Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents
Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 15 – Reforming our Souls
Discipline of Fasting
[Bible references: Isaiah 58:1-14; Ezra 8:21-23; Matthew 6:16-18]
By the help of the merciful Lord our God, the temptations of the world, the snares of the Devil, the suffering of the world, the enticement of the flesh, the surging waves of troubled times, and all corporal and spiritual adversities are to be overcome by almsgiving, fasting, and prayer.[1]
“More than any other Discipline fasting reveals the things that control us.” [2]
Fasting breaks up habits to let us see our lives in new ways or to enable us to pray at new times or in new ways. Because we are stopping something for a finite period of time, there’s an unfamiliarity and discomfort to it that can be very instructive, open up time for prayer, and draw us closer to God.”[3]
“In every culture and religion in history, fasting has been an instinctive and essential language in our communication with the Divine.”[4]
The pursuit of God can be described as in Psalm 37, to trust in, to delight in, to commit to, to wait on, and to be silent before the Lord; these are words of “giving up” of “going without” whatever the world offers and instead resting in God. The discipline of fasting then looks like learning to go without while learning to rest in, to fight through our appetites so that we can remain focused on the act of pursuing God and loving others, to push through our hunger pains so that we can discover we’re just fine on the other side of them, to look to God, to talk to him, to open ourselves to him in confession, to not so much as give up anything, but to commit to hearing the voice of God in our lives. The goal of fasting is to pursue God, to turn our hearts and our loves towards God and neighbor.
There are many reasons Christians are led by the Holy Spirit to the spiritual discipline of fasting, a few of them are: to strengthen one’s prayer life, to seek direction for one’s life, to express grief and loss, to seek deliverance and protection for life, to express repentance and reconciliation with God. to humble oneself, to express concern for the work of God, to minister to the needs of others, to overcome temptation and rededicate oneself to God, to express love, devotion, and worship of God, to establish rhythms between absence and abundance.
Simplicity and Gratitude can be precursors to fasting. Once we have determined how to order our lives then we are better equipped to identify those things that stand in our way and in the lives of those around us, not only the good vs. bad things, but the good things that detract us from the best things. The Gratitude for God and His provision can set our attitude in preparation for fasting.
[1] Sister Mary Sarah Muldowney The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation Writings of Saint Augustine Vol 17 Fathers of the Church 1959 Sermon 207 (p. 89)
[2] Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline. Harper & Row Publishers ©1978 (p. 48)
[3] Baab, Lynne M. “The Surprise of Fasting” Lynnebaab.com www.lynnebaab.com/blog/the-surprise-of-fasting
[4] Ryan, Thomas. The Sacred Art of Fasting: Preparing to Practice Skylight Paths 2005
Observe
Read Isaiah 58:1-14; Ezra 8:21-23; Matthew 6:16-18. The benefit of fasting does not come just from deprivation. What should accompany fasting?
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