UnpluggedSample

Fasting is a practice of giving up something you love, or something you depend on, for a period of time so that you can prioritize your relationship with God. 

Fasting is a way of saying, “God, I love you more than anything else in my life. I don’t want to be wrapped up in anything else.  I want my life to come from You and You alone, and because of that I’m going to abstain from _________, to remind myself that I need to depend on you and refocus on our relationship.”

We can fast from anything - food, media, technology.  Probably best if it isn’t homework, showering or chores!  Most often people choose to fast from foods, especially during the season of Lent. Sometimes a food fast is for a specific amount of time from all food or meals – other times is can be foregoing specific kinds of food for a period of time.  But what’s most important about a fast is NOT what’s being abstained from and more the heart behind what’s motivating the fast.  We don’t fast from food to lose weight, and we shouldn’t fast just because other people are doing it.  A fast isn’t truly a fast when it’s not driven by a personal desire to grow closer to God.  Without that motivation, fasting is nothing more than a poorly planned (and often poorly executed) diet.

Daniel 1 tells a great story about some guys that fasted as a way of proving that God’s ideas were better than their king’s (a guy named Nebuchadnezzar). Read this story today and notice how God blessed these guys for the approach they took to a difficult situation.

Disclaimer: This story should show the mentality we should have when we fast. Fasting from certain things won’t make you bigger, better, faster, or stronger.  We fast so that God can be made greater in our lives, and that’s exactly what happens in today’s passage!