Posted bySusan Scott SmithonNovember 19, 2015

Christ taught that fasting would be a necessary element in Christians lives in order to accomplish Gods purpose for us.

Why, then, do we find it so difficult to do such an important thing?

It is not nearly so difficult for me to fast now that I am retired. Careful planning can identify days when the conditions are optimal to fast.

So, again, why is fasting often an infrequent and inconsistent (and sometimes dreaded!) part of our lives?

The last few times I fasted I tried to identify the common deterrents to fasting. I ended up focusing on a number of issues that are involved with the lack of physical food for a specific period of time:

So why do we undertake a task that can result in such unpleasant outcomes?

The Bible offers examples of fasting by different people for different reasons.

When Christ was asked why His disciples did not fast as Johns did, He said His disciples would have to fast when He was gone (Matthew 9:14-15). This shows us that fasting becomes more necessary the farther we are from our Savior. We fast to draw closer to God. When we are spiritually deprived, we need fasting to draw near to God (James 4:8).

In Mark 9:29 Christ pointed out that some problems, such as an unclean spirit, could only be dealt with through prayer and fasting. There are certain problems in our lives that can only be tackled with fasting.

David Registers blog post Why Fast? lists three major reasons for fasting: (1) Fasting helps us realize that we have no power of ourselves. (2) By fasting, we humbly admit that we dont know what to do. (3) Fasting causes us to look to God for His help.

So lets take the above physical effects of fasting and apply them to a fast of spiritual foodlack of prayer, Bible study and meditation:

Energy levelwe have no spiritual stamina for dealing with the day-to-day problems (let alone crises) that occur in our lives.

Physical consequenceswhen we are spiritually weak, we can experience frustration, anxiousness, worry and a feeling of helplessness.

Temptationwe tend to see our daily routines as problems, not opportunities.

Habitsthe easiest thing to do is to fall back into old habits, the way that we have dealt with problems in the past.

Comfortwe would rather commiserate with those who see things our way than strive to see things Gods way.

Countdownwe cant wait for the day to be over.

Just as we dread going without physical foodwe should loathe going without spiritual food!

When I skip prayer, Bible study and/or meditation for a day or more, I need to remember the spiritual consequences and reorient my ship so I can get back to the right direction.

None of us can afford a spiritual fast! We need the spiritual nourishment fasting provides!

To learn more about fasting, read What Is Fasting?

See the article here:

My Love/Hate Relationship With Fasting - COGWA Members