The Fast and the Serious

Moses went for 40 days without food. Jesus did the same.

And both of them came out of their fasts on fire for their mission. They went in spiritually hungry but physically full, and after 40 days, they emerged physically depleted, but spiritually rejuvenated.

But why?

Why did fasting change them?

Surely it couldn’t have been just the lack of eating. Merely skipping meals shouldn’t have made a big difference. In fact, going without food just for the sake of going without food seems rather silly.

Fasting is not an uncommon term, yet secularists can’t seem to wrap their minds around it. To non-Christians, “not eating food” is merely another strange thing Jesus’ followers do.

What’s the point of fasting?

Even Christians struggle with this question. How does giving up food or media help me connect with God?

Now I’m not an expert on this subject (not at all), but I think the answer is the same as why we were told as kids to “close your eyes and bow your head” when we prayed.

Fasting eliminates distractions.

In my mind, that is truly the heart of the matter. It isn’t about showing Jesus that “I can go for days on end without food for you”. No, not at all. We’re not trying to show off for Jesus. We’re demonstrating that He matters enough for us to give up something we care about.

Like in writing when we switch off our phones, shut the door, and tune out all distractions, fasting does the same thing – except it allows us to connect with Him.

Fasting shows that we are serious about Jesus.

The world lives for what’s good right now, and food is just one of those things. When we fast, we show that we’re putting our trust in Jesus instead of in what the world has to offer. We’re putting aside the physical to focus on the spiritual.

We don’t throw away food, video games, or social media for a few days (or weeks) just “because”. We do it for a reason. And that reason is prayer.

Fasting is, first and foremost, about putting aside earthly things so that we can make time for eternal things.

Sorta like how Dom Toretto has to fuel his Dodge Charger, we Christians also need to fuel ourselves with prayer.

January is prayer and fasting month at my church for a reason. When faced with an important decision, my parents will always tell me to pray about it. When faced with a new year, we should do the same.

We’re carving out time to connect with Jesus this month. Whether you’re praying for yourself, your family and friends, Christians around the world, or beyond, you’re making time for it. You’re spending time where it matters.

Prayer and fasting go hand in hand.

I hope that fasting makes a little bit more sense now. It isn’t about cutting something out of our day – we can do that all too easily. It’s about replacing that something with Jesus. It’s about making time in our busy schedules to spend with Him. It’s about giving up what we want and instead focusing on what He wants.

So in this first month of the year, I’d like to ask you a seemingly simple question: what is God calling you to surrender to Him? Is there something you’d be willing to hand over to Him for a little while in exchange for the opportunity to be filled with His love?

Fasting isn’t without purpose – it’s for the greatest purpose.

Fasting is about exchanging our earthly fullness for the Lord’s spiritual fullness. Jesus, Moses, Elijah, David, Hannah, and many other pivotal Bible figures knew this. And as a result of their fasting, incredible, world-shattering things happened.

And who’s to say the same can’t happen to you if only you’d hand over that one thing for a few days? Do you want to see the unfathomable results of God at work in your prayer life?

If so…

Are you willing to surrender all to Him this month?