peace.
The world is a global village.
It is too small for unnecessary online wars.
You don't have to respond to everything.
Sometimes maturity is knowing when to speak.
Sometimes wisdom is knowing when to remain silent.
Sometimes your greatest response is simply to keep growing.
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HERE IS THE LESSON GOD TAUGHT ME:
Anything that begins to take God's place in your life eventually becomes an idol—even if it is not inherently evil.
The problem is not always the thing.
Sometimes the problem is the place the thing occupies.
Your phone may not be evil.
Social media may not be evil.
Influence may not be evil.
Visibility may not be evil.
But anything that consistently takes your attention away from God can become a spiritual competitor.
And when God loves you deeply, He will confront whatever is competing with His place in your heart.
Sometimes He will convict you.
Sometimes He will redirect you.
Sometimes He will shut a door.
Sometimes He will allow a disappointment.
Sometimes He will remove something from your hand.
Not because He wants to destroy you—
but because He wants to deliver you from what would eventually destroy your destiny.
So if God is taking something away from you in this season, don't be too quick to call it a curse.
Ask Him what He is trying to teach you.
You may be crying over what you lost while heaven is celebrating what you are becoming.
I thought I was fasting from an Android phone.
In reality, God was fasting me from distraction.
I thought I was disconnected from the world.
In reality, God was reconnecting me to Himself.
I thought I was being left behind.
In reality, God was preparing me to go deeper.
And today, I can honestly say:
GOD, I THANK YOU FOR AUGUST 8, 2023.
That disappointment became discipline.
That disconnection became consecration.
That silence became refinement.
That loss became preparation.
And that season became part of the making of the man I am becoming.
Never despise a season where God is stripping you.
Sometimes before God can pour more into you,
He must empty you of what has been occupying you.
🔥 Your next level may not require more information.
It may require more consecration.
🔥 Your breakthrough may not be another connection.
It may be a divine disconnection.
🔥 Your greatest season may begin the day you stop feeding the distraction and start feeding your spirit.
So I ask you:
What has been competing with God for your attention?
And what would happen if you surrendered it completely?
I would genuinely love to hear from you.
What did you learn from my experience?
Have you ever experienced a season where God disconnected you from something in order to draw you closer to Himself?
Share your experience in the comments.
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— Apostle Favour Isaiah A.
