Some Things I Learned About Fasting for Spiritual Purposes
June 13, 2008
When I was a relatively new follower of Jesus, I was serving in the Marines and enjoyed long-distance running. You might say a lot of my life was about discipline and endurance. So you would think that I would be a natural at fasting, because fasting would seem to involve those traits. It was, in fact, during those years that I spent a reasonable amount of time fasting.
I think I fasted because I believed it was a spiritual discipline that was important for a follower of Jesus to have in his or her life. I think I also did it because I thought it lent power to my prayers -- that somehow God would respond more readily to my prayers while I was fasting than if I was not. Sometimes I would fast only a day, sometimes many days, up to three weeks, as I recall. Most of my fasts were either water only, or liquids only.
I continued fasting this disciplined way after I got out of the Marines, and even after my distance running was only a memory. But in the 20 or so years of this phase of my fasting, I think I only remember one or two fasts that seemed to bear any spiritual fruit. Perhaps more things took place in the spiritual realm than I am giving credit for, but I am just sharing what I perceived and believe to be true. The reason for my "failures" during my fasting experiences, in retrospect, probably had to do with the fact that my times of fasting did not correspond generally with increased prayer on my part. I think the other thing that made it hard was that the increased hunger I felt did not usually translate into much new prayer, but rather fatigue and too much thinking about how hungry I was!
Okay, so I'm clearly not the most spiritual of people. Let me mention the one or two successful fasts in those days generally dealt with my seeking for God's direction, and the case I remember most was seeking His direction about whether I should spend some years in Kenya working with Food for the Hungry. Fasting helped me surrender my will on the issue -- it helped me get to the point where I genuinely wanted what God wanted more than what I wanted -- so that I was able to hear God's will on the issue.
After becoming so frustrated with my lack of "success" in fasting, I more or less put it on the shelf for a year or two. I would still fast a meal one day every week or two, but nothing more. It turns out that fasting only a meal was a positive spiritual experience, because it did, in fact, lead to increased prayer on my part, and it seemed to me that I was genuinely connecting with God. The level of hunger (relatively low) was such that it enhanced my prayer instead of detracting from it, and because I used my lunch hour to pray, it definitely increased my time talking with God.
I also stopped doing as much intercession on particular issues -- though continued to mention them in my prayers -- and spent more of the time seeking intimacy with God. God seemed to answer my desire for deeper intimacy during those times. I think I must have had the wrong impression about fasting in my younger days, about somehow twisting God's arm. God, I believe, wants us to partner with Him, and that is one reason why growing in intimacy with God while fasting is important.
Recently, I tried a slightly different kind of fast that lasted just over 2 weeks. With fasting, I have traditionally tried to set boundaries for what I will eat and not eat during the fast. For some reason, I had trouble deciding what boundaries to set, so I just started out with vague boundaries, and made adjustments along the way. I originally intended to drink water only, and then during 2 meals of the day, I would select either a banana or yogurt or vegetable juice.
This wasn't too bad, especially compared to a water only fast, but I encountered two problems that led me to a modification of the original fasting "rules". First, on day four or five, I felt a light-headedness and weakness that made me wonder whether I would be able to drive my car home from work. I guess my blood sugar was low, I don't know. So after asking God what to do, I ate a small snack -- some peanut butter crackers -- and then felt well enough to drive.
From this point forward, I switched to 3 meal-time mini-snacks. I discovered that the three mini-snacks seemed sufficient to ward off light-headedness. In order to find more time to pray, it seems that it is best if the snacks don't require preparation -- that they can be eaten without having to sit down, so I could use the time normally spent in meal preparation and eating in prayer.
The second problem that I have always experienced with any multi-day fast is that it interfered with social interactions. If you're like me, family and social relations almost always involve meals. It seemed like any time I fasted, my parents or sister would have some reason that absolutely required us to get together over a meal. I have tried going to restaurants with people and just having water, but that has always seemed to dampen the conversation. With this fast, by being able to have something on a plate in front of me, and eating very slowly so not to finish long before those I was sharing a meal with, it seemed to make people relax, and the social interaction seemed not to be deterred noticeably.
I did have to adjust my list of allowed foods slightly, largely due to the menus available or what was being served at the home of the people I was with. I added a fruit cup, a biscuit, toast, chicken noodle soup, and a small serving of rice with broth to the regimen, as the situation demanded. In warmer months, the body probably needs salt, so the chicken noodle soup was a nice relief a few times a week, because it was salty. I'm guessing my caloric intake was around 300 calories per day. I occasionally took vitamins, but on some days felt like my stomach might not like a vitamin on top of the little food that was there.
I don't recall ever reading about the way fasts impact social interactions, but for me, it has been one of the most serious challenges faced in multi-day fasts, and I think more books and talks about fasting ought to address the issue.
I can only report positive spiritual results from the recent two-week fast: I ended up praying much more; increased my level of intimacy with God; and felt like I was able to consistently intercede for the needs that were on my heart when I began the fast. Given my many bad experiences with longer fasts, this was a big plus, and has led me to have a very positive disposition to future multi-day fasts.
On the physical side, apart from the light-headedness that one day that I already shared about, I would say that my experience was completely positive. I did feel hungry at several points during the day, but the hunger was at a low enough level that it helped remind me to pray, but not enough that I thought about being hungry and nothing else. I do recall thinking many times that I needed to turn to God for comfort rather than to food. That was a positive contribution to my spiritual growth, and it reflected a growing realization in me about how food is sometimes used as a crutch.
In regard to weight, I lost around 15 pounds during that time. In the three weeks that followed the fast, I gained back only 5 of those pounds. Toward the end of my fast, I bought a new pair of pants in a size that I had not fit into for 15 years. Actually, I paid $3 at the mission store, because I fully expected to "grow" out of them quickly. After three weeks, I was still wearing them. Normally, one gains back all of the weight lost during fasting, and it takes usually about twice the length of the fast to gain it back. I attribute the difference this time to the fact that I had previously consumed one or two sugared drinks each day of my life. As a result of my fast, I lost my craving for sugared drinks, and have not resumed the habit.
For those who haven't tried a longer fast, it would probably be helpful to tell you that during the first 2 or 3 days, you might expect to lose 2 pounds per day. Your metabolism adjusts to the lack of food, and you start burning calories more efficiently, so that your rate of weight loss will probably drop to around a half pound per day by day 5. Remember, I'm not a doctor or nutritionist, so my figures are my best estimates based on experience and reading a number of books on fasting. Results will vary from person to person. If you have medical concerns, best to check with a professional.
The other thing on the physical side that I want to mention is that if you go 24 to 36 hours without food, your stomach will begin to shut down. So you must wake it up slowly. They usually recommend toast or something gentle on your stomach, and then build to fruits, and eventually dairy, fats, and meats. The longer you have been without food, the slower you need to be. It might take 2 to 5 days to be back on meats if you have gone 3 or more days fasting. I will also add that I have never had a water fast that lasted more than 24 hours that I did not end up getting diarrhea afterward, despite trying to be careful in slowly adding safe foods to my diet.
This modified fast that I did recently was different. I did not get diarrhea or any kind of stomach upset coming off of it. I guess I kept enough food in my stomach that it didn't shut down completely, and so was able to process other foods when I ended my fast.
I hope by reading this you might be encouraged to embark on longer fasts, when you feel prompted by God. I also hope that those of you who have had negative experiences fasting might feel encouraged to try again. I would be delighted to try to learn from your experiences in fasting, and especially if you try the type of fast I have suggested here. I'm interested in both good and bad experiences. Contact me at pastor@wowgod.org.
May fasting draw you close to God!