Fasting

[arago_sama]

So, this may be a kind of stupid question, but just exactly how does the Christian fast? I have heard water only, bread and water only, reducing meals, and so on. Thanks.

Comments

[cbackson]

I am a recovered anorexic, so I no longer do food fasts--quite simply, part of my recovery was breaking the association of the feeling of hunger with positive things, and so voluntarily going without food is not a good thing for me. Since then, I've done what I think of as "fasts of the heart"--the adoption of spiritual disciplines that are, perhaps, too intensive for my full-time life but that can have the same effect of opening a greater space for God.

[martiancyclist]

Sometimes no food or drink for some period of time; sometimes no food or drink during daylight hours for some period of time; sometimes no food, but water is ok, sometimes no meat or dairy, but other foods are ok, just eat less than you otherwise would -- the possibilities are numerous.

[amergina]

And I bet you pray, too. 8-)

[rest_in_thee]

There are no set rules of fasting. Fasting is supposed to help serve two purposes. One, it should help you break your attachments to worldly things. By denying yourself you become better able to enjoy the things of this world with a proper sense of detachment. The other thing is that it allows you to become more focused in prayer. When fasting, the moments when you experience a hunger pang are reminders to pray, and so when you feel a pang, you offer a prayer of thanks to God for providing for all your needs, or you remember those who are truly needy and offer prayer for them. How exactly you do this in terms of what fasting guidelines you follow isn't really important, so long as it helps you to achieve these ends.

If you ever get a chance to read Gandhi's autobiography, he writes a lot about his different fasting experiments. It's a fun read :-)

[rest_in_thee]

Oh, and not a stupid question at all :-)

[sentimentalsam]

I often fast things other than food. For example, television time or internet time. Those are tough for me! I don't think there are hard and fast rules about fasting. Just do what works for you and make sure you dedicate that time to God. Otherwise, it's of no use.