I’m on a journey at discovering what exactly Lent is…feel free to add your opinions and comments. I notice i’ve gone all over so many topics just discovering Lent. Maybe instead of fasting, i’ll devote the time of Lent to discovering what it is, why we should do it, and how should we do it (all this in light of God’s plan for Lent). Yep, i think that’s a good idea.
…the Christian practice of fasting and/or abstaining from certain foods in the approximately seven weeks preceding Easter, called Lent and Holy Week - a way to commemorate, prepare for and remember the event.. The word "Lent" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "lengten" which means spring. Both Lent and Holy Week do not appear in the bible.
Lent has been called the “springtime of the Church.” Christians were called upon to examine their lives and repent of their sins. They were to recall the vows they made at their baptism and recommit themselves to living in a way that was consistent with those vows.
The methods of preparation : through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial.
In God’s Word, it is clear that fasting is expected. This discipline is to be a part of every Christian’s life. For example, Jesus instructs those listening to His Sermon on the Mount with the words: “When you fast….” (Matt. 6:16-17). He did not say, “If you fast.” Jesus assumes that we will fast. To do anything Jesus calls us to do—in this case, fasting—is to find true satisfaction and delight. As the prophet Jeremiah discovered: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart” (Jer. 15:16).
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My question is, is it a must? Is it really necessary for us to practice this? Because it’s not a biblical tradition.
Out of my own observation, it seems like Lent is a period of time where people fast from food and other physical pleasures, basically making a sacrifice of something they’re dependent on or dear to their hearts, supposedly to imitate Jesus’ 40 day fast in the wilderness (Matt 4:1-2). But is it just something we observe during this period of time, this short 40 days? To give up some physical pleasure during Lent, what happens after? Do you pick it up again? (Obviously i’m not referring to food here)
About fasting, i notice in Scripture fasting and prayer is a two in one thing, one must come with the other and the other must come with the one. (Fasting and prayer = shampoo and conditioner *haha sorry, just a light moment in midst of serious stuff).
I quote Girltalk;
Without a purpose, fasting can be a miserable experience. Therefore, whenever we fast, we should do so for a spiritual purpose. Now there are many reasons for fasting given in Scripture. In chapter nine of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
, Donald Whitney actually comes up with no fewer than ten benefits of fasting! One reason is found in Ezra 8:21—"Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods."
Fasting is humbling oneself before God to earnestly seek something from God. Or as Donald Whitney puts it, “Fasting strengthens our prayer life.” It causes us to realize afresh our need for God; it increases our desperation for God’s grace and intervention; it helps us to remember the true source of our help and sustenance; it seasons our requests with earnestness.
Now, as Dr. Whitney qualifies, “The Bible does not teach that fasting is a kind of spiritual hunger strike that compels God to do our bidding. If we ask for something outside of God’s will, fasting does not cause him to reconsider. Fasting does not change God’s hearing so much as it changes our praying.”
How does it change our praying? “Fasting is calculated to bring a note of urgency and importunity into our praying…The man who prays with fasting is giving heaven notice that he is truly in earnest” (Arthur Wallis in Whitney).
What family member or friend’s spiritual condition is of the greatest concern to you today? When you fast and pray for them you bring an appropriate “note of urgency” to your prayers. While we are only qualified to come before the throne of grace because of the death of Jesus Christ for our sins, fasting is a God-appointed means of expressing our desperate need for God’s help.
And consider what happened when the Israelites humbled themselves, and earnestly sought the Lord: “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer” (Ezra 8:23, NIV).
Scripture does indeed spread out a feast of grace for “fasters”! Through fasting He brings us to the end of ourselves and to the banquet table of His boundless grace and help in time of need. When we fast and petition our Savior, He hears and He answers our prayers.
About food, apparently you abstain from food to declare your dependence on God, the provider of your everything. In this article, comparing physical hunger and spiritual hunger show us parallels we can draw.
On a side topic, i believe unless people know a very valid reason to fast and abstain from things and stick to that very meaning, there is a danger of it becoming ascetism (meaning spiritual disciplines to show repentance of sin, somewhat believing that the believer’s salvation depends on self-denial, denying your sinful self, so to speak).
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A starving (okay!) not-so-starving artist, a fashion student, a crafty cat, a FunkyMonkey
I do not presume to know about a lot of things. I merely wish to promote good discussion about some topics that tickle my curiosity. I may be right or i may be wrong, but then, that's my prerogative, isn't it? *grin*
