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archives: april 2011
fasting
by natalie de laune
Ten months ago the Lend us Your Lent promo video for Soul Action was filmed in the Soul Survivor office. I found myself thrust in front of a camera being asked what I was going to give up for Lent and so I quickly decided to declare that I’d give up ice cream. Luxury ice-cream is definitely my favourite treat but giving it up hasn’t been that much of a sacrifice as I’d only buy a tub when it was on special offer in the supermarket!
I didn’t properly think it through so giving up ice cream for Lent hasn’t impacted my relationship with God or prepared me to celebrate his resurrection! Are any of you having similar experiences if you’re fasting something for Lent? It can be easy to sign up for Lent as the fashionable Christian thing to do and ‘get through it’ without engaging our hearts and minds in what our fast is about. My Lent experience has reminded me that any kind of fast is more a matter of the heart than it is the stomach.
Lent (where we typically give up something specific like ice-cream) can also help us dip our toes into the discipline of fasting. Biblical fasting is typically understood to involve giving up food for a short period or something else (e.g. TV) for a longer period. My experience of Lent this year has caused me to reflect on the times I’ve fasted with motivations that have sometimes been skew whiff too.
Yet I’m spurred on by hearing testimonies of spiritual breakthrough and deeper intimacy with God that have come through fasting and I’m inspired when I read in the Bible of the experiences Jesus, Moses, David, Paul, Esther and Daniel had when they fasted. I’m also challenged that Jesus spoke about fasting as something all his followers would do at some point (Matthew 6:16) not because they were commanded to, but because it was such a powerful and practical way of drawing near to God.
When we engage our hearts and minds in a fast, like a windscreen wiper on a car, it can clear our vision. It helps to increase our concentration, helps guide our decisions, prompts revelations and strengthens our intercession. Richard Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline, has commented “Fasting can bring breakthrough in the spiritual realm that will never happen in any other way. It is a means of God’s grace and blessing that should not be neglected any longer.” I don’t know about you, but that makes me hungry for fasting!
As I’ve said, I’m still learning myself, but if you’re fasting anything for Lent or you feel stirred to start practicing the discipline of fasting, here’s what I’ve learnt on the journey so far!
motivation
Before you decide to fast, check your motivation for doing it. I sheepishly admit that there have been times when I’ve gone to bed having devoured a huge meal and decided to fast the following day to offset some of the extra calories I’d just consumed. When I’ve done that I’ve definitely spent more of the day praying than normal, but my motivation has been to make up for overeating and rather than fasting.
When Jesus spoke about fasting, he said that if we make a big fuss about fasting, telling our mates what we are doing and how hungry we are so that they are really impressed with how hard core we are in our faith, our reward will be just that: our mates will be impressed with us but we won’t end up any closer to God for having done the fast.
Similarly, I reckon that when I fasted thinking it might make me look a bit better in my skinny jeans, that was the only result of the fast. If kick starting your pre-summer diet was your motivation to give up chocolate for Lent, you might want to start to acknowledge to yourself and God that all you’ve been doing is dieting, and if you decide to continue, shift your focus for the remainder of Lent by trying to incorporate some of the following tips!
purpose
Be clear about the purpose of your fast to focus your prayers and help you keep going when it gets tough. Knowing you are fasting cake because you are seeking God’s direction in the next stage in your life, because you are interceding for your friend who is sick, or to encounter more of God’s presence in your life will make it easier to persist when someone offers you a slice of Lemon Drizzle!
Traditionally Lenten fasts are to help prepare our hearts and minds for Easter by reflecting on Jesus’ journey to the cross and the significance of his sacrifice in our lives. If you are struggling with your Lenten fast remind yourself every time you turn down a piece of cake of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
spend extra time with God
Make sure you carve out time to talk to God and hear from him. Fasting from all food on a day you’re at school or at work may not leave you enough time to rest in God’s presence and fully engage in seeking him. Whatever you’re fasting this Lent (or even if you haven’t given up anything!) why don’t you try spending five minutes each day during Lent preparing your hearts for Easter by reflecting on the impact Jesus’ crucifixion has had on your day?
God can't be bribed
Fasting isn’t a way to twist God’s arm to get him to do what we want. Fasting is definitely a way to show God how serious you are about something and releases God’s power to move in our lives, but God can’t be bribed! I remember a time when I was fasting for an area of my life I was desperate to see God to move in, and I was calling out ‘What do I need to do to see you move in this?!’ God very clearly convicted me that I didn’t need to fast to persuade him to change things but that he’d freely and joyfully do it. Lent is a time to reflect on what Jesus freely did for us on the cross.
it's not about results
Keep in mind fasting isn’t about ‘results’ because although sometimes you will receive encouragement following fasting for something specific, other times you won’t!
Five years ago I flew home from my university in Canada for the summer with no where to live when I returned the following year. There was a residence on campus I had my heart set on but they were full and had 15 people ahead of me on the waiting list. Realising the odds were against me, I decided to fast two days a week for the four months of the summer break. Two weeks before I was due to fly back to university the residence called to say they had a disabled apartment free and as they didn’t have any disabled students asked if I wanted it! I’d only applied for a tiny studio room but was given a huge two bedroom apartment with incredible mountain views of Vancouver!
On the flip side, there are things I’ve fasted from for four years without seeing any visible progress in what I’m fasting for! I continue with the fast because I believe in what I’m laying before God and my conviction that God is using this fast to develop my faith, perseverance and intimacy with him
accountability
If you have friends who are excited about getting to know God better, chat to them about fasting. If they’ve done it before they might have tips and insights and if you are both still learning to fast you might find it helpful to encourage each other to stick it out. For a season, a friend and I used to fast on the same day and it really helped me to keep going knowing my friend was doing it at the same time and keeping me accountable.
keep track
Keep a record of your experiences during a fast. I find God highlights and teaches me different things every time I fast. Through the feeling of hunger God will highlight how dependent I am on him to sustain me, what controls me, how easily I’m tempted to give up or teach me what it looks like to be continually attentive to him in a way that prompts me to pray throughout the day.
The more time I spend praying and being attentive to God during a fast, the more filled with the Spirit and closer to God I feel, and I find that lessens the hunger from the fast. If you’ve been struggling to stick with your Lenten fast why don’t you see if praying, worshiping or reading the Bible every time you are faced with what you’ve given up makes it any easier or makes your fast more meaningful?
it's a journey
The process of fasting is more important than completing the fast or what happens afterwards. Fasting must always be centred on God as an act of worship not obligation and be fuelled by a desire to deepen our relationship with God and know him more deeply.
Let’s face it, fasting is tough and it’s a sacrifice that calls on a lot of will power. But I’m motivated to keep trying to practice it because it’s one of the best ways I know to enrich my relationship with God! When Jesus said we shouldn’t walk around looking glum when we fast, he wasn’t just referring to us bringing attention to our sacrifice, he was also saying we really won’t be sad as we’ll be discovering that we are sustained by more than what we eat. Fasting it seems, leads to feasting on God’s presence and power! If you hungry for more of that in your life why don’t you try saying no to something good for a period (food) to say yes to something better (intimacy with God)?
About the author
Natalie works for Soul Survivor. She is looking forward to going home to Guernsey for Easter and to the honeycomb ice-cream she knows is waiting there for her in the freezer.
Soul Survivor is a Christian charity that puts on events for young people. Our registered charity no. is 1080720. We are also a company limited by guarantee in England & Wales. Our company registered number is 03991111, which is nice. Thanks for caring.
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