Fervent Prayer Devotional #3: Fasting for Fervent Prayer
Fervent Prayer Week echoes an Antioch church experience recorded in Acts 13:1-3, where the Holy Spirit showed up in the middle of a church fast and worship service. Mercy Hill Church will fast and pray during Fervent Pray Week. Why did the Antioch Church fast while they worshipped? Was fasting a regular practice in the early church, or did they hold a special fast to seek new direction for missionary outreach? What purpose did fasting serve? What are the implications of fasting for the church today?
Fasting was a normal practice in early Christian worship. The Holy Spirit spoke to the Antioch church leaders as they were fasting. The text does not disclose how the Spirit spoke. Perhaps one of the Antioch prophets received a revelation. The sequence is clear, however. After a revelation about gentile missions, they completed their fast, prayed and then commissioned Barnabas and Saul. Fasting appears to be a normal practice. After fasting, the Antioch church unified behind this new mission.
A church discipline manual discovered in 1873 dating back to the first century purports to be teaching from the Twelve Apostles to the Gentiles. It is simply called, The Didache (the Teaching). Church fasts are required in The Didache for the sake of church persecutors, and 2-day fasts are required for those being baptized and the baptizer. Specific instructions are given for frequent fasts:
Let not your fasts be with the hypocrites (probably referring to the Jewish Synagogue), for they fast on the second and fifth day of the week; but ye shall fast on the fourth day, and the preparation day (Friday).(Chap 8, 1).
Fasting supported communion with God through bodily humiliation. Cassian’s conversations with monastics in the desert of Scete in Egypt in 420 AD give us a clue to the purpose of fasting. Abbot Moses taught fasting and the other spiritual disciplines to achieve purity of heart in order to contemplate God’s pure love:
Those things which are of secondary importance, such as fastings, vigils, withdrawal from the world, meditation on Scripture, we ought to practice with a view to our main object, i.e., purity of heart…. (Conferences Part 1, Conf 1, chap 7).
In another conference, Abbot John explained why Egyptian monks fasted during Lent and feasted during Eastertide, the fifty days between the resurrection and Pentecost. Fasting and prostrate prayers brought to mind sin and Christ’s death on the Cross, while Feasting and upright prayer celebrated Christ’s resurrection and the Feast of Firstfruits (Pentecost occurred on the barley harvest). Fasting, therefore, was a form of bodily humiliation.
Fasting restrains impulsive behavior and encourages church unity. Compare the Antioch church which commissioned Paul’s missionary career to the Jerusalem Church where Paul’s missionary career came to an end (Acts 21:17-26). Antioch fasted and prayed before they sent Paul on mission. Jerusalem neither fasted nor prayed before sending Paul to the Temple on an almost fatal public relations stunt. Luke’s narrative is very discrete because Paul was still in prison facing charges that arose from this event when Luke wrote Acts, but enough can be deduced to determine the causes of this disaster. Despite prophetic exhortations (21:4) and warnings (21:11) against the visit, Paul went up to Jerusalem on Pentecost AD 57 bearing a large monetary gift from the gentile churches. Initially Paul was warmly received by James and “thousands” of Jewish believers. With no thanks or even mention of the gift, elders in Jerusalem proposed Paul sponsor religious purification rites for four anonymous Jews. Their proposal exposed Paul to enormous risk from the religious establishment for no benefit other than public relations. That Paul agreed to their proposal signifies the depth of his ambition to comply with the Jerusalem church at all costs. Paul’s modern biographer, John Pollock, remarks:
“‘Let love be without dissimulation,’ [Paul] had recently urged the Romans. Never do evil that good might come, he had taught; yet now he would reject his own advice. In no way was his love for the Jews more evident than in this error of judgment at Jerusalem” (The Apostle: The Life of Paul, p 241).
The failure was not Paul’s only. No sign of the “thousands” of believers appeared at Paul’s lynching in the Temple or heresy trials afterward. Personal ambition and church disunity combined to derail Paul’s ministry and the growth of the Jerusalem church. The failure of judgment in Jerusalem could have been averted if the elders and Paul fasted and prayed for God’s leading. As it turned out, Christ had to visit Paul in prison after his arrest to assure him that he would bear witness in Rome despite the failure in Jerusalem (Acts 23:11).
Implications of fasting for the church today:
Fasting is secondary to the main goal of union with God. Diet is not a pathway to God. “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God,’” said Jesus. A person can work with food all day long and not lose a sense of being filled with God’s love. Brother Lawrence (1614-1691) bore witness to The Practice of the Presence of God in his job as a cook in the Order of Discalced Carmelites in Paris.
Fasting can prepare the heart for union with God. Christ fasted from food for 40 days before his contest with Satan. Fasting today prepares the heart for communion with God through bodily humiliation. Weakness restrains direct action and promotes discretion. Hunger pangs remind us of the consuming desire for food that drives most of life. It is a humiliating admission. Satan used food to tempt Eve and Jesus.
Group fasts bring church unity. Though food is a created good, it has spiritual power to distract us from unconditional love of God. Unconditional love assumes fear as a prerequisite to release us from the worldly distractions. Godly fear protects the exclusive glory of the God we love. Love is incompatible with slavish fear. Slavish fear arises fear of disapproval. Unconditional love of God is compatible with godly fear. God commanded Israel
“[To] fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul…” (Deuteronomy 10:12).
Godly fear draws people together. Paul’s instructions to “work out your salvation in fear and trembling” are addressed to the church as a whole, not to individuals (Phil 2.12). Fear freezes a group together in awe and silence. All distractions fall away. Fasting is a bodily expression of fear and weakness. Group fasting can bring a group together in fear and trembling before a loving God.
Pray for church unity this week at Fervent Prayer and practice fasting as a sign of our desire for unity before God. Who knows? Maybe God will provide new revelation for Mercy Hill Church mission.
Richard Foster’s instructions for Fasting (Celebration of Discipline, p 57)
As with all the Disciplines, a progression should be observed; it is wise to learn to walk well before we try to run. Begin with a partial fast of twenty-four hours’ duration; many have found lunch to lunch to be the best time. This means that you would not eat two meals. Fresh fruit juices are excellent to drink during the fast. Attempt this once a week for several weeks. In the beginning you will be fascinated with the physical aspects of your experience, but the most important thing to monitor is the inner attitude of the heart. Outwardly you will be performing the regular duties of your day, but inwardly you will be in prayer and adoration, song, and worship. In a new way, cause every task of the day to be a sacred ministry to the Lord. However mundane your duties, for you they are a sacrament. Cultivate a “gentle receptiveness to divine breathings.” Break your fast with a light meal of fresh fruits and vegetables and a good deal of inner rejoicing.
After two or three weeks you are prepared to attempt a normal fast of twenty-four hours. Drink only water but use healthy amounts of it. Many feel distilled water is best. If the taste of water bothers you, add one teaspoon of lemon juice. You will probably feel some hunger pangs or discomfort before the time is up. That is not real hunger; your stomach has been trained through years of conditioning to give signals of hunger at certain hours. In many ways the stomach is like a spoiled child, and a spoiled child does not need indulgence, but needs discipline. Martin Luther says “…the flesh was wont to grumble dreadfully.”9 You must not give in to this “grumbling.” Ignore the signals, or even tell your “spoiled child” to calm down, and in a brief time the hunger pangs will pass. If not, sip another glass of water and the stomach will be satisfied. You are to be the master of your stomach, not its slave. If family obligations permit it, devote the time you would normally use eating to meditation and prayer.
It should go without saying that you should follow Jesus’ counsel to refrain from calling attention to what you are doing. The only ones who should know you are fasting are those who have to know. If you call attention to your fasting, people will be impressed and, as Jesus said, that will be your reward. You, however, are fasting for far greater and deeper rewards. The following was written by an individual who, as an experiment, had committed himself to fast once a week for two years. Notice the progression from the superficial aspects of fasting toward the deeper rewards.
“I felt it a great accomplishment to go a whole day without food. Congratulated myself on the fact that I found it so easy….
Began to see that the above was hardly the goal of fasting. Was helped in this by beginning to feel hunger….
Began to relate the food fast to other areas of my life where I was more compulsive…. I did not have to have a seat on the bus to be contented, or to be cool in the summer and warm when it was cold.
Reflected more on Christ’s suffering and the suffering of those who are hungry and have hungry babies….
Six months after beginning the fast discipline, I began to see why a two-year period has been suggested. The experience changes along the way. Hunger on fast days became acute, and the temptation to eat stronger. For the first time I was using the day to find God’s will for my life. Began to think about what it meant to surrender one’s life.
I now know that prayer and fasting must be intricately bound together. There is no other way, and yet that way is not yet combined in me.”
After having achieved several fasts with a degree of spiritual success, move on to a thirty-six-hour fast: three meals. With that accomplished, it is time to seek the Lord as to whether he wants you to go on a longer fast. Three to seven days is a good time period and will probably have a substantial impact on the course of your life.
It is wise to know the process your body goes through in the course of a longer fast. The first three days are usually, the most difficult in terms of physical discomfort and hunger pains. The body is beginning to rid itself of the toxins that have built up over years of poor eating habits, and it is not a comfortable process. This is the reason for the coating on the tongue and bad breath. Do not be disturbed by these symptoms; rather be grateful for the increased health and well-being that will result. You may experience headaches during this time, especially if you are an avid coffee or tea drinker. Those are mild withdrawal symptoms that will pass though they may be very unpleasant for a time.
By the fourth day the hunger pains are beginning to subside though you will have feelings of weakness and occasional dizziness. The dizziness is only temporary and caused by sudden changes in position. Move more slowly and you will have no difficulty. The weakness can come to the point where the simplest task takes great effort. Rest is the best remedy. Many find this the most difficult period of the fast.
By the sixth or seventh day you will begin to feel stronger and more alert. Hunger pains will continue to diminish until by the ninth or tenth day they are only a minor irritation. The body will have eliminated the bulk of toxins and you will feel good. Your sense of concentration will be sharpened, and you will feel as if you could continue fasting indefinitely. Physically this is the most enjoyable part of the fast.
Anywhere between twenty-one and forty days or longer, depending on the individual, hunger pains will return. This is the first stage of starvation and the pains signal that the body has used up its reserves and is beginning to draw on the living tissue. The fast should be broken at this time.
The amount of weight lost during a fast varies greatly with the individual. In the beginning a loss of two pounds a day, decreasing to one pound a day as the fast progresses, is normal. During fasting you will feel the cold more simply because the body metabolism is not producing the usual amount of heat. If care is observed to keep warm, this is no difficulty. It should be obvious to all that there are some people who for physical reasons should not fast: diabetics, expectant mothers, heart patients, and others. If you have any question about your fitness to fast, seek medical advice.
Before commencing an extended fast, some are tempted to eat a good deal to “stock up.” That is most unwise; in fact, slightly lighter than normal meals are best for the day or two before a fast. You would also be well advised to abstain from coffee or tea three days before beginning a longer fast. If the last meal in the stomach is fresh fruits and vegetables, you should have no difficulty with constipation.
An extended fast should be broken with fruit or vegetable juice, with small amounts taken at first. Remember that the stomach has shrunk considerably, and the entire digestive system has gone into a kind of hibernation. By the second day you should be able to eat fruit and then milk or yogurt. Next you can eat fresh salads and cooked vegetables. Avoid all salad dressing, grease, and starch. Extreme care should be taken not to overeat. It is good during this time
to consider future diet and eating habits to see if you need to be more disciplined and in control of your appetite.
Although the physical aspects of fasting intrigue us, we must never forget that the major work of scriptural fasting is in the realm of the spirit. What goes on spiritually is much more important than what is happening bodily. You will be engaging in spiritual warfare that will necessitate using all the weapons of Ephesians 6. One of the most critical periods spiritually is at the end of the fast when we have a natural tendency to relax. But I do not want to leave the impression that all fasting is a heavy spiritual struggle—I have not found it so. It is also “…righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17).
Fasting can bring breakthroughs in the spiritual realm that will never happen in any other way. It is a means of God’s grace and blessing that should not be neglected any longer. Wesley declares,
“…it was not merely by the light of reason…that the people of God have been, in all ages, directed to use fasting as a means:…but they have been…taught it of God Himself, by clear and open revelations of His Will…. Now, whatever reasons there were to quicken those of old, in the zealous and constant discharge of this duty, they are of equal force still to quicken us”