December 29, 2010

I confess that the practice of fasting as a younger Christian was not that exciting to me. Plus, I experienced side effects that I hadn’t expected. More about these later. The practice doesn’t come to me naturally or easily, yet I am really looking forward to it this year! Just remember that undertaking a fast is a personal decision between you and God. Pray about how you want to proceed with this. You are welcome to join a community of Christians who are coming together for a day to pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit to spiritually revive them and their congregation.

There are two basic types of Fast :Complete and Partial.

“Complete”-also called “absolute” in various literature on the subject – means that the person abstain from food and water.

In Acts 9:9, Paul goes for three days without either. There are even biblical examples of people who went without food for 40 days! That was a supernatural occurrence! and no one is encouraged to suddenly go that long without food or water, especially without medical accountability or supervision! In our context, some are choosing to practice a complete fast by skip a meal, including liquids, for a whole afternoon, a few hours or more within a twenty-four hour period. No complete fast should be undertaken without appropriate medical supervision or clearance.

“Partial” describes a type of fast that excludes certain foods. In the case of Daniel (See Daniel 1:12), he declined the certain foods from the king’s table and opted for simple fare such as veggies and water for ten days. While one always drinks water and remains well hydrated, a partial fast today may involve, for example, skipping a meal or desert or coffee.
Fasting usually conjures up skipping a meal or two. Not everyone is in the position of going without food, let alone water, for any length of time. It is actually contraindicated for some because of medical reasons. If that’s your situation, you might choose to fast from something else, besides food.

As in the case of my friends who are having relatives stay over their home for the New Year…! They plan on having lots of food on the table, and share meals with their out of town guests. They may choose to fast from food later in the year. At this moment, they plan on choosing to fast from some activity or habit.

What “feeds” us, and tends to drowns out our inner thoughts? TV?, Internet? Listening to the News? It’s not that there is anything horrible about these mentioned activities. These friends of mine are making the decision to set aside something distracting to them in order to make room for God’s voice in a more focused way as they dedicate the first day of the year to pray for and with their family, and enjoy their company.

The examples of fasting in this post are in no way exhaustive! Here below are a few resources for those of you who would like to find out more about the spiritual practice of fasting. It might be helpful to know what to expect, such as irritability or headaches or hunger pangs. These symptoms show up in a healthy person because the body is craving the sugar or coffee or some other food that it’s used to consuming on a regular basis! It doesn’t mean that you are going to die from starvation right then. Knowing what to expect and what to do and how to do it in a healthy way will make the experience of fasting more positive!

More than gaining a positive experience, may we reconnect with the places within that need to be healed, or at least, energized and revived again!

Suggested Resources-in no particular order:

–Personal Guide to Prayer and Fasting by Dr. Bill Bright (click on this link to read the article)

–A Call To Die by David Nasser.

–Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough by Elmer L. Towns.

–The Joy of Prayer: A 40-Day Devotional to Invigorate Your Prayer Life, Week 6, “Prayer and Fasting” by Alvin Vandergriend.

–The Difference is Prayer by Ruthie Jacobsen

joy and hope and blessings!
-Sabine

Disclaimer: This post and the ones preceding this one on the topic of fasting does not constitute medical advice. Readers are advised not to act based on the information contained in this post without consulting a certified medical practitioner, especially if his or her health is at risk or compromised.