Jason's Blog

People have been fasting for spiritual reasons for centuries. Below is some wisdom that I’ve collected that tells what happens to the body and how to get ready for a fast.

1. Just as it would not be wise to sign up for a marathon without having an extensive training period, it isn’t a great idea to try to do too much fasting too quickly. You might find that a partial fast is a good way to get started. Try a lunch to lunch fast (skipping dinner and breakfast).
2. Drink plenty of fluids during your fast—especially fruit juices. You might find non-sweetened and non-acidic juices to be the best. Tomato and orange juice are pretty hard on the stomach.
3. Don’t chew gum while fasting. Chewing activates the digestive process.
4. Any time that you break from a fast, do so with a light meal with plenty of fruits and vegetables.
5. If you’re taking things slow, two or three weeks preparation can ordinarily get the body ready for an all day fast.
6. When fasting over 24 hours, drink lots of water.
7. When you feel hunger pangs or discomfort, recognize that this is your body’s conditioning. You won’t die. I like how Richard Foster puts it, “in many ways the stomach is like a spoiled child and a spoiled child does not need indulgence, but needs discipline” (Celebration of Discipline, p. 57). Don’t give in to these pains. You’ll be surprised how they pass. Drink some water—that may be what your body is really craving at the moment.
8. In general, if you are in the habit of eating poorly, your body will complain more violently as you take on a 24 hour fast.
9. Before you begin, you need to decide how to handle tea and coffee if you avidly drink either of these products. Caffeine addiction has real side effects, but it is good to break through this chemical dependence.
10. If your family commitments will permit it, take the time that you would devote to eating to prayer and meditation.
11. Don’t call attention to the fact that you are fasting. As much as you can, go about your regular schedule. You may want to reduce some rigorous physical activity.
12. Once you’ve completed several 24 hour fasts, you’re ready for a 36 hour fast. After discipline and practice with 36 hours, you can pray and discern whether God is calling you to take on a longer 3-7 day fasts. The first 3 days of fasting are the worst in terms of body pain and discomfort. By day 4, most of these symptoms begin to subside.
13. When participating in a longer fast, sudden movements will promote dizziness.
14. Don’t be surprised by bad breath and/or a coating that appears on your tongue. This is your body getting rid of toxins.
15. There are lots of great resources now available. Consult them before taking on a 3-7 day fast. Check with your doctor, if you have any doubt about your health in approaching a fast.

There are a number of texts that point to momentous events that shaped the course of history that have followed periods of fasting.

• Moses fasted before delivering the Law to the people (Exodus 24:18; 34:28).
• Queen Esther encouraged all the Jews in Susa to fast before she approached the king of Persia  (Esther 4:16)
• Nehemiah mourned and prayed after hearing a report about Jerusalem’s walls (Nehemiah 1:4)
• Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit and he fasted for 40 days (Luke 4:2).

Is it a coincidence that fasting is mentioned in these passages?

Do they establish a precedent that we might follow in seeking God’s will?

“It is almost impossible to overstate the historical importance of this moment in Antioch in the history of the world. Before this word from the Holy Spirit there seems to have been no organized mission of the church beyond the eastern seacoast of the Mediterranean. Before this, Paul had made no missionary journeys westward to Asian Minor, Greece or Rome or Spain. Before this Paul had not written any of his letters which were all the result of his missionary travels beginning here.

This moment of prayer and fasting resulted in a missions movement that would make Christianity the dominant religion of the Roman empire within two and a half centuries and would yield 1.3 billion adherents of the Christian religion today with a Christian witness in virtually every country of the world. And 13  of the 29 books of the New Testament were the result of the ministry that was launched in this moment of prayer and fasting.

So I think is it fair to say that God was pleased to make worship and prayer and fasting the launching pad for a mission that would change the course of world history. Is there not a lesson there for us?”

John Piper, A Hunger for God, (Crossway, 1997): 107.

What Kind of Fasting?

Recently when I was in Cincinnati, I had a chance to hear Scot McKnight talk about spiritual disciplines.  He made the point that many today are using spiritual disciplines.  For example, someone might undertake a fast in the hopes that by doing so we will get some sort of answer or health benefit.  This kind of fast is not what God wants from us.  When our fast is a means to an end, we run the risk of missing God altogether.

In Zechariah 7:1-14, the prophet complains that the people were not mourning and fasting after the LORD.  The question in verse five rings loud and true:  “Was it really for me that you fasted?”

We have to look closely at our motives.

Fasting should not be treated as a magical ritual that we can embrace to make God tip his hand.  Instead, fasting is an opportunity to seek after God with all our heart, soul, mind, and body.

“Once the primary purpose of fasting [to have a life that is centered fully on God] is firmly fixed in our hearts, we are at liberty to understand that there are also secondary purposes in fasting.  More than any other Discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us.  This is a wonderful benefit to the true disciple who longs to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ”

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, Revised Edition (HarperCollins, 1988): 55.

This week find a sacrifice that you make so that you can seek God more fully.

It’s hard to miss all “the connections” that can be drawn between the story of the binding of Issac and the crucifixion of Jesus.  Here’s a list for starters:

1.  Take your only son (Gen. 22:2)

2.  On the third day, Abraham looked up (Gen. 22:4)

3.  Abraham took the wood and placed it on his son Isaac (Gen. 22:6)

4.  Mount Moriah – the future home of Jerusalem & the temple itself (2 Chron. 3:1)

5.  Abraham saw a ram caught in a thicket (Gen 22:13).  Jesus the lamb of God was offered at Golgotha.

6.  This mountain is the place where the LORD has provided (Gen. 22:14)

7.  Abraham believed in resurrection (Gen. 222:5; Heb. 11:19) and the cross brings us to the truth of resurrection.

It was impossible for Abraham to understand the significance of what God was doing in his life.  Much of this remained a deep mystery until the coming of Jesus. . .

Last summer, I had the opportunity to hear an amazing presentation by Joshua Choonmin Kang, a Korean minister, on this passage.  It left me with a lot to think about.  Here are four highlights to consider:

1.  Abraham had already experienced “resurrection” in his body and in the body of Sarah.  God the father now gave Abraham the opportunity to experience “resurrection” in his son Isaac.  In his mind, Abraham considered Isaac dead, and as the Hebrew writer notes Abraham “did receive Isaac back from death.”  God wanted Abraham to experience the fullness of resurrection.

2.  Abraham was the first father to experience what it is to be a father and give up what is most precious.  God wanted Abraham to know what he would feel as He gave up his one and only Son.

3.  God prepared the ram, and it was ready.  But the ram was hidden until Abraham reached out the knife to offer up his son.  We must be patient and obedient to see what God has prepared for us.

4.  In John 8:56 Jesus says to the Jewish leaders, “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”  What does this passage mean?  When did Abraham see the day of Jesus?  Did Abraham somehow catch a glimpse of God’s plan in that animal caught in the thicket?  Did God the father give Abraham a glimpse into the future in that moment?  Is that why Abraham called that place “The LORD will provide”?

Abraham’s  journey is so amazing and ours is as well.  My prayer for you today is that God will take you where you need to go and that you can be faithful until the end when he opens your eyes to everything.

March Chagall - The Binding

“So Abraham rose early in the morning” (Genesis 22:3)

Have you had to do something hard today?

If so, you might find comfort in the fact that Abraham was asked to do some hard things. God was in fact the one who made the demands.

Why?

• Why would God tell Abraham to take his son out and offer him as a burnt offering?
• Isn’t that cruel and a bit sadistic?

Here’s another question that’s a bit more haunting: Why doesn’t Abraham protest?

Read your Bible (Genesis 22:1-3).  It’s very clear on this point.  God talks, Abraham says, “Here I am.”  Early the next day . . . he’s on the road.  No angst.  No discussions with Sarah. . . No bartering with God . . . No schemes.  He simply gets up and goes.

Now as a modern reader, I would love to psychologize this text.  I would love to explore what’s going on in Abraham’s head or imagine the protest of Sarah.  But to do that is to rob this text of its vibrancy and power.

Abraham has walked with God for some time now.  So it is natural for Him to do as God would ask.

Earlier in his life, Abraham could not have made the journey to Moriah.  It would have been too much for him.  But as an older man – he now can trust what he can’t understand.

Where are you on the journey?  What hard things is God asking of you?  Can you make an early response?  Or are you dragging your feet?  How much do you trust him?

Please keep in mind that God will not lead you anywhere that he will not walk with you.  Be at peace today in listening to the hard things that God is asking of you.  Do not be afraid.