All this to say we live in a time and place that purposefully going without food for a day is seen as both absurd and very difficult. So it comes as little surprise when I ask Christians if they have ever fasted and the vast majority answers no. You read that right. I don't ask if they have fasted recently, but if they have ever fasted. The sadness that is located here is that we know Jesus fasted and that he expected His followers to fast also.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” (Matthew 6:16, ESV)
Instead, much of the evangelical church has ignored this spiritual practice. So the obvious question is 'Why!?' Why have we not fasted? The simple reason is that fasting isn't easy. In America we are all about easy and dulling pain any way we can. The most popular way we dull pain is with food. So giving up food is giving up our pain killer. We have a thing called 'comfort food' for a reason. It is what we use to comfort us. Instead, we should be turning to Jesus and His bride, the Church, for comfort when we experience pain.
So before you begin trying to fast, ask yourself if you need to first learn how to take your pain to God and your brothers and sisters in Christ. If the answer is yes talk to God and others about this issue. Stop reading this post for the time being and work on this. Remember to take things one step at a time.
Next, there are two primary reasons that you would fast. The first is that the current situation you are in calls for it. This could be something as big as making a big decision where you need God's wisdom to be able to go forward in any direction. It could also be because you are hurting so much that you can't see outside of the painful circumstances that surround you and you need to gain God's perspective on the matter.
The second reason is that God is calling you to a season of fasting to build your relationship with Him. That's it. How does this increase our relationship with Him? It's because the whole point of fasting is giving up a physical daily need and replacing it with a spiritual need.
Take the time and energy that you devote to thinking about, preparing, consuming, and cleaning up after your food...and devote it to God. Use the time to read His Word, to pray, and to serve others. The easiest way to serve others is thinking about how much money you would spend on food on a given day and donate it to feeding the homeless. This could be giving a lunch sack to someone on a street corner or donating to the Phoenix Rescue Mission.
Lastly, consider this: If we don't have the ability to discipline our bodies to avoid eating food for a few hours, how can we expect to discipline our hearts and minds to be conformed to the likeness of Christ? If we are to die to self and live for Christ we must remember that dying is a painful endeavor, but it produces eternal rewards.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4, ESV)
So before you begin trying to fast, ask yourself if you need to first learn how to take your pain to God and your brothers and sisters in Christ. If the answer is yes talk to God and others about this issue. Stop reading this post for the time being and work on this. Remember to take things one step at a time.
Next, there are two primary reasons that you would fast. The first is that the current situation you are in calls for it. This could be something as big as making a big decision where you need God's wisdom to be able to go forward in any direction. It could also be because you are hurting so much that you can't see outside of the painful circumstances that surround you and you need to gain God's perspective on the matter.
The second reason is that God is calling you to a season of fasting to build your relationship with Him. That's it. How does this increase our relationship with Him? It's because the whole point of fasting is giving up a physical daily need and replacing it with a spiritual need.
Take the time and energy that you devote to thinking about, preparing, consuming, and cleaning up after your food...and devote it to God. Use the time to read His Word, to pray, and to serve others. The easiest way to serve others is thinking about how much money you would spend on food on a given day and donate it to feeding the homeless. This could be giving a lunch sack to someone on a street corner or donating to the Phoenix Rescue Mission.
Lastly, consider this: If we don't have the ability to discipline our bodies to avoid eating food for a few hours, how can we expect to discipline our hearts and minds to be conformed to the likeness of Christ? If we are to die to self and live for Christ we must remember that dying is a painful endeavor, but it produces eternal rewards.
“And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”” (Matthew 4:2–4, ESV)
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