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By Wendy Miller
timbrel, September-October 2000
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives guidance on three spiritual disciplines: giving to the poor, prayer, and fasting. These are not to give us prestige or ego boosts, Jesus says, but to help us be aware of God’s presence and response: “Abba who sees in secret will reward you” (Matt. 6.18).
People of Jesus’ time shared a common understanding of when and how to fast, an understanding which is not part of our teachings today. In the Reformation fasting came to be perceived as an attempt to work at one’s salvation and the practice was discouraged.
Hence we are not always sure how to fast. So here are some suggestions for going about a God-centered fast.
Start by considering your reasons for fasting. Is your desire to fast rooted in unhealthy hopes that others may know that you are spiritual? Are you caught up in how you look in the eyes of others? We may also fast with the ulterior motive of losing weight or even of punishing ourselves. In the West we tend to have a toxic relationship with food, our bodies, and how others see our bodies.
Eating isn’t the only thing with which we struggle in relation to food. How we cook and serve it, and people’s perceptions of us as we do so, raises anxiety for many of us. Look at Martha and her explosive attack on her sister Mary in Luke 10:40. In response Jesus drew Martha’s attention to her worries and to how many things were claiming her attention, robbing her of peace and well being.
The true intent of fasting is a laying aside of most foods for a period of time so that we can be free to open our attention to God and to get in touch with what it is that controls us. We become more and more free from those controlling things as we become more attached to God, experiencing God’s love and care for us. In the presence of God we learn to know who we truly are, and we become less worried about how others see us. We are released from the anxious prison of what others think.
As we see ourselves for who we are, cherished by God, then we also see other people as cherished. Then the fast has meaning, and becomes an act of love.
For those not accustomed to fasting, it is good to begin with fasting from one meal rather than a full day. This meal may be lunch or supper. The meal before the fast should be substantial but not loaded with rich fats and sugars. During the time of the fast it is important to drink fluids. Have fruit juices on hand, diluted with water which is warm or at room temperature. Clear broth which is not too salty is also helpful. And, of course, drink water. If you have special dietary needs because of diabetes or another physical condition, modify your fast by eating needed foods which are recommended for you, but lay aside treats for a day.
Be prayerful during the day you choose to fast. You may find it helpful to practice a spiritual discipline that opens your attention to God. As in a number of Bible passages, you may wish to intercede for some special prayer concern during part of the day that you fast (see Ezra 8:23; Esther 4:16; Acts 13:2, 3). Get in touch with the responses within yourself as you fast. Bring these responses into God’s presence and release them in prayer.
Many things control our thinking and our living, demanding our attachment and energy. And so fasting may not always be from food. As God says in Isaiah 58, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own people?”
We may choose to fast from watching television for a season, from subscribing to so many magazines, from Web surfing, from visiting malls where we are tempted to buy for sake of buying. We may also choose to fast from resentful and spiteful thinking, replacing these thoughts with “whatsoever is true . . . lovely and praiseworthy” (Phil. 4:8).
Jesus’ ministry was all about bringing good news and freedom, healing and release. Fasting is a spiritual discipline which offers a pathway to freedom, healing, and release, and helps us grow in our love for God, others, and our selves.
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