How to Fastনমুনা

SAY YES AND START

As far as how to fast, physical preparation should start a few days before the fast. Gradually reduce the intake of sugar, caffeine, and processed foods. Increase your hydration and start shifting toward lighter meals, such as salads and soups. Ensure you’re in a good state of health and consult a healthcare professional, especially if you have any medical conditions or take medications.

Likewise, spiritual preparation should begin the moment you feel the invitation or burden to fast. Don’t binge-watch or binge-eat before the onset of the fast, but begin to humbly yield your heart. I usually start by curating a more muted, introspective worship-music playlist. I then prepare a sa­cred place that I designate for most of my prayer and reading. I got this inspiration from the tent of meeting that was in the center of the children of Israel’s camp, and I have found it a most grounding act.

It takes intention, discipline, and grace to make any spiritual practice a constant. But as the apostle Peter reminds us, “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3).

Take it from me: You cannot wait to meet the “you” that emerges on the other side of this transformative pilgrimage into a life of regular fasting. Is it hard? Absolutely! But when is true transformation ever not? From the caterpillar’s cocoon to rehab wards to gyms all around the world, true transformation is always born from the crucible of pain and dis­comfort. Maybe it’s time we, as a people, learn to find the holy in the hard. It will be incon­venient, it will be uncomfortable, but no amount of pain can hold a candle to the incredible transformation that awaits not even at the end but in the middle of this journey.

My prayer is that the Lord will restore fasting into the hands of the church and that through this transformational practice, my generation and the generations after it will once again learn how to fast.

As God said through the prophet Isaiah, “Behold, I am doing a new thing!” (Isaiah 43:19).

Just say yes and start.

How has this devotional changed your view of fasting? Are you ready to start? Why or why not?

We hope you are encouraged by this reading plan. Learn more about HOW TO FAST by Reward Sibandaclick here.