Fasting is an ancient practice. In Jewish tradition, fasting had two primary purposes. First, it expressed personal or national repentance for sin. And second, fasting prepared oneself inwardly for receiving the inner strength and grace to complete a mission of faithful service in God’s name. Over the years this spiritual discipline has become more then the orininal biblical combination of “prayer and fasting.” At the core, however, remains the same intention – a healthy discipline rooted in freedom that brings our soul into deeper communion with God.
Fasting creates the venue for stepping away from our culture and false idols and into the presence of God. With a posture of open hands, we release self-directed desires, distractions, and actions that dominate our lives. Fasting is also rooted in God’s invitation to us. Thus, we do not approach it for personal attention or from the pressures of peers. It is safe to say today’s fasting practices include abstaining not only from food (as shown in the biblical examples) but also from news, media, shopping, entertainment, information systems, and other aspects of life.
With fasting, we humbly yearn for God’s powerful presence. We mourn over our lack of time in seeking his face; we weep as we confess our sins. Often, we are flooded with grief over life’s circumstances. And along with prayer, we fast from food as one crying out to God for healing, salvation, and forgiveness. In the act of release and obedience, we fast to curtail actions and addictions that take our focus away from God’s centrality in our daily lives. We fast in preparation for Christ’s coming again and call out to him to come quickly. We fast over our spiritual weakness.
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Joel 2:12
Fasting provides opportunities for us to back away from excess (perhaps frivolous delights) to allow God to form healthier pathways in our unforced rhythms of grace. Most often, fasting is a voluntary denial of something for a specific time and purpose by individuals or communities. It becomes a practice of embracing God’s presence and a desire to deeply commune with him. It must not be for self-punishment. Instead, it provides space and time through prayer to enable us to joyfully listen to God’s voice. In this, we enter into his sufferings and are enlivened by his Spirit. Yes, we call out to his Spirit to descend upon our hearts and fill us with his love and presence.
When God invites us by our inner yearnings and desires to practice the discipline of fasting, it becomes an agreement or commitment between God and us. We are warned that prideful boasting about what we are fasting from is not received as an offering to our Lord. Thus, our fasting must not center on the way we appear to others or what they think of us. Our fasting is unto the Lord.
Seek the Lord. Ask him for suggestions. Listen to his voice. Fasting is not so much about what you give up as about what replaces that time and attention. And in hungering for God, yearning to hear his voice, and crying out in prayer, we begin to notice his marvelous invitations to us. May it be so for you.
