How to fast

Paul Cézanne (French, 1839-1906) The Basket of Apples, c. 1893

I’ve written about why we should consider making fasting a regular habit (here), what the purpose of fasting is from a Biblical perspective (here), and what the spiritual side effects of fasting are (here). If you need a little nudge on why you should fast, consider taking a look at one of those posts, because Jesus never commands his disciples to fast, he assumes they will. Here, though, I’d like to give some practical advice for how to fast.  

Fasting is hard. Our bodies both need and want to eat, and when you go a while without food, your body will make sure you are aware. If you have any medical issues or just want to be on the safe side, talk to a doctor before starting a regular habit of fasting. However, even if you don’t have any physical reason why you can’t fast, it will still be a challenge if you’ve never done it. Denying ourselves is hard, and denying yourself food when you're used to eating on a regular basis is even harder. Even still, the rewards are worth it. So, if you’re new to fasting, or curious in how to go about it here are several tips:

Start slow

If you have never attempted fasting before, start slowly. Start by skipping a meal one day a week. Set aside time during the meal that you skip to pray, take a walk, or in some way get alone with God. After a few weeks, take away a second meal that day. At this point if you’ve taken away breakfast and lunch, you can easily fast from dinner on one day to dinner on the next. This is a whole day of fasting and a great habit to continue.  

Build the habit

When you first start to fast, it can be a challenge to think about anything other than how hungry you are. Fasting loses some of its spiritual side effects when instead of focusing on God during your fast, you focus on how hungry you are. However, if you fast on a regular basis, over time you get better at managing your hunger and can use the fast in a more meaningful way. Try fasting weekly, which has been a common practice throughout church history, for a period of time so that you can learn how to deal with being hungry and gradually learn how to approach God during your fast. When you get to the place where your weekly fast becomes a joy and a day full of worship, you won’t need any other motivation to keep you going.

Plan

Think through your fast before you start. How are you going to use your time? What are you going to pray for? When will you break your fast? What will you eat?  Part of the point of fasting is to take the extra time that you would be spending preparing and eating food in order to spend that time with God. If you aren’t intentional about how you’ll use this extra time, some competing problem or issue will take its place. Especially as you get better at the physical act of going without food, it can be tempting to use your time to be more productive. In order to resist that temptation, you need to plan ahead how you’ll use your time. 

Break the fast slowly

It goes without saying that when you’re done fasting you’ll be hungry. But if you just stuff your face at the end of your fast, you’ll get sick. Your stomach has contracted after an extended period of not eating, and if you force too much in at one time, it will all come back out in a hurry. Until you learn by experience exactly what you can handle after a fast, start by breaking your fast with something small like a piece of fruit or a small sandwich. After you’ve given your stomach the chance to readjust and to start digesting food again, you should be able to eat normally after 20 or 30 minutes. Even still, take it slowly. Over time you’ll learn what you can handle and breaking the fast will be easier.  

Stay hydrated

Remember to drink enough water during your fast. Without the ritual of sitting down to a meal to remind you to drink something, it can be easy not to drink enough during your fast. Also, as a caution, you might want to avoid coffee, orange juice, or anything too acidic during your fast, as you first begin to develop the practice. I know for me; these kinds of drinks tend to hurt my stomach if I haven’t eaten very much. Once again, as you progress and experiment you’ll find out what works for you.

Consider longer fasts

A practice of fasting one day a week is a great way to build your capacity to fast and to know what you can handle. After you’ve built the practice consider trying something a little longer. The most spiritually enriching fasts I’ve ever undertaken have been two or three-day fasts. The first day is often the hardest, but after that it becomes much easier to focus and simply spend time with the Lord. All the same rules still apply for a longer fast as with shorter fasts only more so: break it slowly, stay hydrated, and have a plan for your time. These fasts have always been my richest times of prayer and I’ve always undertaken them with a much more specific goal in regard to what to pray for. But they have been the highlights of my spiritual life. I wouldn’t do them all the time, perhaps yearly or when there is a certain issue that you really want to take to God. But if you’ve built your practice of fasting, they can be a great way to go deeper and experience intimacy with God. If you try anything longer, I would see a medical doctor beforehand to make sure you don’t hurt yourself. Personally, I’ve never felt the need to do more, because it has always seemed to me that two or three days is enough. So, if you want to go farther, find someone who can advise you.

Hospitality and love trump fasting

Lastly, let love be the guideline for your fast. If you had planned on fasting, but a friend invites you to lunch or you have the opportunity to host someone for dinner, break your fast and eat with your friend or put on the dinner. Early Christian monks fasted often, and some might say excessively, but if they had guests or were invited somewhere to eat, they always accepted the invitation or ate with their guest. It was more important to show love to one another than to continue a discipline. You can always fast some other time, but you may not always have this opportunity to show love. Be consistent with your fasts, but always be prepared to break them if it means you can serve someone.

A final note

Above all remember that you are fasting for God and for God alone. Jesus said that the wedding guests can’t fast when they’re with the bridegroom, but when the bridegroom leaves, then they’ll fast. We fast waiting for our bridegroom to return, telling him that we need him to intervene in our lives and in our world. Fasting is mourning and calling out to God that things aren’t all right. If we undertake fasting with this mindset and this posture, we’ll encounter God.