Fasting

"[...]Fasting, which so many dislike, which requires faith in God, since it makes one feel weak and poorly, is really a Divinely appointed means of grace. Perhaps the greatest hindrance to our work is our own imagined strength; and in fasting we learn what poor, weak creatures we are - dependent on a meal of meat for the little strength which we are so apt to lean upon."
- Hudson Taylor

For a long time, fasting was one of those facets of Christian tradition and discipline that I never quite understood. I also never gave much thought to it. To me, fasting was what you did if you were especially holy, especially sinful, or especially in need of something. It represented a mastering of the body. It was a physical manifestation of self-denial or self-control. And... maybe it made your prayers more potent? I never really understood that part.

This year, as part of a commitment I made around the new year, fasting has become part of my life. I've been fasting in combination with praying for a specific situation, but I have been amazed to find how much there is to be learned simply from the experience of cutting off the ties to food for a day. Hudson Taylor's quote above rings so true to me now-- it's not often in our privileged American lives that we are brought to a point of awareness of our dependence on God. We build up a buffer, a nest egg that will keep us safe from having to depend on the hand of God. In exchange, we lose the joy of knowing that we are nothing without Him, that we cannot go on feeling invincible for even a day without the gifts of His hands. This is a great pity, because along with knowing our weakness comes the incredible comfort of comprehending something more of His strength and faithfulness.