Welcome to the new meme of Exemplify! The Weekly Wednesday Whatever is a meme hosted by Melinda of Frugal Grace, right here on the Editor’s Blog of Exemplify.
Weekly, Melinda will share what’s on her mind (you’re going to love her sense of humor!) and then turn the tables on you, asking for your take. You can either answer The Weekly Whatever right here in the comment section or write a post on your own blog about it and link up below.
Whatever you decide, we can’t wait to chat with you!
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All of you
Is more than enough for all of me, For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with your love, And all I have in you is more than enough~ Jeremy Camp
You don’t hear much about fasting in today’s churches and religious discussions. I know many people that think it’s an outdated concept that went the way of rope sandals and selling doves in the temples. There are a few groups who are still committed to this Biblical process, but they are few and far between in today’s fast-food nation. I mean, it was probably a lot easier to fast when you had to hunt and gather, versus driving up to a window to place your order from your air conditioned car.
There’s a movement among younger Christians to be more bold and “on fire” and devoted to God on a spiritual level, not just sitting in church every Sunday and listening. They want to be involved on a gut level (pardon the pun) with our Creator, and—according to the Bible—fasting is a process by which one can accomplish this.
Two of my friends just finished a forty day fast. Yes, 40 days with absolutely NO food—only juice and water. They say they feel amazing, have tons of energy, but most importantly—feel closer to God than ever.
I hunger for this.
I’ve considered fasting for years, but never really done it long term. I’ve done a day here and there, but that was more often just forgetfulness on my part—getting too busy to remember to eat. Then it would usually end with a huge bowl of cookie dough ice cream at 10 p.m. I’m thinking this is not how Jesus ended his fasts…
I’ve felt the need to get closer to God, to just let myself be totally dependent on Him, to seek more of Him and MUCH less of me. I’ve been praying about this for some time now, and what I keep hearing is—I really need to lay down some things at His alter and give them over to Him once and for all. You know how sometimes we say we’ve “given it over to God,” but then we—in our silliness—soon think we need to take back control over the situation. As if we can even think of doing the work that only He can??
I hear more from men about their fasting experiences, but I’d love to hear what women think about it.
Have you fasted?
For how long?
Any advise for someone thinking of attempting a longer-term fast?
What are your general thoughts on fasting?
Let’s talk about it!
Comment below or link back to this post and get feedback from your readers!
Just an update:
Since I submitted this to Kristen for publication, I have finished my first fast.
You can read about my experience here: http://frugalgrace.blogspot.com/2009/11/i-was-hungry.html
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on fasting and sharing your experiences with this practice, or helping you work through questions you may have if you’ve never fasted.
~Melinda
Never fasted in the traditional sense, but have fasted “from” certain things “for” one certain thing…
More of God’s heart within my own.
I’ve never given anything up without having him replace it in abundant measure. If our fasting (whatever form it takes) doesn’t lead us closer to the heart of God, then it is simply ritual and serves little purpose. Personally, I believe that our everyday life can involve a “fast” of some sort “for” Jesus. Whether it be giving up a meal to give it, instead, to someone else, a favorite t.v. show to spend more devoted time in prayer and Scripture study, or spending time with our loved ones rather than spending time with our computers. Whatever we intentionally relinquish in order to draw closer to God becomes the sacred ground of our spiritual growth.
Just some thoughts, Melinda. I’m going to ponder this a bit more in the day to come and see what God births in me. Hope others will weigh in.
peace~elaine
Thank you, Elaine! You are so right – God will definitely replace our “wants” with our “needs” when we surrender to Him completely! I love your idea of an “everyday fast” from something important to us. We *are* called to die to self *daily*. Great observation! I am going to start putting this into practice.
BTW, sorry that Mr Linky is not working with us again this week. We are still working out a few kinks with the new design. Please feel free to link up to us via the comments section if you’d like!!
Melinda,
Tonight in Bible study we talked about the concept of fasting. How odd (or divinely-timed) that I came across your post just now! I think God might be trying to tell me something!
I’m going to share this with the ladies in my group.
Good message! I’ve done both traditional fasting and what I call the Daniel fast, etc. but also what Elaine shared above I fully agree with as well. Fasting off of things that take up too much of our time and laying it down to seek MORE of GOD….
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Melinda,
I fast a couple of different ways.
One is what I call the traditional fast. The longest I’ve done this is 72 hours. I only do this when there’s an urgency about a decision and needing to seek Him. My whole time is spent in prayer and reading His Word. Don’t know that I could do the 40 day. I guess I could if the Lord called me to it. The Lord just called me to a 24 hour fast this week and had an amazing time with the Lord. It really helped me to solidify the decision to change an area of my life.
Then there is the fast like Elaine and Lisa mentioned. Giving up something(s) – food or nonfood – for the specific purpose of devoting that time to Him.
Great topic!