Fasting: Beyond Food

While fasting from eating is a great way to reach higher and deeper in your spiritual life, sometimes it may be good to consider other behaviors that are taking up too much space in our lives.

Perhaps it is too much time spent on your computer. Like many things in life, it can be used for good or evil. All of us that that turn on the computer ... or check our cell phones ... first thing in the morning, might want to try to break this habit. What would happen if instead of checking in with our computers, we instead checked in with God first thing?  Many spiritual men and women recommend mornings as the perfect time to read Scripture, pray and meditate. Where do our priorities lie? Do we care more about the latest Facebook posts or reconnecting with the Lord? If the Internet has taken over in your life, a fast from it's power might bring your life into balance.

Many younger adults are tethered to their mobile devices. Although not formally  recognized as a mental health disorder, Internet Addiction, is something that many people fight. Another related social anxiety, FOMA, or Fear of Missing Out, is experienced on a hourly, even moment by moment, by those who cannot be separated from their mobile devices without going through withdrawal symptoms. Leaving your cell phone at home for the day could easily demonstrate how dependent you've grown on having instant access all the time. Perhaps a cell phone fast could help you rely on God ... not on device, be it iPhone or Android.

This fast from electronic devises might extend to watching too much TV. Instead of turning on the computer first thing, you are one who grabs the remote to tune into the Today Show or Good News America each morning. What would happen if you fasted from that habit? Some of us simply spend more time than is wise in front of our TV sets. Just think, not only of the spiritual blessings, but just the great number of other things we could be doing with our time: talking to our family, reading a good book, taking a walk, spending time in the garden or other natural setting.

Others of us could benefit by fasting from a destructive behavior or attitude. Do you always find fault with yourself and others? Are you too critical, too proud, too argumentative, too competitive, too dishonest, too vain, too overindulgent, too moody, to _____________ (you fill in the blank). Perhaps the first step is to review your life to find the one thing that prevents you from being completely loving and kind. Whichever character flaw you choose, try going an entire day avoiding that destructive behavior. Catherine Marshall, in her book A Closer Walk, describes her experience of fasting from 'criticism' for one day. When others started putting the government down or making comments about other people's deficiencies, she just kept her mouth shut. Throughout the day, she became aware of how many times she thought and spoke negatively about events and people. Here is her observation, "My critical nature had not corrected a single one of the multitudinous things I found fault with. What it had done was to stifle my own creativity -- in prayer, in relationships, perhaps even in writing -- that He wanted to give me."

What unhelpful behavior is God calling you to give up? How is it stifling the Holy Spirit in your life? Try fasting from this detrimental behavior for one day and see what insights God gives you. You might find that fasting reveals what controls us. We sometimes cover up what is inside us with food or other things that prevent us from a more productive Christian life. Fasting brings up issues we may not have faced before. If you'd like to share your experience here, please feel free to leave a comment.