Fasting may feel like an intimidating activity, but it is a spiritual discipline that is open to anyone. Not everyone will fast, but everyone can.
(For those who have struggled with an eating disorder or an unhealthy relationship with food fasting may present additional difficulty, but there are resources to help if you would still like to try, including Practicing the Way, and Fasting by Scot McKnight.)
The heart of fasting as a follower of Jesus is to give up something good to seek something greater, God and God’s Kingdom. Though it is certainly a good idea, when we give up something that is already damaging or sinful, that is not exactly fasting. That is repentance.
The biblical record of fasting primarily involves willingly giving up food for a period of time as a response to a grievous sacred moment in life. This could be anything from a death, sin, fear, threat, need, sickness, period of preparation, or time of seasonal renewal such as Lent. We respond to these moments with fasting.
(This language of a "grievous sacred moment in life" is from Scot McKnight’s book, Fasting. The language can stretch to fit many reasons for fasting, but is a reminder that fasting is part of disciplines now because the world is broken and we must contend with challenges to God's Kingdom and revealed way.)
Fasting is almost always accompanied by prayer and very often with extra time in the Word of God as that becomes our meal instead of our normal food. Our hope is for God to show up powerfully in the midst of our moments and our life.
There are also variations on fasting from what we typically see it in the Bible which would involve a partial fast (abstaining from certain foods i.e. A Daniel Fast, or fasting from sugar, or meat etc.), or abstaining from something you normally enjoy but decide to give up for a period of time like television, social media (almost no one in the Old Testament gave this up), purchasing things for yourself coffee, alcohol, etc.
We do not fast as an attempt to force God to do want we want. We fast to pray with our body as well as our mind and heart. We fast to draw near to God who will draw near to us. We fast to confess our need, and to express our hunger for God to be present in our life and world. We can fast to break certain unhealthy attachments or to seek spiritual deliverance or breakthrough. Let us fast and seek God during this season of Lent.
