I wanna fast but i cant!!!

Deiesous said:

The only problem is that im not sure how to do it without clueing my parents in (they dont like when i fast ). SO, how can you make yourself not look like you are fasting, but not lie either...

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To fast is to give up something out of love for God, it is not an abstinance of all food which might be what your parents object to. You can always fast in other ways (which your parents approve of) and give up something else which they approve of. Perhaps abstaining from television, music, caffiene or anything you realy enjoy for that matter could be your fast.

Hymn of First Monday of Lent By St. Basil the Great said:

True fast is the estrangement from evil, temperance of tongue, abstinence from anger, separation from desires, slander, falsehood perjury. Privation of these is true fasting."

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I fast rather strictly and I abstain from meat, fish, olive oil, dairy and alcohol even on light fast days, unless I am at a friends' home at which time I follow the minimum fast for the day. However, this was very easy for me to do since I take medication that keeps me from being interested in food anyhow, and I live alone so there is no one I need to cook for. So I added to my fast to include cigarrettes (which I shouldn't smoke anyhow) and limited the time I spend on the computer on fast days. Now I feel like I am truely fasting and I reflect more on the importance of those days, something a simple food fast didn't do for me because those foods simply aren't that important to me (due to my medications).

Another idea would be to ask them if they would permit you to simply not eat one fast food (ie meat or dairy) on those days. Whatever you do though, don't lie to your parents, even "hiding" fasting from them is dishonest and defeats it's purpose.

Just a few thoughts.

well actually your age is your biggest asset here. i'll assume that you are going to school. if that is the case then simply fast lunches during the week and eat sparingly while at home.

Fasting is putting the flesh down .NOT FEEDING IT.Our motives are very important.We fast to get closer to the LORD.fasting is water only ,reading the bible and praying.asking for HOIS help while fasting.It takes about 3 full days .to start to walk in our inner being.You could start friday and end sunday night! no food friday ,just water.and pray in your mind .asking the LORD to give you stenght and take wawy the desire for food!.
FASTING is not easy!But will bless you more than any time in your life.I believe!

spirit1st said:

fasting is water only ,reading the bible and praying.asking for HOIS help while fasting.It takes about 3 full days .to start to walk in our inner being.You could start friday and end sunday night! no food friday ,just water.and pray in your mind .asking the LORD to give you stenght and take wawy the desire for food!.

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Spirit1st, I am curious as to where you find this strict fast prescribed in the Bible? and also why you feel it is more important to follow this fast than to follow the Comandments, namely "honor thy mother and thy father"? I am also curious as to why you would advise a 15 year old to participate in a three day water only fast when this is a time of development when such a fast could have severe medical and developmental repercussions for him.

The Bible prescribes no foods nor length of duration for fasting. The literal meaning of fasting is to abstain from food, drink and worldly pleasures, however it has never been practiced as such in a Biblical sense. The Lord does not ever refer to specific days, foods or complete abstention from foods in regards to fasting. Christ also does not refer to fixed days of fasting, foods or complete abstention from food when He speaks of fasting. Christ DOES however condemn fasting when done in hypocrisy and without proper humility and reverence. Meaning that to fast without good works is worse than not fasting at all.

Also, the fast you describe above is not a literal fast anymore than what I described because you are drinking water. However, biologically your fast will give you a 'high' on the third day. The reason for this is that after our bodies use up the energy in our blood sugar (which takes roughly three days when you injest nothing but water) they switch to burning our stored fat reserves (as a starvation defense). This process is known as ketosis. After the switch to ketosis the fast becomes easier and you experience a sort of 'high' since the byproduct of ketosis is alcohol, this is the same high that runners experience known as the 'runner's high'.

The Biblical fast practiced by the early church (the one which originally incorporated fasting into Christianity) is not a literal fast, but as I mentioned before a denial of something which you enjoy out of love for God. Christian faiths created later changed the original meaning and rules of fasting, and I cannot advise you, Deiesous, on the meaning behind those changes as I do not belong to those denominations.

If I were you I would pray to God for the answers you seek, keep Jesus in my heart, and refrain from doing anything which would cause me to lie to or decieve anyone, let alone my own parents.

WE see in the old testament.The boys were blessed by GOD,They did not eat the kings meat.But grew stonger and wiser.Your looking at the out ward form.Living by sight.Not faith!.Mar 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
Mat 10:36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Mat 10:40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
Mat 10:41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
Mat 10:42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
Mat 9:15 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.
Mat 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. Luk 4:2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
You have judged me wrong.Not understanding the things of GOD!.WE do not live after the flesh ,but after our spirits.
Yes we should honor our moms and dads.But greater is the law to follow our LORd.But I will say?We should be led by the holy ghost.He should lead us!
Fasting is the fastest way to start to walk in ourv spirits.It will not hurt us!.
Living as the world will!
3 days is enough as I have found .We will be walking in our spirit!.Many wonderful things can and will take place!This young person has a stong desire to walk a closer walk with GOD.HE will not fail them.FAITH moves the mountain and satan is the great deciever.If we live after the flesh?We die.if we live after the spirit?We live.At what age should we start to follow the LORD???2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

spirit1st said:

Your looking at the out ward form.Living by sight.Not faith!

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Here you judge me for what I may or may not do, and what faith I may or may not have or live by. You don't know me to judge me, you do not know what is in my heart, or what path I walk.

You have judged me wrong. Not understanding the things of GOD!

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If you re-read my post, I have not judged you at all. I simply asked you questions. My faith tells us we are never to judge anyone else as there is only one judge. So if you feel judged by me I humbly appologize, it certainly is not my place nor is it advocated by my faith.

As for my not understanding God, I don't believe that anyone can ever fully understand God, and I would never be so arrogant or pretentious to say that I, a mere human, could. So you are definitely right by this statement, I admit that I don't fully understand God although I do understand what my religion and faith teach me.


And back to fasting...

Once again I reiterate that nowhere in the Bible is a 3 day water only fast prescribed for the followers of God. Also, that nowhere in the Bible does it say that such a fast will draw you closer to God faster than any other method, and no where in the Bible does it say how long we are to fast or what foods we are to restrict.

I am glad the three day water fast works for you, I have done them myself and do not deny that when done for the right reasons they can be beneficial. However, this is what YOU choose to do, not something God asks, and by no means is it the only method for fasting!

The passages from Matthew you quote have nothing to do with fasting, they are about loving God more than other humans. That if your family does not believe as you do you should not forsake God to make them happy. As God does not require us to fast, we are not forsaking God if we do not fast. And as fasting has no set rules, there is absolultely no need for the original poster to lie, decieve, and antagonize his parents in the name of God...to do so would be hipocrisy.

Fasting is also about modesty, we are not to say what we fasted from nor how long we fasted. Nor are we to compare our fasts with those of others for the purpose of saying that we are somehow holier than someone else. We are supposed to be humble when we give up whatever it is that we do, and we definitely aren't supposed to act as martyrs for our fasts! The Bible is VERY clear on this point.

The original poster can fast in many different ways and as long as he keeps God in his heart, he will be fasting in accordance with the Bible AND with his parents wishes.

To the original poster I would like to say that I understand what you are speaking of about bathing in running water. I too enjoy bathing in running water. I also backpack, hike and camp alone in the mountains and desert. Sleeping outdoors with just a sleepingbag and a sweatshirt for a pillow...watching the stars and listening to the wind blow, the coyotes yipping, elk bugling...that is one place that I fully feel surrounded by God, pure of spirit and at peace with all of His creations

Deiesous- Is God telling you in your heart to fast or are you doing it because you feel you need to take an active step towards God? Is it out of obedience to God for the disciplines... prayer...worship...fasting...etc.?

I would suggest that you pray and ask God directly what He would have you do... and ask Him to intervene into the hearts of your parents on the subject and explain it to them.

I think, as a parent, even a Christian parent... it is scary to have a daughter or son giving up food, for fear that it might turn into anorexia or might be a sign of it.

How do you feel about your body? Are you healthy? Are you at-odds with your weight? Is there a possibility that they'd be worried of an eating disorder?

[bible]isaiah 58:1-14[/bible]

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Mar 8:1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them,
Mar 8:2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:
Mar 8:3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came
WE SEE HERE?FASTING IS NOT EATING!
4 DAYS HE FASTED,then recieved an answer!
Act 10:30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
Act 14:23 And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
Act 27:33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.
1Co 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
Mat 6:16 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.
Mat 6:18 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. Mat 9:14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
Mat 9:15 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.
Joe 1:14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,


WHAT DOES FASTING DO?
Isa 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of
wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free,
and that ye break every yoke?
Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Thank you for posting nb, that is a great passage! It perfectly sums up this discussion direct from the source.

How not to fast (not in strife or debate)

"Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high . . ."

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The fast God approves of (the one chosen of your own freewill..no specific time length, no specific foods):

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

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How to fast (with pure heart and a spirit of generosity...)

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily;

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And it's rewards from God:

.... if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

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As Traci says, pray on it and I think you will find your answer. A fast does not have to be a certain time length or a certain food...or even a food at all. A fast is keeping your heart and mind pure and giving up something you value to 1) benefit others (ie. clothes to the needy) 2) free yourself by showing yourself and God that you are not dependent on the comforts to which you may be accustomed 3)remember God in your heart with pleasure while you go without 4) appreciate what you do have while reflecting on those who go without all the time...and there are many many other reasons.

Spirit1st,

No one has said that fasting is bad, and no one has said that fasting cannot be done by abstaining from food. However fasting is so much more than food, it's about our spirit, humbleness, actions, compassion, modesty.

It does not matter how many fasting quotes you take from the Bible, or how various individuals fasted. You say a three day water fast is what is required, and this is mentioned no where in the Bible.

However Jesus fasted for 40 days without food or water in the desert, and yet you do not recommend fasting like He did.

What we fast from and for how long is and always has been a personal decision...

Yeah, you know... it is good to have discussion about this because it gives young Christians many varied view points and Scriptures to meditate with God on. God imparts different levels of understanding to us at different stages of our learning. This could all be right information, but we have to have a sense of humility that none of our information could be completely "right" in another's life, at least at the stage they are in.
The point we agree on is that fasting is a discipline that we should consider at each level of our spiritual walk and that the purpose should be pure- the purpose leading you to fast is what is most important. God lead me to fast, but I can't tell another Christian, "God will lead you like He did me... don't worry about it." And, I can't say that God expects you to fast for three days or from just the necessities (TV, etc) because I didn't feel God lead me to either. The best advice I believe, and what we should be telling other, young Christians is to seek God on the subject and that we might all have applicable things to consider.
Can't we agree that there's a chance we are all right (as it applies to our own walk) and that pressing another with our own personal beliefs (what God has imparted to us) could be damaging, if it is not what God would tell them on their own?

This thread has helped me consider this:
this level of my walk could be a season-... God may ask me later to fast for three days with water only or to give up a personal necessity for a while... and I should also have a teachable heart on this matter... that I don't know exactly what is right or wrong, but that I can consider it to be a personal matter that only God can confirm.

Fasting can't be for superficial reasons, which I believe can be interpreted by the Scriptures you all have put up here... I think the only pretense that we can have when fasting is that God does expect it from each of us, but maybe in different ways and for different reasons and at different times. Be open to consider it to change along your path of growth and to be varried among believers.

Good points Nektaria~!


By the way, Happy Birthday, Spirit1st!

What you say with your mouth ,is what you believe!
This has nothing to do with salvation.but understanding scripture.
2Co 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS!

Read Matthew 6:16-24

When you fast you don't necessarily have to give everything up. You can do a denial of foods/ETC that you enjoy very much. In fasting it should be kept only between the Lord and you, because His word says that whatever you do in secret (Godly Things) will you be rewarded for. God Bless

FASTING IS ABOUT?Putting the flesh down.
So that the real us?The inner man ,can gain control.Because the spirit is what it is all about!
This is the being the LORD JESUS CHRIST died for.Not the weak evil flesh .
The flesh controls most people on earth .They DO NOT walk in there spirit or even know they have a spirit.
Once this dead spirit in man is REBORN OF GOD!It takes on the nature of GOD.With all the fruits of the spirit.
But few have this new creature experiance or even seek it.But will listen to pastors or teachers who have had no miracles ,signs and wonders or even gifts of the spirit.
These things the LORD said if we follow HIM?We will have,it is automatic.
HERE IS WHY WE FAST!
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
THIS means,we allow the inner man to rule and we will NOT SIN.BECAUSE the NEW CREATURE ,BORN OF GOD.Is NOT OF THIS WORLD.BUT OF GOD!
HE IS A BABY IN THE SPIRIT ,But given to GOD IN EVERY WAY!
That is WHY?We live by FAITH.Believing these scriptures in faith,Because we can not in the natural see a spirit,not even ours.
Feeding the flesh juice or food of any kind,Will not allow the inner man to GAIN CONTROL.Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
THESE ARE THE WOKS OF OUR FLESH!Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

THESE ARE THE WORKS OF THE CREATURE CREATED OF GOD ,WITH IN US!
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Gal 5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight
1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
1Pe 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
MAY THE HOLY GHOST ,REVEAL THE TRUTH OF THESE SCRIPTURES TO ALL,WILLING TO FOLLOW THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!