The Truth About Fasting

The very first time that I can remember going on a fast was in high school. There was a senior skip day coming up and I went out and bought the cutest banana yellow bikini. I was about 110 pounds, but my mind said you need to lose five more. So I went on a fast. I committed myself to only eating apples and saltine crackers for a week. I even asked God to help me to reach my goal. At the end of the week, I had lost the extra five pounds. My first fast was a success.

As I got older, I fasted from time to time. Fasting was usually tied to an outfit that I wanted to wear. Each time I decided to fast, I set a goal and prayed to God that I would meet it. I made sure to re-consult God if began to waver. I cannot remember one time that I fasted and was unsuccessful. The funny thing is not one of those fast was honorable because all of them were self serving in nature. Sure, I abstained from eating for a time. I even prayed to God for assistance with the fast. But never, not once did I fast with the intention of gaining anything except praise for myself.

The truth about fasting is that it has nothing to do with loosing weight and looking good. Fasting is all about deepening your relationship with God. And here's another truth, that's what fasting is about even during those times when being close to Him is the furthest thing from your mind. You see I knew about God when I was fasting. I knew intimately what the four walls of the church looked like and I had a deep understanding of the Christian do's and don'ts. What I didn't have and didn't want was a relationship with God. Wasn't it enough that I wanted to fast?

Actually, it wasn't. All that matters is that I took something that was meant as an honor to God and used it for myself. I could have been fasting and praying for God to guide me through so that my triumphs wouldn't have been colored by so many failures. I could've been fasting to stand in the gap for someone else. I could've been fasting to build the one relationship that would fill the lonely place that was in my heart. Unfortunately, the truth about my fasting is that it was all about me.


"Ask all the people of the land and the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?

Zechariah 7:5

Adayinthelife :-)