Fasting:

Throughout my Christian life I have learned that there are many practices that people have used thought history to grow closer to God and to become more like Christ. We have been going though a series of these “disciplines,” Many of them are very easy to understand why one might want to do them.

(e.g. Reading scripture is valuable because it tells us about so many things God has done, promises to do, and connects us into the lives of countless people seeking to seek God in ways that still resonate with us today. Prayer is valuable because it is connects us with God in some very tangible ways.)

I think one of the hardest “disciplines” to understand is the practice of fasting. It’s even hard to define:

· According to the dictionary fasting is:
“To abstain from food.” Or
”To eat very little or abstain from certain foods, especially as a religious discipline.”

· Medical Science says a fasting is assumed to be happening after obtaining from food for 8–12 hours.

· Catholics have a weekly “fast” of one hour before the Mass.

· Some people fast from things other then food or drink, others say that’s not a true fast

· Eastern and Oriental Orthodox faiths fast from meat and dairy 2 times a week and for huge sections of the church calendar.

· Catholics fast from meat on Fridays during lent.

· Paul talks about abstaining from sex with your spouse for periods of time by mutual consent for prayer. Some call these sorts of things fasts! 1 Corinthians 7:5

· Can you think of any other fasting examples?

What is fasting?? I’m not really going to worry about defining it. There is no mandate in scripture that says anything like “all people must fast.” If it did I can understand why someone might get anxious about figuring out what it is and is not. Today I want more to look at its practical application.

When we look through the Bible we can many purposes a fast is used for:

• Ezra 10:6 – Mourning
• Ester 4:16 – intercession
• Daniel 9:3 – Prayer
• Joel 2:15 – Community
• Jonah 3:7 – Repentance
• Luke 2:37 – Worship
• Acts 13: 1-3 – Decrement
• Matthew 4:1-4 – Obedience

The question for me is can’t we do all of these things without fasting??

Of course we can… but I think fasting forces us to deal with the Body part of us as well as the spirit. We are deeply affected by our bodies. What we think, how we feel, how we serve these are all deeply intertwined with our bodies. If we want to serve God with our whole self we need disciplines in our life that deal with our bodies too.

As Scot McKnight says: “Fasting is a physical condition in which all the disciplines can occur.”

To understand what I mean by this try putting the word “body” in front (e.g. Body Mourning, or Body Repentance)… does that make any sense?

Difficulties with fasting:

• Isaiah 58:3-7 – Trying to bribe God into helping… or pleasing him
• Matthew 6:16 – Putting on a show
• Fasting can be distracting, we can think about food the whole time – but what does that show us…. Could fasting act as a mirror into our hearts as well?
• It can be done at the wrong time Matthew 9:14-17
• It can become a “technique” (i.e. fasting becomes a form of magic to attain certain benefits, or simply a steroid to your prayer life)
• The focus can easily shift to what it’s doing to your “Spiritual Life” rather then a biblical perspective. In my humble opinion fasting is what happens when a child of God surrenders their entire person — heart, soul, mind, spirit and body – to Abba.

I have personally tried fasting in a number of different ways, I’d be happy to talk about my experiences with it sometime if anyone wants.

Check out these pages for more information on fasting:

http://www.ccci.org/growth/growing-closer-to-god/how-to-fast/index.aspx

-This one is a great one on HOW to do it.

http://www.biblebb.com/files/tniv/FASTING.TXT

– A list of verses on fasting

http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2007/04/fasting-a-thesis_comments.html

– Read the comments hear for a good discussion

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/pr_fasting.aspx

– Orthodox fasting rules. I tried to live these last year! Very challenging!!

My Ten questions on Fasting:

As I began thinking about this I came up with TEN QUESTIONS about fasting… if anyone wants to take a stab at them that would be awesome!

1. In our culture many people seem to have trouble understanding why anyone would really do it. The benefit in doing it is much less tangible then that of prayer, reading scripture, or many other spiritual disciplines. Why would anyone fast?

2. I see many examples of fasting in the world today used to raise awareness. For example Desmond Tutu’s involvements in a hunger strike for change in Zimbabwe. [The Story] Where did this practice come from? Are there any good examples of this in church history?

3. Fasting is generally thought of as refraining from eating food, or drink. However I know that our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters fast twice a week from Meat and Dairy. Is this a true fast?

4. As far as you know did the practice of Fasting in Islam come from the Judeo-Christian practices Mohamed came in contact with or were there other precursors in the area?

5. What fasting practices did the early church fathers?

6. There seems to be a tie between “monastic” life and fasting. How did this connection develop?

7. Jesus often talks about fasting in the gospels, what were the fasting practices like in the ancient near east during the time of Christ?

8. I know a number of people who are very skeptical of the practice of fasting. They believe it can function as a stand in for a more “real” spiritual practice, and can make the faith more formulaic and less organic. What would you say to someone who thinks this way?

9. Depriving oneself of food as a “spiritual practice” seems counter intuitive to many in the west. We have a very platonic understanding of the world. How is what we put in our body relevant to how we are in relationship with God?

10. Fasting can be a very intimidating practice. I’m not sure where one might begin. There are many things to consider: heath implications, what to fast from, how often, and how to do it in a way that helps you grow closer to God. What are some good resources about how to fast?