Fasting 101

I am not an expert on fasting. Far from it! I did not grow up in a church that taught about fasting so it has really only been in my adult life that I have begun practicing it on occasion and have been very blessed by the practice. In preparation for this upcoming fast I have studied up on it in Scripture and from people who have more experience and insight than I do so that I have a better understanding of why I should do it and what I should expect from the experience. Here is brief summary of what I have learned from my experience, from studying Scripture, and from reading about other people's practice.

Why should I fast?

Scripture calls us to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1). And Jesus fasted (Matthew 4:2). If Jesus needed to fast, I imagine that I, being much lesser than He, also should fast. Furthermore, Jesus talks about fasting as if it is a regular part of the Christian life, in the same way He talks about giving and praying (specifically see Matthew 6). And when asked by His disciples why they were unable to remove an unclean spirit, Jesus acknowledges that the act not only requires faith, but can only be accomplished by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21) indicating that the power of Christ at work in us can be increased through prayer and fasting in faith.

What does it accomplish?

Much of our lives are driven by our appetites. Not just what our belly wants, though that is certainly a big one, but what we most desire. When we fast, we sacrificially deny ourselves something. This discipline de-thrones our selfish appetites and helps us develop the discipline to choose short term dissatisfaction, in order to gain something greater.

De-throning your appetite:

• Makes you more sensitive to the Spirit, enabling you to live holy
• Prepares the way for God to give you fresh revelation, vision, and purpose
• Prepares you for a new anointing
• Renews you spiritually by magnifying God in your life
• Stirs hunger in your spirit for the deeper things of God
• Can break you free of bondages (often caused by your appetite)

{bullet points gleaned and paraphrased from Jentezen Franklin's book "Fasting: Opening the Door to a Deeper, More Intimate, More Powerful Relationship With God" and are backed by Scriptural examples, and line up with my own personal experience}

Matthew 5:6 tells us, 

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."

Hungry people are desperate people. When we desperately want more of God, He promises to satisfy us with more of Him. Fasting helps us develop that hunger so that we can experience true satisfaction, not just the temporary satisfaction of whatever we feed our appetite.

Jen Hatmaker reflects on her fasting experience after seven months of fasting various things each month in her book "7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess"

"Perhaps this is why Scripture calls us to the practice of fasting- from food, from greed, from selfishness, from luxuries. It isn't just the experience, it's the discipline. It changes us. Fasting helps us develop mastery over the competing voices in our heads that urge us toward more, toward indulgence, toward emotional volatility. Like consistent discipline eventually shapes our children's behavior, so it is with us."

How to Fast

1) Commit to a time period. Our church does a corporate fast at the beginning of each year for two weeks so that is what I will be doing. But you could fast for 1 day, 10 days, 21 days, 40 days, or really any number. Just pick a duration and commit to it. 

2) Commit to a type of fast. In the Bible fasting involved abstaining from certain foods or all foods. But it is all about de-throning your appetite, so really any area of appetite that would be a sacrifice for you to give up would be acceptable. The three types of fasts encouraged by our church are liquid fasts (no food for the duration), the Daniel fast (basically a vegan diet with no sugar/sweetners or processed foods), and a Media fast (no social media, television, internet outside of work responsibilities). The important thing is that it should involve sacrifice! If it is easy for you, then it is not a fast. 

3) Commit to spending quiet time with God in Scripture and prayer. Without intentionally connecting with God, a fast is just a diet. I will be sharing my 2 week Scripture reading plan that I am using to intentionally focus my year on the blog in the next couple of days in case you would like to follow along.

If you are ready to de-throne your appetite and cultivate a greater hunger for God, I would love for you to join me and my faith community as we fast January 3-17. Please leave me a comment or shoot me message if you will be joining us so I can be praying for you!