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"Some have exalted religious fasting beyond all Scripture and reason; and others have utterly disregarded it."
-John Wesley
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that nearly disappeared in Protestantism...until recently. Today many people find that fasting is an important part of their spiritual life.
What do Moses, David, Esther, Daniel, Anna, Paul, Jesus Christ, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, John Wesley, and Jonathan Edwards all have in common? Each found fasting to be important in their 'walk with God.'
Why fast? Often we eat when we are not hungry. Fasting gets us in touch with issues in our life that are otherwise ignored - such as feelings of jealousy, anger, fear, or anxiety. When we fast, we also become aware that the bread of life is not found in the refrigerator, but only in God. |
| In a culture where the landscape is dotted with shrines to the Golden Arches and an assortment of Pizza Temples, fasting seems out of place, out of step with the times...What would account for this almost total disregard of a subject so frequently mentioned in Scripture and so ardently practiced by Christians through the centuries?" (You will have to wait until Thursday for the answer!)
-Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline
"All of life should be a fast"
-John Calvin |
