What good is fasting?

The past few months have been a bit of a struggle. I was feeling defeated in a number of important areas of life, physically and spiritually, home and work. In a word, I was stuck. Recently Ratio Christi had a staff retreat at the Rest Ministries Retreat Center. On the first morning after arrival, our host shared a devotion on the importance of Sabbath rest, of prayer and fasting. I had read about spiritual fasts, struggled through a miserable 24-hr fast, and did not know anyone who practiced fasting on any kind of regular basis. My jaw dropped when he mentioned how greatly he enjoyed a recent 40 day fast (!) Not only that, he highly encouraged those who were stuck, who felt a need to hear from the Lord or deepen their relationship with Him to try an extended fast. Maybe a "short and easy" 7-day fast. (I had to choke down a desire to laugh out loud at that being a short fast.) The rest of the day I couldn't shake the idea this was something I really needed to do.

If you know me at all, you know how ridiculous it is to think of me going without food for a week or so. I can't even walk past a box of donuts without taking several. But one thing I've learned is that if you strongly feel the Lord is leading you to do something, you just do it. As soon as I got home, armed with some very helpful information on fasting by Bill Bright and CRU, I was ready to try fasting. The goal was a week, no longer than 40 days (ha!), but going until I felt I was ready to stop (or needed to stop!)

Why do Christians fast?

As Dr. Bright and others can attest to, when God's people fast with the right heart: seeking God's face, with a humble and repentant heart, God's presence and power are often felt in very significant ways. In the Bible, these two themes are given as benefits of fasting - healing, and power. It is a spiritual discipline very common in ancient days, done specifically to draw near to God and to seek His direction or wisdom or favor. Jesus and Moses both fasted for 40 days and considered it normal for their followers to practice fasting on occasion. It can also really strengthen a stalled prayer life.

Why was I fasting?

As I was struggling in several areas, I had to acknowledge my own limitations and to seek His face. While I was hoping for answers, what I really wanted was a closer sense of his presence and favor. My goal was to seek breakthroughs in several areas where I was feeling paralyzed:

• Stuck physically - no energy, constant napping, overweight
• Stuck spiritually - feeling like recently my faith was mostly going through the motions
• Stuck mentally - caught up in negative attitudes and habitual sin
• Stuck in ministry - at a fork in the road unable to make a decision on direction.

I was resolved to continue the fast for as long as necessary to get unstuck in each of these areas. But, um... could I even last a day without food?! Tune in next time :)