Nurture Humility With Alternative Fasting Tips - Serenity in Suffering

Fasting, a spiritual discipline widely popular during Lent, symbolizes more than abstinence from food. Representing the attitudes of repentance, obedience and humility, fasting embodies a heart posture towards God. Through a humble attitude of abstinence, we more keenly focus on the needs of our spiritual relationship, positioned to better listen and hear from God. For some of us, we cannot safely fast from food, but we can still nurture humility with alternative fasting tips.

Welcome to Mindfulness Monday! Where we learn some easy ways to be more present “in the moment” at our jobs, in our homes, with our families and friends. Learning to recognize God and what He has for us in each divine moment He offers. We acknowledge the belief that God is with us always. We confess His presence is available to us, lifting our spirit and helping us with power and grace. Learning to “be still”, so we can hear His voice and view ourselves, others and our surroundings through His eyes.

Why Do we Fast?

We consider spiritual fasting as feeding the spirit through our obedience to God. The act of fasting gives us a medium through which our relationship with God flourishes. We see the practice of abstaining from food throughout the Bible as an expected part of worship. Jesus’ phraseology in Matthew 6:16-18, gives instruction for when we fast, not if we fast. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, said “Jesus takes it for granted that His disciples will observe the pious custom of fasting.” According to Bonhoeffer, the practice of fasting is synonymous with self-control, preparing the disciple of Christ for every good work God has for them.

Christians fast for various reasons, but the primary reasons for fasting found in the Bible pertain to mourning, repentance, enlightenment, preparation and confession.

Christian fasting at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God.

John Piper

• Mourning. Nehemiah fasted when he learned the walls of Jerusalem were burned and broken down. (Nehemiah 1:1-4) David mourned the death of the child born of his affair with Bathsheba. (2 Samuel 12:15-17) We can also “mourn” sin, as God instructs His people in Joel 2:12-13.
• Repentance. The Ninevites repented after Jonah proclaimed judgment upon them. (Jonah 3:10) King Ahab fasted when he heard God’s judgment against his house. (1 Kings 21:22-27)
• Enlightenment. Paul and Barnabas fasted while seeking God’s wisdom for the elders of the churches. (Acts 14:23) Moses fasted forty days and forty nights while receiving the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 34:28)
• Preparation. Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness fasting before meeting the devil. (Matthew 4:1-17) The small group at Antioch ministered to the Lord, prayed and fasted prior to sending out Paul and Barnabas for the work of the Lord. (Acts 13:1-2)
• Confession. Daniel prayed and fasted for the nation of Israel while in Babylon. (Daniel 9:3-5)David poured out his heart in confession of sin in Psalm 32:5.

Scott McKnight in his splendid book, Fasting, describes fasting as a type of “body language” or posture before God. A position from which we communicate to God our desire, grief, repentance and longing for Him. While the most prominent reasons for fasting in the Bible are those listed above, we do see instances of fasting for deliverance and protection (Ezra 8:21-23) and worship (Luke 2:37). Ultimately, all of these reasons enrich and strengthen our relationship with God through humbling ourselves in the sight of God.

traditional fasting vs alternative fasting

Traditional fasting involves abstaining from food for a specified period of time. During Lent we hear of fellow Christians abstaining from not only food, but other types of pleasures or conveniences. Learning to nurture humility through alternative fasting tips is an additional way of pursuing intimacy with God especially during Lent. Traditional fasting focuses on the self denial of food as a way of emptying yourself to make more room for God. The absence of food increases our self awareness of physical needs, but also sensitizes us to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

If you have done a physical fast, you know the challenges and the unpleasant side effects of going without food for any period of time. A physical fast is hard on the body, which is why many Christians today exclude the practice from their regular spiritual disciplines. Additionally, due to the strain it does put on the physical body, some believers simply cannot endure a physical fast for health reasons. Enter alternative fasting. A variety of ways exists to nurture humility through alternative fasting tips you may not have considered. Fostering intimacy with God involves fasting of some type; a relinquishing of trivial distractions and preoccupations, pursuing satisfaction in a deeper presence of Christ.

Nurturing humility

The word, “nurture” paints a lovely picture for me of gentle, focused intention, which we gain through a mindfulness approach to spiritual disciplines. In my recent post on repentance, I explored a comprehensive but gentle approach to seeking God in repentance of sin using mindfulness techniques. Today, we explore ideas to nurture humility through alternative fasting tips. Employ these tips as an alternative to abstaining from food if your health prohibits physical fasting or enjoy them as an added layer of awareness and personal growth with your physical fasting practice.

For each fasting opportunity below, set a pre-determined amount of time for pursuing the specific alternative. For example I may do each of these for a whole day or choose to spend an entire week for each one. Spend time each day preferably in your morning quiet time, to mindfully sit with the intention for the day before God asking the Holy Spirit to increase your awareness of encounters with the intention, guidance to avoid indulgence and strength for overcoming obstacles. Take time periodically to mindfully “check in” with your progress, prayerfully entreating God for deliverance or forgiveness.

Alternative Fasting Prompts

• Fast from harsh words. Bring your awareness to times you speak harshly, unkindly or abruptly. Instead, replace harsh words with kind and patient words, encouragement, compassion and forgiveness.
• Fast from sadness. Notice areas where you dwell on past hurts, injustices or disappointments. Notice any “victim” tendencies, and gently choose to release self pity and replace these feelings with gratitude and forgiveness.
• Fast from negativity. Bring awareness to negative thoughts, attitudes and words. Reframe the negativity with hope from scripture.
• Fast from complaining. Listen for complaining words, notice complaining thoughts and instead seek gratitude and contentment.
• Fast from words. Take time and sit quietly; listen to sounds around you, prayerfully seek God’s voice. Consider how much you hear when you cease speaking.
• Fast from selfishness. Seek awareness of your self focus, paying attention to areas where you demand your way. Instead, intentionally look for ways of serving others compassionately.
• Fast from worry. Notice areas of worry and anxiety within your thoughts and tension within your body. Gently release these thoughts placing them in God’s hands. Speak verses of God’s promises into the areas of concern.
• Fast from anger. Bring awareness to feelings of anger without rehearsing the situation. Simply notice the emotion and how it feels in your body. Release the anger and seek a response of patience and compassion.
• Fast from bitterness and resentment. Bring awareness to these feelings without rehearsing the situation. Speak words of forgiveness over the situation, releasing the hurts to God and receiving joy.

Fasting is a grace that significantly increases our receptivity to the Lord’s voice and His Word.

Mike Bickle

Alternative Fasting Tips

I highly recommend the following process and tips for experiencing the most growth and benefit from your efforts at alternative fasting. As with any goal, preparation and focus are key, but equally important is having a plan in place for temptation or failure.

• Set a time period. Whether a day, weekend, week or month, commit to this time period from the beginning.
• Add Bible verses. Find Bible verses related to the fasting prompt, that specifically speak to your challenge related to the prompt. List these in your journal, place them on sticky notes where you see them, index cards you can take with you, and optimally memorize them.
• Journal through the prompt. Take time at the start of your day, setting and reminding yourself of the fasting prompt. Close out your day with a brief check in on progress, victories and where you fell short.
• Plan ten to fifteen minutes each day to sit quietly before the Lord meditating on the prompt, listening to Him speak to you about the prompt and to re-focus if you are struggling. This works well at mid-day or mid-afternoon.
• Pray. Incorporate praying over the fasting prompt often, especially at the beginning and end of your day.
• Gratitude. Ensure you include words of gratitude as you journal. Even on days when you struggle or even fail at keeping the fasting prompt, extend the same compassion to yourself as you would to a friend. God deals gently with us. Instead, review what happened through eyes of curiosity; notice specific challenges and how you can best meet then the next time.

Nurture Humility with alternative fasting tips

Physical fasting as outlined in the Bible offers many benefits for spiritual growth and intimacy with God. It is a spiritual discipline on par with Bible reading, prayer and worship, that demonstrates obedience to God and we must not lightly discard physical fasting. The prompts I suggest here, are intended to enrich a physical fasting practice or provide an enriching alternative when physical fasting remains unsafe from a health perspective.

Incorporating mindfulness into any fasting practice increases our self awareness, informing us of areas that require change. Mindfulness also brings an intentional spirit of listening, acceptance and stillness which enhances our time with God. Submitting to a fasting practice nurtures humility as you deny yourself in specific areas. My prayer for you as you nurture humility with alternative fasting tips and prompts is a willingness for honest self reflection, and an eager openness for change. Whether you submit to the discomfort of foregoing food, a favorite activity, a regular pleasure you enjoy or your own way of doing things, the result is better self control, a greater longing for God, and deeper intimacy in your relationship with God.

If you enjoyed reading this post, there’s more! Sign up for my weekly newsletters; a little slice of serenity delivered right to your inbox! As my “Thank-you” you will receive my FREE “God’s Transforming Love Devotional” for signing up!

Feature Image Photo by Jonathan Pielmayer on Unsplash