One of the spiritual disciplines that I struggle with the most is fasting. Part of my struggle with fasting is inexperience with it, while another part of it is the challenge of actually denying myself. When I have fasted, I have found it to be a good experience many times, but other times just seeming pointless.
I’d like to hear from you about fasting:
- what are your questions about fasting?
- what are your hang-ups with fasting?
- what are your joys with fasting?
- what are your good or bad experiences with fasting?
Post your comments here and I will work them into some upcoming posts on the topic of fasting.
Discover more from Matthew Erickson
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Matthew Erickson 
I’m not sure I fully understand ‘how’ to fast. I’ve done it before, and never really felt it had much of an impact on my spiritual life or prayer time. From what I understand it should help build up discipline in prayer. But in what way, I’m not completely sure. I have never found it all that difficult to abstain from food (granted I’ve only ever fasted over a period of a day or two) but I suppose a fast can be from anything.
I think it’s a hard concept to grasp nowadays living in a place where fasting is not a part of our culture.
Thanks for the feedback, Allyson. I think a lot of us are in the same place where we don’t know the ‘how’ of fasting because it’s not a normal part of our culture. I have known people – me included – who have fasted from other sorts of things, whether it was television, music in the car, or certain other ‘normal’ activities for the purpose of seeking God more deeply.
I hope to address some of these issues after hearing from more people and synthesizing some study I’ve already done on the topic. For some reason, this topic is really on my mind a lot right now.
Please, visit my fasting journey blog.
http://fastforgod.wordpress.com/
Thanks
to be honest, I’ve always wanted to fast, but I’m concerned with getting physically sick. I wonder how to get past that
Thanks, Sophie. The practical, physical realities of fasting really should be considered. I’ll address this in my upcoming blog posts.
why do people fast from things other food? Is that really fasting if your doesn’t need it to survive?
Good question, Kari. I think that is worth considering if that is really fasting or not. I’ll address that in these posts. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said: “Fasting, if we conceive of it truly, must not only be confined to the question of food and drink; fasting should really be made to include abstinence from anything which is legitimate in and of itself for the sake of some special spiritual purpose.”
So you asked me (via twitter) what do I consider “legitimate” to fast from because of my response that “legitimate” is an ambiguous word that can be define in many ways.
In the traditional since I believe fasting to be abstaining from food, only because their is no substitute for food, everyone needs needs to eat. The physical response from my body when fasting from food reminds me of the purpose of my fast, that I need God. So if I’m to abstain from food, the only thing that can satisfy my need is God. Therefore I spend more time praying to God for the reason why I am fasting.
A lot of times I find that we, as Christians (including myself), fast from things we know we spend to much time doing. In a way we fast from the things that we worship other than God. When we step away from these things (“fasting”), the void reveals to us these things as idols and we repent, knowing that we worshiped things other than God. Though a positive outcome and worth doing, it seems to me not a fast, but more as a rehabilitation of self and our relationship with God.
Or is that also fasting? I thought that you fast not to reveal your sins, but because we know we are sinful and are uable to do anything without God. Fasting is a way of worshiping God by saying that we need Him to survive. Am I wrong, or do I just need to broaden my defintion of what and why we fast?
Wow! Great thoughts here, Kari! I hope others read your insights at the blog.
I basically agree with you that the biblical understanding of fasting has to do with food, not other things. I have not seen any connection between the term fasting and anything but food or liquids in the Bible. (The one exception to this is Isaiah 58 where fasting is connected with justice & righteousness.)
At the same time, I think you are right to point out that stepping back from other things that we give much time or energy to (e.g., TV, Facebook, work, shopping) can be helpful for our spiritual growth. However we categorize this (self-denial or a form of simplicity), I do not think of it strictly as fasting.
That being said, there are some folks for whom fasting as traditionally understood is not a realistic option because of health issues (e.g., diabetes, pregnancy). In cases like this, other forms of self-denial can be viewed as a viable substitute for fasting.
What do you think about what I am sayinng?
In regard to your comments about the purpose of fasting, Scripture shows multiple purposes and situations where fasting is appropriate, and I’ll look at these in the series of upcoming posts on fasting.
Does anyone else have any comments about what is biblical fasting?
In the midst of these discussions, we do well not to get overly concerned with definitions and categories, but with the heart of the matter: putting ourselves in a place where God can truly transform us to be more like Jesus.
If you fast from food, does that mean also from water or other liquids , so you don’t get dehydrated?
Great question, Diana. I’ll get at practical questions like this when I post on fasting in the near future.
I’m looking forward to reading your future posts on fasting. Our small group recently did a fast together, so we were looking into scripture about it. I think we all came to the fast with different ideas and it was good to talk through them. But even after studying it and actually going through with it, there are still questions and things that feel unclear (as I suppose there always will be, and should be). And I guess fasting is probably something that you understand better the more you do it. Anyways, I’m glad to learn more about it. Thanks Matt and other folks in the comments 🙂
These are all great questions and comments. Fasting is an important part of faith and discipline but I, too struggle with it. As I write this I am listening to the prayers of my Muslim neighbors over the loudspeakers throughout the community where I live. For them fasting is the centerpiece of their year (learn more about this at http://www.doeverythinginlove.com). Why is fasting so hard for us Jesus followers? Jesus said “when you fast,” not “if you fast.”