I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. (Daniel 10:3)
In this series of devotionals, we have discovered why God has chosen fasting as a way to seek Him. By setting food aside, you are reminded of your dependence upon God. We have seen that fasting is not a means to receive praise from others. Rather, it is a powerful discipline for devotion to God. But, you might ask, how do I fast anyway? For how long? Are there different ways to fast? As we have seen this week, many biblical characters fasted for quite a long time, 3 days, a week, or even up to 40 days! My advice is to start off with shorter periods. The Jews and the first Christians had the habit of fasting two days a week, so they were used to it. If you have no experience of fasting and you’re unsure if you can make it a full day, you could try skipping one or two meals at a time, instead of all three. If you are more experienced in this discipline, you can go without food for longer periods of time, especially if you have something important or urgent to pray for. If you do fast for more than a day, be careful when breaking the fast. Don’t eat too much or too heavy food. Give your stomach some time to get used to food again.
Some biblical characters, like Paul, even fasted from water for some time. Keep in mind, though, that fasting is not some sort of challenge. You don’t have to prove yourself. Be wise, don’t push yourself beyond your limits. If you’re pregnant or physically weak, I would advise against fasting, especially not for multiple days. If you do want to fast, but you don’t have the strength to do so, you could try fasting like Daniel, by setting aside all unnecessary food and just living off water, bread and vegetables.
But most important of all: fasting is a time to seek God, so set aside things that may distract you. You don’t have to refrain from work or social interactions but leave room in your agenda for prayer time. Put aside your phone. You could abstain from sexual intercourse,as the apostle Paul suggests. It can help to fast for a specific purpose like one we have seen, but this is not necessary. Set your mind on God and devote yourself to Him. Now the only question that remains is: when to start?