In the modern world, you are more likely to hear about fasting from a Muslim, Buddhist, nutrition expert, or fitness guru than from a serious disciple of Jesus. Most followers of Jesus in the West no longer fast; if they do, it’s rarely on a weekly basis, despite the fact that it was the common practice of the church for well over a millennium and a half to do so. Yet in his teaching on fasting in Matthew 6:16, Jesus said, “When you fast ….” Not “If you fast ….” He assumed his apprentices would follow his example by fasting. What if we are missing out on one of the most essential and powerful of all the practices of Jesus?
Fasting
Fasting is one of the most essential and powerful of all the practices of Jesus and, arguably, the single most neglected one in the modern, Western church. Fasting is a way that we can integrate our whole body into life with God.