I remember the first time I experienced the idea of fasting in real life. I was 19 years old working for the Junior High department here at Emmanuel Faith, and we were down in San Diego cleaning up some trash for one of the intern-planned events. Lunchtime came and the staff and volunteers started passing out the sack lunches to the students.
I went to give a sack lunch to the intern who had planned this event, and he politely said, “No, thank you.” I asked him, “Oh, did you already eat?” And he said, “No, but I’m good.”
Knowing what a long day we had already had, I pushed the subject since I didn’t want him to get too weak! So I asked, “Why don’t you want to eat any lunch?!”
He said, “I’m fasting today.” This was the first time I had heard of someone doing this as an actual practice so I asked, “How come?”
He replied, “I knew this event would be a long day and I wanted to keep my heart focused on God. So I’m fasting to keep focused on Him. Every time I feel hunger, I pray. But right now, I’m not even hungry!”
“Wow,” I said, “I didn’t even realize!” He said, “That’s the idea. It’s not for anyone else. It’s just between God and me.”
He didn’t know it then, but he set an example for me that would stick with me for decades. It’s ok to keep things quiet that are just between you and the Lord. Today’s culture makes it so easy to fall into wanting to shout out the good you are doing. And I genuinely think there is a place for that when it’s not done in a boastful way. But with fasting, that is a practice designed to be kept quiet. And that is what will make it that much more effective.
Kim Freels
Digital Media Specialist