Matthew 6:16-18
Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
What do you think of the spiritual discipline of fasting?
Subscribe in a reader
Got a tip?
Email John at zeraygazette at yahoo dot com
Geekery/Pop Culture
NeatoramaTopless Robot
Great White Snark
Popped Culture
Matthew Caverhill
Johnny Cat
Blogging Buddies
Jeff the BaptistIronic Catholic
Dan Trabue
John Meunier
Divers and Sundry
Bob's Brainstorms
Jockey Street
Operation Oxmyx
Humor Links
The OnionCracked
Questionable Content
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
xkcd
Abstruse Goose
Miscellaneous
PostSecretInstapundit
Ace of Spades HQ
Hell in a Handbasket
Brian J. Noggle
7 comments:
My own personal experience was tremendously positive. When I first entered the preaching ministry, I decided that I was going to fast beginning at sun up on the Wednesday prior to Good Friday and go to sundown on Friday.
The first day was uncomfortable, but I worked on my sermon during lunch and dinner times. The second day was the big day. I cannot recall a time when I became more consciously aware of His presence than at that time, particularly during the lunch hour when I was sitting in my car reading my Bible. I don't recall any epiphanies, but I do remember taking stock of how easily His overwhelming presence is so easily taken for granted.
I did last til sundown Good Friday, but just barely! It was a good experience, but it was also a little extreme. If this makes any sense, I would discourage this many days at a time and still highly recommend it at the same time.
Even the slightest hunger pangs for just a day are enough to remind us of why we fast. It is, in my opinion, a great practice that we don't preach on quite enough.
It's hard to do...with intentionality...thank goodness for the 30 hour famine and the great work they do. When I get a chance to do this with the youth it is a very powerful time. Fasting and prayer vigils have also been of great import in the life and growth of the church.
I think I don't do enough of it. Fasting is a spiritual discipline, but also a physical one- it nourishes the soul why teaching the body the difference between hunger and a lust for food. (I suppose every spiritual discipline has a physical aspect- and why not? Our bodies are souls are so intertwined that there will be no eternal life for the soul without a physical body at the resurection.)
At the very least, I fast once a year during the 30 Hour Famine. One of my resolutions for this year is a monthly day of fasting. But so far, I haven't kept it.
I've heard many people say that it enhances their ability to hear from God, and puts the flesh in its place.
Personally, I've done it in the past without experiencing much beyond hunger. I wish I could say it helped, but I'd be lying if I did. The bible speaks highly enough of it, so maybe I'm just missing something.
I have not engaged in a long-term fast, but do have some experience with daily fasts. While ideally my goal is a day a week, in practice it comes out to perhaps once every ten days. In such periods I find that I have increased spiritual focus and also a bit more patience with others.
I have a hard time with fasting. I beleive in it. But for me personally, I seem to think more about food or how hungry I am instead of focussing of Christ. Or I ignore it so I don't think about being hungry, and therefore don't do anything different during the day, other than not eat.
I want to fast and it mean something. I use Lent as a time of fasting in a different way by giving something up. But even then, in the end I only feel a sense of accomplishment or a sense of guilt if I failed. I don't think this is what Jesus wants out of me. So I have my own personal problems with fasting, while support the practice as a God-given Spiritual discipline.
I just wish I was better at it.
I make it a habit of fasting at least once a month. More often than not, it's just a couple of meals, but mostly I take one day. The first thing I do is make sure I have the time set aside for focusing on something, whether that's a particularly important personal issue, work project or when I can just focus on the Word of God and/or prayer. If I fast without some sort of focal point, I tend to just think about my stomach all day.
I wish I could say that I have had major revelations about God or life during these times or that, just because I stopped eating, I became more spiritual. Most of the time, I wonder why I'm doing it. But on the other hand, I think of it like exercise; the more I use the ability to abstain from something I need, the easier it is to abstain from things that are harmful.
Post a Comment