Fast forward in 2015

Fasting, praying, giving

 To his disciples living in a world full of danger Jesus makes this remarkable statement; “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6)

Of course, he has just introduced us to a brilliant short teach on the assumed habits and disciplines of a disciple, and he caps it all with this summary statement, saying in effect; ‘if you practice these things in this way, then you will be better equipped to live the life of faith’.

Each of us is most prone to anxiety in one of three areas; appetite, affirmation, or ambition. We may know them by other names; (provision, position, and possibilities), but they are the three areas in which Jesus was personally tempted at the start of his ministry, and which we encounter on a regular basis; Will we have enough? Will we be recognised and attributed worth? And will good things happen to us? One or more of these three can dominate our thoughts and so Jesus teaches us regarding a wonderful trio of disciplines; giving, fasting and praying. He knows that fear or anxiety can easily become a habit or a mindset, so these disciplines are given to us to help renew our minds, retrain our appetites, and refocus our rhythms on his Kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy.

Jesus, our example and mentor, practiced each one of them.

And here’s the thing; Jesus starts each mini teach with an explicit assumption; ‘When you pray…, when you fast…, when you give…’, and then goes on to give a few tips on keeping it real! He isn’t saying this stuff is for the ‘super spiritual'; he’s saying these are the core practices of anyone who is a disciple.

Later on in Matt17:14-21 his disciples hit a bump in the road and fail to cast out a demon from a troubled boy brought to them. With a fair degree of exasperation Jesus heals the boy and then declares; ‘if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”  Jesus clearly expects his disciples to grow in faith, and that for this kind (of demon) to be dealt with we need to develop a lifestyle of prayer and fasting.

I recall a memorable talk on fasting by a humorous speaker who decided to tell us his best trick for getting away with eating peanut butter whilst fasting. His secret was to microwave the jar for several seconds to smooth out the surface, thus making it appear untouched, if somewhat under-filled! Of course what he was addressing was the issue of our ambivalence when it comes to spiritual disciplines, especially that of fasting. Jesus’ best advice on keeping it real was to avoid looking like you are fasting! That way you’ll be less tempted to try and impress anyone.

I use an acronym of FAST to help remind me of a few first principles;

1. Faith: What and who am I fasting FOR? What would it look like if the thing I’m fasting for were to begin to change? After all, fasting is just another form of prayer, so if I’m praying for something it’s important to be specific.

2. Appetite; What am I fasting FROM? It’s usually one of the big three; An overblown appetite, a craving for affirmation, or an excessive ambition. At any given time at least one of these three will be jostling to dominate our motives and replace God in our affections. Name it (shine a light on it) and choose your fast. Although food fasts are the core discipline, the bible also talks about ‘fasting’ from injustice (Isa 58:6), so there are clearly other forms of fast. It’s good to be creative occasionally – you can try screen fasts, chocolate fasts, negativity fasts… whatever addresses a prevailing temptation. The possibilities are endless.

3. Spiritual: What am I fasting AGAINST? Remember, we have a spiritual enemy, and we are told that if we resist him that he will flee from us (James 4:7), so again it’s good to be specific – pull a few of the enemies teeth and make it personal. We have a saying in our house; ‘paint the dragon red’!

4. Together: Who am I fasting WITH?! Although there is a personal rhythm to prayer and fasting, there is also a community dynamic that is meant to strengthen our prayers. Throughout the bible there are references to group fasts; (Joel 2:15-16, 2 Chron 20:3, Acts 13). Remember, fasting is prayer, and ‘where two or more agree…‘ there is going to be an increase of spiritual 'clout'. So which person, team, or community might I fast together with?

Let's fast forward into 2015 and explore how a few rhythms can help reorientate us to his kingdom, how habits renew our minds and lead to breakthrough, and how spiritual disciplines release faith and overcome the evil one.