Fasting

Has your spiritual growth become stale? Have you tried a spiritual reset (i.e., like this, or this, or this), but nothing seems to work? Well, nothing resets a spiritual life like a good, old-fashioned fast! As written in Joel 2:12 (NLT),

Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

Now before you stop reading, realize that fasting need not be dangerous, or even very difficult. The point of fasting is not to place your body in some dire circumstance. Nor is the point to fast just to say you successfully completed a fast. After all, Joel 2:13 (KJV) says,

Rend your heart, and not your garments

which means that being in a right state of spiritual mind is far more important than displays of religiosity, like fasting.

Rather, the point of fasting is to inflict just enough discomfort to provide a constant reminder of God and his blessings. Here are a few tips.

1. Start small. For example, perhaps your "fast" can be skipping lunch.
2. Plan ahead. Mark a day on your calendar for your fast. Consider fasting, say, once every three months as a spiritual reset.
3. Stay busy during your fast, perhaps by fasting on a work day.
4. Keep it to yourself. Recall Matthew 6:16 (NLT): "When you fast, don't make it obvious."
5. Most importantly, pray without ceasing throughout your fast! Again, fasting isn't really about the fast itself. It's about becoming closer to God.

My preferred method of fasting borrows from the Jewish celebration of Yom Kippur. After supper, I don't eat again until (approximately) sundown the next day. Now to be fair, I "cheat" a little by drinking water, coffee, and sometimes juice.

As your fast progresses, you might begin to feel weak, but that's part of the point. Keep praying. When your fast finally ends, you'll feel spiritually renewed!