Lent: A Journey Through 7 Spiritual DisciplinesSample

Week One: Fasting

You are not alone if merely hearing the word “fast” makes you squirm with discomfort. Historically, the concept of fasting has been associated with deprivation, long-suffering, sorrow, and sin. If this is your understanding of fasting, you are not entirely wrong, but that is only part of the story.

If we only see fasting for the discomfort it brings, then we miss the more important and delicious fruit honed by fasting, such as dependency on God, ordering of priorities, the relief found in repentance, and the discovery of Holy Spirit empowered self-control.

Fasting is a cornerstone spiritual discipline practiced throughout the Old and New Testaments. As we see in Matthew 4:1–2, Jesus Himself was familiar with fasting: “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry” (NIV).

In the Bible, people fasted for a variety of reasons, but ultimately it was an act of submission and realignment with God. David captures fasting beautifully in Psalm 35:13: “I humbled myself with fasting” (NIV). Biblically, fasting was a personal invitation for God to intervene in the lives of His children. And it’s a beautiful way to begin our Lenten journey.

Often, fasting involves decreasing food intake and replacing it with another discipline such as prayer. However, fasting doesn’t need to be limited to food. We can fast from social media, alcohol, sugar, and much more. Fasting should draw us into deeper relationship with God as we willingly abstain from personal comforts or indulgences.

Because of that, we must examine the authenticity of our motives. Are we fasting for the right reasons? Fasting is a personal desire to connect with God in a deeper way and should not be used to impress others (Matthew 6:16–19).

Here are a few steps to follow when beginning your fast.

1. Fast with intentionality: Ask yourself these questions: “Why am I fasting? What do I hope to gain?”
2. Determine boundaries: What are you eliminating? How long will you fast?
3. Replacement: What spiritual practices will you engage with instead?
4. Be kind to yourself: Fasting is about humility, not perfection. God does His best work in us when we come to the end of ourselves.