Originally from: ts@godspeak.org (Teresa Seputis)
Originally dated: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 08:23:21 -0800 (PST)
There are a lot of differnent views on fasting. Some people feel that
it is not really a fast unless you take ONLY water. Others feel it is
OK to take in any non-nutritive foods (such as sugar-free soda, tea and/or
decaf coffee (as long as you only use artificial sweetner and fake cream
in it). Others feel it is fine to include juices. Others find it OK to
have a glass of non-fat milk per day on long fasts, as long as you stick
strictly to liquids. Pretty much everyone agrees that things like
milkshakes and other liquid desserts are NOT valid for a fast.
But the opinion which should really count is the Lord's opinion... I
recommend not doing a long fast unless the Lord has called you on one.
And if the Lord does call you on one, then ask Him which type of Fast
He is calling you to. My first ever fast was a 10 day fast (I don't
recommend that you fast that long for your first fast unless God expressly
calls you to.) I took nothing but water on that fast. I had no clue
about guidelines for breaking long fasts and broke it with two doughnuts
and a cup of coffee. It was only by the grace of God that I did not get
extremely sick.... sometimes God protects us from stupid mistakes when our
heart is in the right place. But I would not presume on His grace by
fasting (or breaking the fast) unwisely.
Remember that the point of the fast is to obey and honor the Lord and
to draw close to Him. I find that on long fasts, I am able to discern
His voice more clearly than when I'm not fasting. Not everyone has that
experience. Some feel only tired and irritable and even further from God
on a fast, but find that place of intimacy after they have completed the
fast. It is important to have the right motives when fasting. Please do
not view fasting as somehow spiritually twisting God's arm and obligating
Him to answer your prayer. It does not work that way. God is NOT very
prone to being manipulated. Instead, view the fast as a time to separate
yourself unto the Lord, to put seeking Him above satisfying your bodily
needs, with the intent of allowing Him to touch and change you. Look
at the fast as getting yourself more in tune with Him rather than as gettting
Him to do something for you.
It is very important that we do not get our focus on the fast as through
the act of fasting is of merit in and of itself. Rather, try to keep our
focus on God and drawing more into intimacy with Him, of being able to
hear His heart on a matter. But you will be aware that you are not eating...
your flesh will start to cry out for food. It will try to consume your
attention. On my first 40 day fast, I dreamed that I was eating and it was
a very realistic dream. When I woke up, I thought I'd broken the fast and
started repenting to God for doing so. He told me it was just a dream and
I had not really eaten anything. Your mind and your body may crave food.
It might even play weird tricks on you. You might find it advisiable/necessary
to take this to the Lord and ask Him to help you with it. He is usually
willing to help you (give you strength and will power to fast) if He has
called you to do so. As in all spiritual things, "without Christ we can
do nothing" (John 15:5b).
The physology of a fast goes something like this... the first 3-5 days you
get really "hungry" and start feeling weak. Then your body begins to
switch over to consuming energy form stored fats. (Unfortunately, it also
breaks down non-fat tissue... so this is a terrible and unhealthy way to
diet. Don't fast to loose weight. You will probably gain it all back and
a bit more when you start eating again.) After a while your body stablizes
and you feel more energy and also don't feel hungry. A rather unpleasant
side effect is that you will usually have dierraha for several days as your
digestive system shuts itself down and then you won't have any stool type
of activity. Note that what I described is for the total types of fast --
water only or water and non-nutrative liquids. If you take juice or skim
milk, you will find the first few days easier, but will tend to stay
hungry longer. Your body will probably switch over to burning stored
fat (as in the water fast) but it make take longer to do so. In one
sense you stay stronger by putting the sugar from the juices into your
system, but in another sense you get weak because you don't switch over to
the burning-fat-store type of energy as fast. The tradeoff on this effects
different people differently, depending on their metaboloism.
It is not uncommon to get dizzy or light-headed on a long fast, especially
if you end up getting up rapidly from a sitting or laying position, or if
you are exherting yourself physically too much. You will find that you get
cold easier -- in fact, sometimes I can't stay warm on a long fast, even if
I turn the thermostat up to 80 degrees (where my non-fasting husband is
literally melting). I find that it is unwise to consume cold things while
fasting... especially things like chewing on ice cubes. If you do that,
you do get a bit of a sensation of eating, but you also end up getting so
cold that you can't get warm again for a long time. Drinking hot liquids
seems to help... even if it is just hot water.
It is very unwise to exercise strenously while on a long fast. Many people
find that the can continue working the duration of the fast if they are
careful to curtail most physical activity. When I'm on a long fast, I
cut back my walking as much as possible and drive more. By all means do
not do any exercise types of activity like jogging or playing volleyball
or going dancing during a fast unless the Lord has explicitely spoken to
you to do so. Some people wisely curtail their activity and still find
that they need to take some sick days to just rest in bed during a long
fast. Again, differnet people seem to handle this differently, based on
their constitution and such. I can usually work the whole time I'm
doing a long fast if I am very careful to curtail all other physical
activity, but I ususally get very tired. (I also usually take juices
and a glass of non-fat milk on a long fast, which helps me with the physical
endurance.) I will often go to be very early when I'm fasting. Sometimes
I get into a phase where God will wake me up in the middle of the night
to pray. Usually I don't feel much like praying when He wakes me up... I
feel more like I have insomnia. I am often groggy when this happens and
it takes a while to figure out I'm supposed to be praying. After I pray
on whatever topic(s) He has on His agenda, it becomes easy to get back to
sleep again. But if I don't pray through His agenda, I usually have a
great deal of difficulty getting back to sleep.
Sometimes the level enemy attacks and spiritual warfare goes way up on
a long fast. In fact, on both of my 40 day fasts, I came under a much
greater degree of spiritual warfare than I usually experience. It was
almost as though the enemy was trying to wear me down and get me to
give up on the fast. Another common thing that happens when we fast
is that we subconsciously expect God to give us special priviledges because
we are fasting... things He does not necessarily plan to do. For example,
one time when I was on a long fast, I was trying to park somewhere where
it was very difficult to find a spot. Since I was weak from my fast,
I expected God to give me a close parking spot and was miffed with Him
when He did not do so. I was complaining to Him and He set me straight
by asking me why I thought that I merited special priviledges just because
I was fasting. Also, I expected Him to protect me from enemy attack. It
was a real eye opener to me on my first 40 day fast when I had more severe
bad things than usual happen to me... such as my car being broken into and
my favorite coat being stolen, the diamond being stolen out of my wedding
ring by a dishonest jewler, and on and on. I was so overcome that I started
to have attitude problems and God had to give me a little lecture on having
a pure heart... trust me, you don't want to get that type of lecture from
Him! It is not fun, especially when He is right and you know you are in
the wrong. So, watch your expectations during a fast and guard your heart
and your attitude. Expect that spiritual warfare and enemy attacks will be
higher than usual when you fast. Don't be disapppointed if the fast is
not the ulitimate spiritual experience where you are walking on cloud nine
and on the mountian top. There will be times like that, but there will
be lots of times that are not like that. In fact, during some parts of a
long fast, you may feel "father away" from God than when you are not fasting.
This is not unusual.
Finally, be careful on breaking a fast. Many find the breaking of a fast
harder than the fast itself, because your digestive system turns back on
and you start getting really hungry. You have to eat wisely and in small
quantities. This is hard to do... you want to stuff yourself. But if you
do that, you will probably get very sick. I usaully break fast with
plain bread types of food, gradually adding back in fruits and vegetables
and eventually regular food. Personally, I do very well with milk or cheese
in breaking a fast, but many people get sick from that. Also, be advised
that you will may experience some dierraha as your digestive system begins
to turn itself back on. This is fairly normal and should not be a cause
for alarm.
There is a weird spiritual dynamic that seems to happen around breaking
a fast. Lots of times you feel so close to God by the end of the fast
that you don't want to come off of it. There is sometimes a bit of a
fear that you might loose the spiritual ground you gained or loose that
ability to discern His voice. Remember that God created us to eat, that
is part of how He made us. Even Jesus broke His 40 day fast and went back
to eating. God does not expect us to fast indefinately. He wants to be
Lord of our fast, including Lord of breaking our fast after the perscribed
time period has ended. Be sure to invite Him back into your eating just
as you invited Him into your fasting.
Finally, don't assume that 40 is the magic number. The Lord has called me
to a lot of 2 and 3 week fasts. I have only ever fasted more than 3 weeks
on three occasions: a 31 day fast in October of 1993, where AD2000
intercessors were systematicly praying through the 10-40 window; a 40 week
in the fall of 1995; and a 40 day fast in the Fall of 1996. Be sure not
to set a goal of fasting longer that the Lord has called you to fast. It
is much better to check in with Him and set a 14 day fast as per His calling
than to assume you will fast 40 days when He has only graced you for 14.
As with any other area of your life, be sure to invite Him into the fast.
Ask Him to lead and guide you and empower you and teach you and speak to
you on the fast.
I hope this info is helpful. I am not an expert on fasting, but this is
what I've learned from my experiencs doing so, plus a bit of teaching and
advice I've picked up from others in the process.
Blessings.
-teresa