Part I
"John Wesley declares, 'First, let it [fasting] be done unto the Lord with our eye singly fixed on Him. Let our intention herein be this, and this alone, to glorify our Father which is in Heaven. . . .' Once the primary purpose of fasting is firmly fixed in our hearts, we are at liberty to understand that there are also secondary purposes in fasting. More than any other Discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. This is a wonderful benefit to the true disciple who longs to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. We cover up what is inside us with food and other things, but in fasting these things surface. If pride controls us, it will be revealed almost immediately. David writes, 'I humbled my soul with fasting' (Ps. 69:10). Anger, bitterness, jealousy, strife, fear -- if they are within us, they will surface during fasting. At first we will rationalize that our anger is due to our hunger; then we will realize that we are angry because the spirit of anger is within us. We can rejoice in this knowledge because we know that healing is available through the power of Christ."
-Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline, pg. 55
The other night we had a friend over for dinner. Afterward we relaxed on the couch with a cup of tea while our friend played guitar and talked about life. I told the guys that I doing a post on fasting and asked them what they thought. At first our friend, who fasts regularly, said "It is great! It is SO great," then it turned into, "it's horrible, absolutely horrible...wait, I lied, I love it and it's horrible! I could talk about this all night." His remarks followed the same pattern the whole night, clearly revealing an intense love/hate relationship with the discipline. He told us story after story about different fasts he had done as well as the reasons for them. He told us one story about a three minute sermon he had heard that really got to the heart of why people fast. It went something like this:
"Imagine you were going on vacation with your family. You are in the driveway packing your car and your kid is playing while waiting to be put in the car. Then another car drives by and hits your kid. Obviously the vacation is called off and you'll be spending time indefinitely at the hospital until your child is well. Then you see one of your friends who has no idea that anything happened and innocently asks you if you want to go grab something to eat. You decline, telling them the story of your child's accident and ask him, 'How could I possibly eat at such a time as this?'"
I thought that was such a profound illustration about fasting. God is our ultimate healer and we need to go to him, (the hospital for our body and soul) and if we are so distraught over something while praying, how could we possibly eat? Adam has fasted several time recently and he shared one of his stories with us. I remember when it happened. He had been distant from God but was seeking to drawn near. It was one of the first times he had fasted and we were at McDonald's. In spite of his own hunger pains he had Remy on his lap and was feeding her a chicken nugget. He heard God gently whisper to him, "Even though I'm starving for your love, I still feed you mine." There he sat, floored by the reality of his neglect towards God and God's unfailing love towards him. With out the experience of the fast and having to feed his own daughter, he may have missed this. The night went on like this, story after story. Finally I asked them, "If there is one thing you want to say about fasting, what would it be?" Adam was quick to reply, with a smirk on his face, "If you're not fasting, you're slowing!" Our friend chimed in, "Oh yeah, totally! If someone asks me if I'm fasting, but I'm actually not, I just say no, I'm slowing today...um, hum, I don't know what to say other than Nike, just do it!" What a bunch of knuckleheads.
The nuts and bolts of fasting
*If you are someone with health issues like diabetes, heart disease, pregnancy or an eating disorder then fasting from food is probably not for you. Although it's not mentioned in the Bible, if you still have a heart to fast, you may want to ask God if there is something else it would be alright to fast from such as T.V. or Internet or whatever it is that consumes most of your time and thoughts.
For the beginner, it's best to start small. Maybe fast breakfast and lunch. Take the time that you would normally be eating and spend it in prayer and worship. Try that once a week for a few weeks and then increase the fast to a full 24 hours. Fasting is a progression, build up to 3 days, seven days or even longer as you feel led by the Lord.
It's not advised to bulk up on food before a fast, in fact it's wise to do just the opposite. If you are planning an extended fast, you may even want to cut back on your meal sizes in preparation. A meal or two of fruits and vegetables are recommend to eat before your fast as a way to ease any constipation you may incur. Fruit juices are particularly nice during the fast. Our friend says grape juice is great during this time. When breaking your fast do so with small, light meals of fruits, vegetables and soups. Remember, your digestive system has been in sort of a hibernation state and you don't want to shock it with heavy meals.
It's important to understand what's going on in your body during an extended fast. The first three or four days will be the hardest. Your body is actually detoxing itself. You might even feel ill, dizzy or have headaches from these toxins being release. This is where the bad breath and coating on your tongue comes from. Gross, I know, but you'll be and feel much healthier in the end. Pace yourself during this time. Around day five or so you'll begin to feel much better, almost as though you could fast indefinitely. If you feel directed by the Lord (only if it's directed by him) and are doing an even longer fast, then somewhere around day 21 and on you will start to feel hungry again. This is when your body has used up it stored energy and is beginning to feed on live tissue. This is when the actual starvation process has begun. If this happens you need to break the fast and eat.
There are different types of fasts. There's the group fast, some church's do this to seek the Lord's guidance for the upcoming year. There is the traditional fast of drinking water or juice but abstaining from food. Then there is the partial or Daniel fast where you eat nothing but fruits and vegetables, drink only water and don't shower for 21 days. The no showering part is the modern day version of not anointing yourself with oil. Finally there is the complete fast; no food or water for 3 days. I really don't recommend this because it can literally kill you. Unless you are extremely mature in your faith, prompted by God himself and have talked to a pastor, you probably shouldn't even entertain the thought. I know that sounds harsh but the consequences of wrongly handling this type of fast are dire. Just as an example, this type of fast was undertaken by all of the Jews who were about to be annihilated by Haman during the rule of King Xerxes.
Lastly, there are different reasons to fast. People do it for guidance, breakthrough, healing, on behalf of others and sometimes out of a repentant heart. Most importantly it should be done as a way to draw into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God.
Here are some resources to help get you started:
A great site if you're interested in the Daniel fast.
http://daniel-fast.com/
This link has info to guide you into, through and out of a fast.
http://www.creatingfutures.net/fasting.htm
This link has some great Biblical examples of fasting.
http://www.christian-faith.com/forjesus/fasting-key-power