![]() Fasting exposes how we try to keep empty hunger at bay and gain a sense of well-being by devouring creature comforts. This act of self-denial may not seem huge-it’s just a meal or a trip to the mall-but it brings us face to face with the hunger at the core of our being. This abstention is generally from food, but fasting can include other things as well.Īdele Calhoun writes in her Spiritual Disciplines Handbook :įasting is an opportunity to lay down an appetite-an appetite for food, for media, for shopping. ![]() For now, in its simplest form, fasting is the act of abstaining, or as one medical journal terms it “the science of going without.” 1 You will also find that Christianity is not the only religion to practice fasting, so we need to modify our question: What is Christian fasting? If you alter your search to “spiritual fasting” or “religious fasting,” you will find religious fasting is less concerned with the health of the body than that of the soul. The concern here is on the physical benefits of fasting, such as weight loss. Is fasting considered a spiritual discipline?Ī quick internet search on fasting produces a myriad of health-related results, with intermittent fasting ranking at the top.Though I have yet to make fasting a regular practice, it’s a discipline I have felt invited into, tried to implement, and remain curious about.Īs Christians, what are we to make of fasting? Is it something we should incorporate along with our times of biblical meditation and prayer? What are the spiritual benefits of fasting? And, if we decide to fast, how might we begin? ![]() In reading the prophets and the Gospels, it seemed that fasting was something God expected of his people. Fasting wasn’t something I heard much talked about in the churches and communities I’d been a part of. Facebook Reddit Pinterest Email LinkedIn WhatsAppĪ few years ago as I was exploring spiritual disciplines, I found myself surprised at how often fasting came up.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |