Why Should Fasting Be a Natural Rhythm in Your Walk with God
As I was reading about fasting for better health outcomes, I was also delving into the spiritual disciplines where fasting is encouraged as regular rhythm of life.
Spiritual rhythms refer to the regular practices and disciplines that believers engage in to cultivate a deeper relationship with God and to grow in their faith.
I felt conflicted – was I fasting for physical or spiritual reasons? Should I do one fast to improve my health and a different fast to seek God?
As I talked to God about this dilemma, I came to the conclusion, it was not truly a dilemma but left over legalistic thinking on my part.
God reminded me that we are whole beings and the Holy Spirit dwells in our physical bodies – what is good for our bodies is good for all dimensions of our beings and vice versa.
If you are unable to fast from food for health reasons, consider fasting from media, desserts, etc. Also, if you are eating a highly processed diet, I recommend cleaning up your eating before fasting. You will have a better experience.
Why Has Fasting Became Neglected in the Church?
As I think back to my years in the church growing up, I remember some people in the church doing radical fasts – like a 40 day fast – but I do not recall being taught that fasting should be a rhythm in my walk with God.
Read more here about how the early church fasted regularly and why it eventually faded away.
Also, read Isaiah 58, which is a beautiful passage about the right and wrongs reasons to fast and the “blessings of true worship.”
This blog will cover the spiritual reasons to fast. Stay tuned for how fasting greatly benefits our physical health.
Six Reasons to Make Fasting a Regular Rhythm
Because as apprentices of Jesus, we do what He did. Jesus began his ministry with a 40 day fast. (See Matthew 4:1-11.) Jesus assumed His followers would fast. In Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus begins with, “When you fast…”
When we fast, we become less like Martha and more like Mary, slowing down to sit at the feet of Jesus. (Luke 10:38-42)
Fasting reminds us we care about “soul” things.” As we willingly set aside a little comfort, we can listen and attend to the voice of God and receive nourishment from God alone.
Fasting brings to light sin and misalignment in our lives that we may have not been aware of opening up communication with God.
Isaiah 59:2 reads, But your inequities have made a separation between you and your God.
Practicing self denial leads us to a deeper understanding of how Jesus denied himself and embraced suffering.
It has been found that when we deny ourselves food, this spills over into other areas of our lives where we may have addictions or unhealthy habits. (Anyone else picking up your phone too often?).
Through self-denial we begin to recognize what controls us.
I find it interesting that Eve was tempted by food as it was a “delight to her eyes”. Esau gives away his birthright because he was “famished”.
And in Psalm 78 we read in reference to the Israelites’ greed after they had come out of Egypt, the people who were fed the “bread of heaven” cared only about their stomachs,
But their greed knew no bounds; they stuffed their mouths with more and more. Finally, God was fed up-his anger erupted.
This stands in stark contrast to Deuteronomy 8:3.
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Fasting often leads to greater clarity and direction in our lives. There are many biblical examples of people fasting to hear a Word from God.
One caveat, fasting is not a magic bullet to God. You may not see lightning or hear thunder, but persevere and be open to what God has to teach you. Know God works behind the scenes as you follow Him in obedience.
Remember the example of Daniel who prayed and fasted for three weeks, and this is what the angel who appears says to him,
Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. Daniel 10:12-14
Fasting makes us available to others. I found it so interesting that the Message version of Isaiah 58 reads,
This is the kind of fast day I’m after….being available to your own families.
Does anyone else get to the end of the day and wonder, did I make eye contact and attentively listen to my children, to my husband, or even to the clerk in the grocery store?
Fasting slows us down and makes us more available.
How To Begin a Rhythm of Fasting
Start small. Skip one meal on a designated day of the week for a month.
Then try two meals which would have you fasting for 24 hours, making your last meal the night before you skip breakfast and lunch.
Make it a regular habit. I consistently fast on one particular day of the week that fits in best with my schedule. It is like any other habit, it takes repetition and practice.
Write down what you are committing to. I have failed many times at completing fasts I set out to, but then I read this in Prayers That Avail Much by Germaine Copleand, and I have found it so helpful.
She writes this in her prayer on committing to a fast.
Father, I consecrate this fast to You and set my mind to gain understanding in these matters for which I am concerned. (Write your concerns out and keep them before your eyes. Do not lose sight of the reason for your fast.)
I humble myself before You, Most High God. In accordance with Daniel 10:1-3, I will eat no _____ for the period of ______.
Have “soft days”. I try to make my fasting days what I call “soft days”. I quiet the noise in my life by not listening to any podcasts, playing soft instrumental or worship music, not watching television, not searching on my phone, etc.
Go to scripture when you are hungry. Read and reread Isaiah 58.
Ask those close to you to support you. Although we don’t need to broadcast we are fasting, asking those in your home to support you is helpful.
Plan meals ahead if you are the main cook in your home. I try to make easy prep meals that don’t tempt me to pick at food.
What May Surprise You
Once you start fasting, you may even find yourself craving a fasting day- a day that is more in tune with your soul needs.
Some people call it “fasting is feasting”.
The fasting is feasting idea is that with practice we can grow to experience that fasting is not as much a deprivation of food as it is a provision of food — an unseen food, the “bread of heaven” (Exodus 16:4, Psalm 105:40). We fast in order to direct our attention and energy away from our normal source of food and onto our heavenly source. We fast from food in order to feast on manna!
Resources
Passages to read while fasting or in preparation of fasting- John 6, Matthew 4:1-11, Isaiah 58, Daniel 9-10
For a deeper dive into fasting, listen to Jon Mark Comer’s four part series on fasting here.
Prayers That Avail by Germain Copeland
Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun
To learn more about what spiritual disciplines or spiritual rhythms are click on the blog to the left. Also, scroll to the bottom of this blog for an Almond Ricotta Cake recipe!