“I’ve found that it’s impossible for me to be spiritually hungry for God and the Bible when I am overfed physically”. That is the note I wrote to myself at a Women’s Retreat, which showed up in my mailbox a month later. I remembered eating more frequently, differently and just plain more than I normally would have during the weekend and the more I ate, the more I thought about my next meal or snack. Go figure. That experience caused me to reflect more upon the Christian discipline of fasting.
In his book, Celebration Of Discipline, Richard Foster calls fasting an “inward discipline… a practice initiated by God, ordained by God whose purpose is to glorify and center on God.” It is not a form of punishment for the body but “a conscious decision to tame the body while strengthening the spirit”. What does that really mean and is it a discipline any Christian can try to hone? The short answer is yes. We only need to look to what Jesus says in the Bible to understand the tone: “Whenever you fast, do not look dismal…” and “When you fast, put oil on your head…” In modern vernacular, it’s as if Jesus were saying, “When you cross the street, look both ways first”. The assumption is you WILL cross the street and here are some instructions to make sure it’s successful. In her book Soul Feast, Marjorie Thompson says, “in the US where food is so abundant (pervasive), we have developed a horror of being without it.” It’s true and it is sad. This article is meant to help you decide if it’s time for you to develop this spiritual discipline and give guidance on the best way to start and progress.
First how can you tell if God is calling you to fast? There are numerous examples in the scriptures for why people fasted. They include: expressing personal or national repentance, seeking God’s guidance at critical moments in the life of the church and on inward self-preparation for strength and wisdom when beginning a work God has laid out for you to do. But divesting oneself for a brief time of physical sustenance will help the individual put self aside so the spirit can listen. “Hearing the call” to fast is a fancy way of saying you feel drawn. If you keep thinking about fasting, the idea occurs to you unprovoked repeatedly or you are no longer satisfied to reside on the surface of your relationship with God, you are probably being called.
Determine the purpose: First, examine your motives: Ask God what He wants to accomplish in you through this practice. Biblical fasting is abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. Thompson suggests an objective might be to recover a reverence for our bodies as God’s temple and recover a respect for food as God’s gift. Another may be to expose things in our lives that control us, reestablish balance in our lives and simply to develop discipline.
There are conditions that are incompatible with fasting. If you are traveling, ill or under undue physical/ emotional stress, it would be best not to attempt fasting at this time since it would certainly strain an already stressed immune system. Pregnancy, nursing and other times of rapid growth also preclude fasting. Keep in mind that the purpose is to strengthen the spirit, not punish the body.
STEP ONE – BEGINNERS
Start with a partial fast of not more than 24 hours (“a restriction of the diet but not total abstention”) once a week. Start after dinner on one evening and fast until dinner the next evening. That would be 24 hours and 2 meals. Restrict your intake to 100% fruit juices only during the fasting time. Give your body several weeks to get used to this before progressing to a “normal fast”. You may not actually feel hungry during this time because fruit juice is very caloric and if you drink 10 oz. four times a day, you are essentially using the juice as a meal replacement. Try to satisfy your initial pangs with no more than 4 oz. of juice at any one time and 6 -12 oz. of water. Think of this stage as fasting with training wheels. The discipline will feel less foreign to you if you pass through this training stage. Attitude: monitor your attitude of the heart; note the physical aspects of your experience.
STEP TWO – A “NORMAL FAST”
This is abstaining from all food; solid and liquid. Start after dinner on one evening and fast until dinner the next evening which is the same 24 hour period and 2 meals you should be accustomed to by this time. Make sure you drink lots of water!
- You will probably feel some hunger pangs before the fast is complete; Foster dissuades you from giving in to your tummy grumblings; “in many ways the stomach is like a spoiled child …that needs discipline, not indulgence”.
- Ignore your hunger signals during the fast. Drink another glass of water to calm them.
- If possible, the time you would normally use for eating could be used for mediation and prayer.
- Activity: during a fast, your activity level should not be extreme. If you run, fast on a rest/ recovery day.
Attitude: Challenge yourself to keep the fact that you are fasting private. Only those who need to know should know. That is a Bible principle – you are doing it to God alone and not from some show in front of others.
STEP THREE – THE NEXT STEP
After several months of a weekly 24-hour fast with spiritual success, if you feel led, move on to a 36-hour fast which includes missing 3 consecutive meals. For example, start your fast after dinner Tuesday and end it with breakfast Thursday. Do this once a week.
Be certain to drink generous amounts of water.
Physical: You will certainly feel hunger during this length of fast. Keep close to the Lord. The time you would normally use to eating could be used for mediation and prayer.
Attitude: It will be a bigger challenge to keep your fasting private but I encourage you to do so. Pay close attention to personal hygiene. The Bible says, “When you fast, do not look somber like the hypocrites do…but when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face so it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting…” In other words, take care of your outward body and remain engaged and upbeat.
This is not a 3-step one-size-fits-all process. As you develop the discipline of fasting, be mindful of the level and intensity you should strive for. Again, remember that the purpose is to strengthen the spirit, not punish the body, and so my recommendation would be to accomplish one level then wait for God to prompt you to the next.
BREAKING THE FAST
Avoid the common errors of over eating before a fast or as you break the fast.
- Break the fast with a meal that is small, simple, nutritious and low-fat. Start with a 4 oz. fruit or vegetable juice and a complex carbohydrate such as: Orange juice and dry whole wheat toast, cranberry juice and half a bagel, half a grapefruit and unsweetened cereal with skim milk; V-8 juice and a whole wheat roll, banana and plain oatmeal or cream of wheat, melon and whole grain toast.
- Avoid overly processed foods (commercial baked goods) and high fat foods such as muffins and biscuits. If you break your fast at lunch, avoid fried foods, salad dressings, butter, cheeses and other greasy or oily foods. The food choices should be similar: fruits and vegetables, 2-3 oz. lean chicken or fish without sauces or gravy.
- Note: drinking a large amount of fruit juice to break the fast can cause nausea so limit the quantity to 4 oz. or eat a piece of fruit instead.
It is wise to pay attention to the types of foods you eat as you come off a fast. Your body, while certainly not starving is reacting by conserving energy, and preparing to store fat at its first opportunity (lypogenesis). Therefore, make sure that first meal is feeding your body what it NEEDS and only enough to reach satiety.
A longer fast of 3-7 days or an “absolute fast” of no food, drink or water should only be attempted with clear instruction from God. For additional instruction and a complete description of what your body goes through during a longer fast, see Foster’s description in Celebration of Discipline, pp.58-60.
The purpose of fasting is in the realm of the spirit; to center on God and be able to distinguish his voice more clearly as the cacophony of the world decreases. My prayer is that God would richly reward you with his peace, wisdom and guidance as you pursue this spiritual discipline.
References: Foster, Richard. Celebration of Discipline; The Path to Spiritual Growth. 1988. Harper Collins. Part I, Chapter 4.
Thompson, Marjorie. Soul Feast. 2005. Westminster John Knox Press. Chapter 5.
