Weekly Fasting
This past fall I began to explore the idea of fasting on a weekly basis. It was not a practice that I had previously incorporated into my spiritual formation, and to be honest, I’m still working it out. When you are learning something new there is a bit of trial and error. Yet, the bit I know for sure is that the goal of fasting is not to get God to do things our way, but rather for us to be more deeply transformed and aware of his way.
When I began exploring this practice I picked one day a week and one meal during that day to fast. I think eventually I will fast from sunup to sundown on that day.
Here are some of the questions I asked myself to get started -
What is the point of fasting?
Is fasting mandated in scripture?
What should it look like?
Do I have to fast food or can I fast something else?
But before we look at those questions, I want to be sure to articulate that when I am speaking of fasting I am not talking about the idea of giving up food for the purpose of a diet, not that you should never do this, but that is not what is meant when looking at fasting in scripture. Rather, I am talking about the act of giving up food for a period of time as a form of worship and surrender to God.
All throughout scripture we see the practice of fasting popping up. We see long fasts, short fasts, fasts with no food, fasts with certain foods, and on the very rare occasion fasts with no food and no drink. Sometimes after a fast in scripture, we see a miraculous answer to prayer - like the Jews being rescued during the time of Esther, and other times we see that there is still grief - like when David fasts for the life of his son and he still dies. God’s ways are not our ways and we do not know what, if anything, will be changed in our circumstances when we fast. What we do know is that we will experience growth in the process.
The practice of fasting isn’t a way to manipulate God. It isn’t a way to get God to do what we want when we want it. The point of fasting then is for us to stop eating for a period of time and to replace that meal with time spent in the presence of God - worshipping, praying, reading scripture, listening, lamenting, etc.
I opted to fast from when I woke up until lunchtime. So I was fasting during breakfast. I still have work to do during the day, so there isn’t a chunk of four hours set aside to fasting and prayer. Rather the time that I would have spent preparing a meal and eating it is replaced with additional time that day to be with God. That might look like extra time to write in my journal, or extra time to press in on a certain matter I am praying about. It might also look like sitting in God’s presence and enjoying him - lingering a little longer.
Then I go about my day. I will get hungry before lunchtime and when I do it is an opportunity for me to thank God for who he is and to remind myself that he is the bread of life and the living water and that in him there is abundance. It is also an opportunity for me to remind myself that I am not ruled by my flesh.
Dallas Willard says “Fasting confirms our utter dependence upon God by finding in him a source of sustenance beyond food. Through it, we learn by experience that God’s word to us is a life substance, that it is not food (“bread”) alone that gives life, but also the words that proceed from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). We learn that we too have meat to eat that the world does not know about (John 4:32, 34). Fasting unto our Lord is therefore feasting - feasting on him and on doing his will.”
I don’t believe that scripture commands us to fast, but I think there is an invitation offered to us to explore this practice. And it is a practice. There have been several times on the day I planned to fast that I just up and forgot. It isn’t that it wasn’t important. It is that I am forming a new rhythm and my previous rhythm is so deeply ingrained that it takes time to make the change.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll continue to talk about fasting and various questions around it. These writings won’t be exhaustive, but hopefully, they will be an encouragement to you as you explore this practice.
One last thing for now. I know not everyone is able to fast from food for health reasons, so as you pray about fasting please be aware of what is medically appropriate for you. It may be that you use liquids, like fruit juice and broth, to aid you. It might be that you choose to fast in a different way. In weeks to come, we’ll talk about fasting from other things besides food. Fasting is not meant to cause you shame, it is an invitation to draw near to God in a way that creates a space of surrender and worship beyond your typical daily routine.
~ Melissa