Does Anyone Fast

Do ordinary, busy Christians fast anymore?

That was the question that popped into the mind of our board of elders chairman. Pastor mentioned fasting in a sermon, and now the lay leader was getting practical: "What about it?" Should we-a large, modem church in a Minneapolis suburb take fasting seriously?"

John Wesley once said, "Some have exalted religious fasting beyond all Scripture and reason; and others have utterly disregard it". we certainly knew which category we were. So we did what any group of uneasy churchmen would do: we referred the matter to the discipleship ministry team for further study.

In a matter of weeks, a board member presented a report that didn't let us off the hook at all. He noted, among other things that:

• Fast and other forms of the word are used 78 times in Scripture.
• Moses, David, Elijah, Esther, Daniel, Jesus, Anna, the disciples of John the Baptist, Paul, Barnabas, and others all fasted
• Jesus seemed to think of giving, praying, and fasting as a trio of spiritual disciplines in Matthew 6:1-18
• There are 4 reasons to fast: (1) to better focus the mind on God; (2) to share, in some small measure. God's own grief over sin; (3) to turn attention away from material needs toward the One who supplies all; (4) to intensify our praying.

The final conclusion is that fasting is a biblical teaching and should be practiced among all Christ followers.

Guidelines for fasting

1. Reach a personal conviction on the subject through a careful biblical study

2. Make sure you are medically able to fast before attempting it

3. Enter with a positive faith that God will reward those who fast with the right motives

4. Begin with short fasts and gradually move to larger periods of time

5. Be prepared for some dizziness, headache, or nausea in the early going

6. Mix your prayer time with Scripture reading and singing or devotional reading

7. Keep checking your motives during the fast

8. Break a prolonged fast graduall with meals that are light and easy to digest.

(This is an excerpt from "Fresh Ideas for Discipleship & Nurture written by Clyde B. McDowell - Associate pastor of pastoral care, Wooddale Church in Richfield, Minnesota)