| 
©iStockphoto.com/Achim Prill
After
a hearty breakfast the first Sunday of November, my husband and
I remembered it was fast Sunday. As I cleaned up the kitchen, I
questioned myself:
Did I forget on purpose because fasting
is hard for me? Do I still resist fasting as rebellion to the
myth? What myth? That fasting is going without food to prove to
God how much I want something so He will be more likely to bring
it about. Wasn’t that like saying that going hungry could
somehow make it possible to talk God into doing what I want —
to bring about what I think is best (when I don’t know anything
at all about what is best)? There was nothing right about such
an idea. How did I ever get such a skewed perception of such a
marvelous principle in the first place?
The Truth about Fasting
The Bible Dictionary, p. 671, says,
“Fasting, a voluntary abstinence from food, is a principle
of the gospel of Jesus Christ for developing spiritual strength.”
Speaking of the sons of Mosiah, Alma
1;7:9 says, “And they fasted much and prayed much that the
Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them,
and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands
of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites,
to the knowledge of the truth.” The spiritual strength to
do the Lord’s work often comes no other way.
About halfway through my mission in
Southern California in the 60, I was transferred into an area where
the missionaries had not been diligent and had lost the trust of
the members. With all the potential of a populous area in L.A. County,
there had been no convert baptisms for some time. The previous missionaries
left no investigators and no referrals from members.
I felt a huge responsibility to turn
things around, and knew it was possible only with the Lord’s
help. For the first time in my life, I fasted and fervently prayed
for 48 hours, pleading for that help. Only in retrospect, and in
context of the above definition, do I understand what happened.
In the six months following, the windows
of heaven seemed to truly open and pour out blessings — including
about forty baptisms. At the time, I truly believed that my sincere
fasting and prayer had motivated the Lord to bless me and those
other people. Now I believe that the refining power of the Spirit,
greatly increased by fasting and prayer, strengthened me to be sensitive
to the guidance necessary to find those who were prepared and to
testify with power so that the Spirit could touch their hearts.
My fasting and prayer changed me and my receptivity to the Spirit;
it didn’t change the Lord’s mind about anything.
Spiritual Principles Are Consistent
The same principle applies with fasting
as it does with the spiritual exercise of prayer:
Prayer is the act by which the will
of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence
with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will
of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that
God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional
on our asking for them (Bible Dictionary, 752-753).
On my mission, the Lord was already
willing to grant an outpouring of His Spirit; I had but to ask and
get my spirit in tune to receive.
What If We Fast for Something
the Lord Is Not Willing to Grant?
I’ve been profoundly impressed
with an experience recorded many years ago by Catherine Marshall,
a prominent Christian writer. She wrote of losing a grandchild to
a rare genetic disease, and the distress of learning that a second
grandchild was dying of the same disease. She determined that this
family had suffered enough, and that surely God would spare this
child if enough people exerted sufficient faith through fasting
and prayer.
She petitioned a large number of the
most faithful, most spiritual people she knew to fast and pray with
her for this child’s life repeatedly over a period of weeks.
She had total faith that the Lord could and would heal him, yet
the child steadily weakened, and finally died.
This heart-wrenching experience became
a pivotal point in Catherine’s spiritual life. After sinking
into depression and withdrawing from life for a time, she finally
opened her heart to the great lesson the Lord was trying to teach
her: that our faith in fasting and prayer must not be focused on
certain outcomes, but on the supreme mercy and all-knowing wisdom
of the Lord Jesus Christ. She learned that true faith must always
say “Thy will be done.” I have heard this same principle
taught in general conference more than once over the years.
Both fasting and prayer are not to
change God’s mind, but to change our hearts. They are not
to change God's will, but to put our will in harmony with it.
Combining Our Faith in Fasting
and Prayer
I experienced this principle in our
ward a few years ago when a dearly loved Relief Society president,
mother of seven young children, had cancer. The doctors had given
her no hope, but we were all having a hard time accepting the prognosis.
The whole ward fasted, praying for
a miracle. We met for a special prayer meeting before we ended our
fast. It was a soul-stretching spiritual mountaintop experience.
The husband expressed his faith, saying he knew without a doubt
the Lord could and would heal his wife if it was His will, but that
he would accept whatever came. We all knelt together in prayer and
felt the Spirit as strongly as I had ever felt it. I believe our
fasting was necessary and important to increase our receptivity
to that spiritual feasting.
This special mother died five days
later. However, those I know personally had been spiritually strengthened
by the fasting and the prayer meeting. We felt comforted, somehow
reconciled to reality and lifted by the faith of the family and
the sweetness of the Spirit we had felt that night.
We all know many other stories where
a combined fast resulted in miraculous healing and sparing of lives.
Only the Lord knows the reasons that some live and some die. Fasting
helps us not to judge, but to trust that there is purpose in all
things.
The Connection between Fasting
and Personal Revelation
Speaking of the sons of Mosiah, Alma
17:3 says, “They had given themselves to much prayer, and
fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit
of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and
authority of God.” In Alma 5:46, Alma tells his own experience
with this principle:
Behold, I have fasted and prayed
many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I
do know of myself that they are true; the Lord God hath made them
manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of
revelation which is in me.
Down through the ages, there seems
to have been a frequent connection between fasting and revelation.
The veil seems thinner, the voice of the Lord easier to hear when
our systems are less loaded with the work of processing food. As
we clean and purge our bodies, it seems we find a greater mental
and spiritual clarity. As we halt our physical intake,
we can be more receptive to spiritual intake. Fasting often
brings about spiritual feasting.
In chapter 26 of the Bridell diet book,
Dr Bridell says, “Both physical and mental fasting (meditation)
produce an ironic slowing of the mind and spirit that is conducive
to inspiration. During a fast one feels less nervous energy, less
tendency to rush or to worry about detail. It somehow becomes easier
to have perspective, to see the big picture, to focus in on what
really matters. And as this happens, time seems to slow down.”
The Joyful Side of Fasting
In the Book of Mormon we read of people
fasting both in times of sorrow (Alma 28:6, 30:2, Helaman 9:10))
and in joy (Alma 45:1), Remarkably, "fasting" is a synonym
for "joy." D&C 59:13-14 counsels: “And of this
day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared
with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in
other words, that thy joy may be full. Verily, this is fasting and
prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer.”
Fasting, in this context, implies appreciation,
gratitude, and spiritual awareness. It also implies that there is
more to the word “fasting” than completely abstaining
from food. Perhaps the “singleness of heart” is the
key. I suspect that refers to a heart single to the glory of God
— a mind focused on Him, not on food. A spirit reaching out
to Him, praising Him, not distracted by the things of this world.
We can accomplish this kind of fasting
even when simple wisdom dictates that a complete fast is not the
best idea. I have often gone on a “liquid fast” —
sipping juice or a protein drink at intervals to keep my blood sugar
level and maintain a modicum of strength. When my body is not weighed
down by heavy food and I’m not distracted by food preparation,
eating, or cleanup, I find it easier to focus on spiritual things.
Because of my health problems and empty nest circumstances, this
works for me. I rejoice better and even pray better when I can think
straight and remain upright!
I remember well my years with a houseful
of children when the “distraction” of meals was a necessity
no matter what. We all have to adapt according to our circumstances
and stage of life and do the best we can. There is always a solution,
and every person needs to determine what works best in his own situation.
More Rewards for Fasting
Another reason a partial fast works
best for me sometimes is that I can more easily keep it a secret
(because I am still able to function! At this stage of life, I can’t
keep going with a total fast.) The Lord said,
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as
the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their
faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Very I say unto
you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint
thine head, and wash thy face: That thou appear not unto men to
fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father,
which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6: 16-18)
The self-mastery that comes with fasting
is another great benefit. There is nothing quite like the feeling
of having the spirit being in control of the flesh. It cheers and
gladdens the heart. The Lord has promised great blessings when we
fast and pray with this happy attitude. In D&C 59:15 we read,
“And inasmuch as ye do these things [fasting and prayer] with
thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances ... the fullness
of the earth is yours.” What a promise!
Helaman 3:35 gives a good summary of
the great spiritual blessings of fasting combined with prayer:
They did fast and pray oft, and did
wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer
in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy
and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification
of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their
yielding their hearts unto God.
No wonder the Lord said, “I give
unto you a commandment that ye shall continue in prayer and fasting
from this time forth” (D&C 88:77).
At this time of thanksgiving, may we
remember that the best thanksgiving comes with feasts of the Spirit,
with the kind of fasting that strengthens, cleanses, enlivens, and
brings joy, personal revelation and a greater sense of God’s
watchful care.
© 2007
Meridian Magazine.
All Rights Reserved
|
