Lord’s Library contributor Jared Helms offers an introduction to prayer during fasting and vigils through spiritual discipline.
Check out Jared’s YouTube channel and two blogs: A Light in the Darkness and Blind Faith Examples, or send him a reader response email. Lord’s Library’s Ministry Leaders Series is a collection of contributed articles written by ministry leaders on key Christian topics.
Matthew 6:16-18: “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. Verily 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.”
Making time to seek prayer can be challenging, but let us not forget that God is sovereign over our schedule as well. There are times provided; we just need to prioritize prayer in those times. We can also free up more time by prioritizing prayer over other activities like eating and sleeping.
Now forgoing food and sleep is no small thing. We need food and physical rest, but we need God more. Fasting and vigils express this truth of forgoing physical needs to satisfy spiritual ones.
Prayer During Fasting and Vigils
The point of going without food or without sleep is not to punish ourselves. There is a line in one of my favorite films where an older monk advises a younger monk this way: “Brother Martin, you cannot save your soul by punishing your body.” This is true, for nothing could or should be added to the Finished work of Jesus Christ; just see Galatians and Romans. Penance has no place in the Christian Walk, only confession and repentance. Receive God’s forgiveness and turn away, do not seek to pay for what has already been paid for.
The point of fasting is not to appear spiritual. Jesus hit on this exact point in the Sermon on the Mount. Fasting is between you and God. There is nothing to see here, no show, no fuss, and no one else needs to know. There are times when we might need to explain why we are not eating, but let that explanation be simple and strictly informative.
When we see confession and repentance accompanied by fasting, the objective is returning to God, not satisfying justice. There are times when a broken spirit is best expressed by physical depreciations. When we see fasting in company the point is not to show off to each other but in unity to seek the Lord’s favor.
The point of fasting is to get closer to God. Jesus clearly expects that fasting will be a part of our faith. The Biblical examples show fasting as a preparation, or as a response to difficulty. In both cases, the need for God’s help was pressing, and through fasting souls pressed in towards God.
Moses fasts before receiving the Law in Exodus 34:28, David fasted on behalf of his child life in 2 Samuel 12:16 (the child died, at which point David broke his fast), Daniel fasted in response to great sorrow in Daniel 10:2-3, Jesus fasted at the outset of His earthly ministry Matthew in 4:1-11, and these are just a few examples. See verses:
- Exodus 34:28: “And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.”
- 2 Samuel 12:16: “David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.”
- Daniel 10:2-3: “In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.”
- Matthew in 4:1-11: “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hundred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”
This is in keeping with the Lord’s teaching in Matthew 9:14-15: “Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.”
That being said, the time to start fasting is not when we are in crisis. Fasting is a discipline, and disciplines require, well, discipline. Taking something away from your body puts strain on the body just like asking it to do something it has not done before. In college, I took a weightlifting class, and on the first day, the coach taught us to do squats.
I had never done a squat before, but somehow, I ended up with three hundred and fifty pounds on a barbell for two sets of ten repetitions (reps). I felt great! I walked back to my dorm and showered feeling strong. Then I sat down for forty-five minutes before I had to go to my next class. I got out of my chair and immediately face-planted into the floor.
My legs would not support my weight, the muscles of my thighs were locked up, and I could barely hobble ten feet without collapsing. It took a week before I could walk steadily again, and my quads were weak for months. What happened? I tried to do too much too soon and hurt myself. The same thing can happen in fasting or vigils.
You have to build up your body’s capacity to go without food or sleep. For your first fast, skip a single meal, for your first vigil stay up one extra hour. I recommend attempting both on a day off when you will have ample time to recover. Everyone reacts a little differently to deprivation, even minor deprivation, so be aware and take note of how you are responding physically, mentally, and spiritually. Do not attempt fasting if you have any sort of medical issues such as low blood pressure or diabetes without consulting a medical professional as missing even a single meal could cause serious harm in these circumstances.
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