For Christians who fast, how do you fast in a manner that is spiritually productive?
I have tried to fast before, and I have kept the "external" components to it - not eating for 24 hours, not playing games for X amount of weeks, not doing Facebook for X amount of weeks, etc. But I have not experienced any kind of spiritual benefit from doing so. I went into it intentionally, to see what God had for me, but there really wasn't anything that the fasting enhanced as far as I could tell. For the not eating, I was hungrier, but not more spiritual. If I was giving up games, there was always CF and Youtube to fill the time. If I was giving up Facebook, there was always games, and CF and Youtube to fill the time. If I were to give up computer time, I remember back when I was living in a house that had no computer and how I would sit around and my mind would go to ungodly places (plus, it's totally impractical now since my work is still remote and I also have my smartphone which I also need for work). If it's fasting from a sin, well, that's not special since I'm not supposed to sin anyway.
Basically, I can hold off from an activity for a few days or even weeks, but there's always another distraction and I don't focus any more or less spiritually than when I'm not fasting. So I don't really see the point in fasting, though I do want to become closer to God and I would fast if I knew it would be spiritually good for me.
So, for those of you who fast, how do you make it spiritually good for you? Whether in the context of Lent, or otherwise? If you used to be where I am at and transitioned into a spiritual faster, how did that happen in your life?
If you come from a non-fasting background and you want to post about why that is better, I do not want your opinion, and I do not want you to debate in here. Seriously, I came from a non-fasting background myself and I know the position. There is no nuance of that position that is relevant to what I am asking, and there is no need to "save" me or anyone from trying to practice Lent in a God-honoring, non-hypocritical way. If you feel the need to post an anti-fasting position, start another thread for that, or post in another thread for that. Leave the challenging questions for the OP (me) who is seeking to learn.
I have tried to fast before, and I have kept the "external" components to it - not eating for 24 hours, not playing games for X amount of weeks, not doing Facebook for X amount of weeks, etc. But I have not experienced any kind of spiritual benefit from doing so. I went into it intentionally, to see what God had for me, but there really wasn't anything that the fasting enhanced as far as I could tell. For the not eating, I was hungrier, but not more spiritual. If I was giving up games, there was always CF and Youtube to fill the time. If I was giving up Facebook, there was always games, and CF and Youtube to fill the time. If I were to give up computer time, I remember back when I was living in a house that had no computer and how I would sit around and my mind would go to ungodly places (plus, it's totally impractical now since my work is still remote and I also have my smartphone which I also need for work). If it's fasting from a sin, well, that's not special since I'm not supposed to sin anyway.
Basically, I can hold off from an activity for a few days or even weeks, but there's always another distraction and I don't focus any more or less spiritually than when I'm not fasting. So I don't really see the point in fasting, though I do want to become closer to God and I would fast if I knew it would be spiritually good for me.
So, for those of you who fast, how do you make it spiritually good for you? Whether in the context of Lent, or otherwise? If you used to be where I am at and transitioned into a spiritual faster, how did that happen in your life?
If you come from a non-fasting background and you want to post about why that is better, I do not want your opinion, and I do not want you to debate in here. Seriously, I came from a non-fasting background myself and I know the position. There is no nuance of that position that is relevant to what I am asking, and there is no need to "save" me or anyone from trying to practice Lent in a God-honoring, non-hypocritical way. If you feel the need to post an anti-fasting position, start another thread for that, or post in another thread for that. Leave the challenging questions for the OP (me) who is seeking to learn.