Fasting For Lent

I am encouraging our congregation to fast during Lent. This is certainly not an expectation but rather an invitation. Since Lent begins on February 17 (Ash Wednesday), those of us who choose to do this need to begin preparing now. I am using Richard Foster’s wonderful book, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, to help us prepare. Much of this post is directly from his book. Fasting is a spiritual discipline; it means abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. Many persons in the Bible fasted, including Moses, David, Elijah, Esther, Daniel, Anna, Paul, and Jesus. This is an ancient discipline that we too would do well to practice.

Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) about giving, praying, and fasting as virtues of the kingdom people. Jesus did not say, “If you fast.” Rather he gave directions for “When you fast.” A few chapters later the disciples of John the Baptist approached Jesus and asked why both they and the Pharisees fasted but Jesus’ disciples did not. Jesus replied, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Matthew 9:15 NRSV).

Many of the great Christians throughout church history fasted and encouraged fasting, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Wesley. The ancient church manual, the Didache, prescribed two fast days a week – Wednesday and Friday. Our founder, Wesley, revived this teaching from the Didache and urged early Methodists to fast on these two days. This was such an important spiritual discipline that Wesley refused to ordain anyone to the Methodist ministry who did not fast on those two days. Later in Wesley’s life he fasted every Friday.

Fasting is a spiritual discipline, therefore it must center on God. God questioned the people in Zechariah’s day, asking “When you fasted…was it for me that you fasted?” (Zechariah 7:5 NRSV). Intriguing and amazing things often occur when we fast – physical benefits, success in prayer, enduing with power, spiritual insights – but these must never replace God as the center of our fasting.

So how do we fast? First, some people are not able to fast, such as those who are diabetic, pregnant, or heart patients. Please do not abstain from food if it is unhealthy for you. There are other ways to fast. We can abstain from the internet, chocolate, television, or something else. It has to be something important to you daily, though.

If you are able to fast from food and choose to do so, Richard Foster suggests starting slowly, learning to walk before attempting to run. Therefore, if you have not fasted previously, the first thing to try is a twenty-four hour partial fast from lunch to lunch. Do not eat two meals (supper and breakfast). You can drink fresh fruit juice during the fast. This should be done once a week for several weeks, paying attention to the inner attitude of your heart. Foster says, “Outwardly you will be performing the regular duties of your day, but inwardly you will be in prayer and adoration, song, and worship. In a new way, cause every task of the day to be a sacred ministry to the Lord.” Breaking the fast should be done with a light meal of fruits and vegetables and rejoicing.

After a few weeks, you are ready to attempt a twenty-four hour normal fast from lunch to lunch. Again do not eat two meals but only drink water (and healthy amounts of it). You will feel hunger pains, however, it is not real hunger. While the human body can only survive a short time without water, we can live for many days without food. Foster says the stomach is like a spoiled child and a spoiled child does not need indulgence but discipline.

Fasting is not simply abstaining from food in order to create a void. It is a spiritual discipline. Therefore we fill that void. Devote the time normally used for eating to reading scripture and prayer. Also, as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, refrain from calling attention to what you are doing and do not act miserable. In fact, we do not act miserable because we are not miserable. We are feeding on God.

After having achieved several fasts with a degree of spiritual success, it is time for a thirty-six hour fast. Do not eat three meals and drink only water. For instance, to fast on Wednesday, eat supper on Tuesday evening, then eat nothing more until breakfast on Thursday morning. After that, you could consider a three to seven day fast. Foster says fast for that time period would probably have a “substantial impact on the course of your life.”

When my wife and I spent time with our brothers and sisters in Korea in 2002, we learned their practice of regularly fasting for 3, 7, 10, 21, and 40 days. Foster says it is wise to understand the process your body goes through in these longer fasts.

The first three days are usually the most difficult. The physical discomfort (hunger pains) are the worst and the body begins ridding itself of toxins that have built up over years of poor eating habits. There is often a white coating on the tongue and bad breath and headaches (especially for caffeine drinkers).

The fourth day the hunger pains begin going away. Some people become weak or dizzy. It is important to rest and move slowly. The sixth or seventh day you begin to feel stronger and more alert. By the ninth or tenth day the body will have eliminated most toxins, hunger pains will be minimal, and you will feel good. Physically, this is the most enjoyable part of the fast.

Anywhere between twenty-one and forty days, hunger pains will return. This finally is the first stage of starvation. The body has used up its reserves. The fast should be broken with small amounts of fruit or vegetable juice. The stomach has shrunk and the digestive system has gone into a kind of hibernation. You must be very careful as you begin eating again!

Again, the physical aspects of fasting are intriguing, but the major work of fasting is in the realm of the spirit. Prayer and fasting go together. So I am encouraging us to fast during the forty days of Lent. If you do not abstain from food, consider fasting from whatever you choose the entire period of Lent. If you abstain from food, consider fasting once a week or even twice (Wednesdays and/or Fridays). Begin with the twenty-four hour partial fast and then move to the twenty-four hour normal fast and then finally to the thirty-six hour normal fast. In fact, you could begin fasting this way in January so that you are ready for the thirty-six hour normal fast when Lent begins on February 17 (Ash Wednesday). If you have fasted previously, you may choose to fast for 3, 7, or even 10 days or longer.

Again, this is an invitation, an encouragement to fast during Lent and not an expectation. If you choose to join me in this spiritual discipline, let us begin preparing now.