Fasting originally involved giving up food and/or beverages, but today, fasting does not have to be an all or nothing starvation plan.
Typical Ways to Fast
For centuries, devout Christians have voluntarily and prayerfully chosen to give up something – often a favorite food or drink, or a form of entertainment – during Lent, the forty days leading up to Easter. This was done as a sacrifice to help the believer focus on the meaning of Easter and the suffering of Jesus.
Devout Catholics through the ages have given up eating meat on Fridays as a form of fasting.
Yet there are as many different ways to fast as there are people. Giving up a special treat or desserts for a specific time period is a form of fasting.
Although giving up food is the most common way to fast, sometimes people give up something that they like to do: watch television, play video games, or surf the Internet. A Christian may believe that God is asking him or her to fast or refrain from a behavior or attitude.
Fasting from Being Critical of Others
The Holy Spirit was convicting Catherine Marshall of her critical spirit. As part of her journey with God, she was directed to give up all critical comments for one full day. At first she tried to reason her way out of this spiritual assignment, but God made it clear that obedience was required. Richard Foster and Emilie Griffin tell about Marshall's experience in their book, Spiritual Classic . [1] The following excerpt is Marshall’s reaction to the experiment:
“Bemused, I noticed that my comments were not missed. The federal government, the judicial system, and the institutional church could apparently get along fine without my penetrating observations. But still I didn’t see what this fast on criticism was accomplishing – until mid-afternoon.
“Ideas began to flow in a way I had not experienced in years. Now it was apparent what the Lord wanted me to see. My critical nature had not corrected a single one of the multitudinous things I found fault with. What it had done was to stifle my own creativity – in prayer, in relationships, perhaps even in writing – ideas that He wanted to give me.”
Not All Fasting is Biblically Inspired
Following the cataclysmic earthquake in Sichuan, the Chinese government called for a voluntary three-day shut down of all frivolous activities and requested that everyone participate in a full minute of silence and inactivity each day in honor of the victims. This was not just a nice gesture, millions of people across the nation did it! Although not religious in nature, this was a form of fasting.
Biblical fasting should not to be confused with physician-prescribed fasting for medical purposes, a method of controlling weight, or or a way to become more healthy.
Fasting, like people, comes in many forms. Most believe that how one fasts is less important than the motivations for choosing to do so. Christians believe that it is important not to fast just because others are doing it or to show one’s superior spirituality; it's believed that God sees the heart and often uses fasting to teach lessons that believers can learn in no other way.
Related Reading on Fasting
To learn more about fasting, read What Every Christian Should Know About Fasting, along with For Strength, Learn to Fast from Food.
Sources:
[1] Foster, Richard J. and Emilie Griffin, Spiritual Classic, (New York, NY: HarperCollins), c. 2000, page 58.
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