WEBVTT 00:00:03.629 --> 00:00:06.450 We are all here to continue talking about some 00:00:06.450 --> 00:00:09.429 spiritual practices, some of those habits, those 00:00:09.429 --> 00:00:11.490 things that we can do as we continue to follow 00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:16.230 in the way of Jesus. And today we're talking 00:00:16.230 --> 00:00:20.030 about the spiritual practice of fasting. And 00:00:20.030 --> 00:00:22.649 fasting is, I think, a particularly interesting 00:00:22.649 --> 00:00:27.890 practice because it's hard. It's something that's 00:00:27.890 --> 00:00:29.589 really challenging that people don't really like 00:00:29.589 --> 00:00:32.119 to do. But it also... Like sometimes it's not 00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:34.820 super obvious, like why, why you would do it. 00:00:34.859 --> 00:00:36.899 Like what, what is the benefit of being hungry? 00:00:37.380 --> 00:00:39.439 Right. And how does that actually help us grow 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:42.100 in our spiritual life? So hopefully we can unpack 00:00:42.100 --> 00:00:44.539 that a little bit in our conversation today. 00:00:45.380 --> 00:00:49.780 But first, before we get into that, what is the 00:00:49.780 --> 00:00:52.600 spiritual practice of fasting? Like if you were 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:54.500 to give a sort of basic definition, what, what 00:00:54.500 --> 00:00:58.200 would you say that it is? Hugh? Well, I would 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:11.060 say that it's a temporary off -period abstaining 00:01:11.060 --> 00:01:17.000 from food and sometimes even water. But by temporary, 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:20.159 I mean it could be for a couple of hours, it 00:01:20.159 --> 00:01:23.989 could be a morning, it could be for a day. Some 00:01:23.989 --> 00:01:27.409 people have fasted for a week, whereas Jesus 00:01:27.409 --> 00:01:31.569 fasted for 40 days. So there are different kinds 00:01:31.569 --> 00:01:33.769 of fast, different kinds of periods of fast. 00:01:33.969 --> 00:01:36.469 Okay, yeah, but it's that temporary period going 00:01:36.469 --> 00:01:38.069 with the food. Temporary period, yes. Yeah, that's 00:01:38.069 --> 00:01:40.730 a really sort of basic, clear definition. What 00:01:40.730 --> 00:01:43.590 would you add to that, Elizabeth? To me, the 00:01:43.590 --> 00:01:46.870 spiritual practice of fasting is the willingness. 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:52.280 Temporary refraining from food or other necessities 00:01:52.280 --> 00:01:58.500 like social media or other technologies in order 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:03.599 to focus on God cultivates self -discipline and 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:07.599 deepening in prayer, meditation, and scripture 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:11.919 reading. Right. It acts as a physical expression 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:16.659 of spiritual hunger. promoting humility, repentance, 00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:23.340 depending or trusting in God. Okay. Yeah, so 00:02:23.340 --> 00:02:24.599 there's a couple of things that you've sort of 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:29.719 added in there. So one is that you're not just 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:31.879 going without food, that you're adding some sort 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:33.780 of a spiritual practice into that. So you're 00:02:33.780 --> 00:02:36.199 adding in prayer, you're adding in worship, a 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:38.759 focus on God, scripture reading, and that sort 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:42.400 of thing. And then the other piece is that fasting 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:45.340 like most specifically and technically is about 00:02:45.340 --> 00:02:47.580 food. Usually that's the sort of traditional 00:02:47.580 --> 00:02:50.500 understanding, but we can practice other kinds 00:02:50.500 --> 00:02:53.039 of like abstinence that, that sometimes people 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:55.939 would call fasting. Right. So, you know, saying, 00:02:56.120 --> 00:02:58.719 okay, I'm going to give up social media for a 00:02:58.719 --> 00:03:00.639 week or for a month or however long, I'm just 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:03.240 not going to do that today. Or I'm going to give 00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:07.150 up, you know, TV or give up. shopping or give 00:03:07.150 --> 00:03:09.590 up i don't know whatever whatever kind of habit 00:03:09.590 --> 00:03:11.990 the thing that fills your days that is maybe 00:03:11.990 --> 00:03:15.050 not necessarily productive yeah um yeah okay 00:03:15.050 --> 00:03:17.689 um yeah what about for you amav when you think 00:03:17.689 --> 00:03:20.430 about like what is fasting uh well when i think 00:03:20.430 --> 00:03:23.009 of fasting i think of it from the muslim perspective 00:03:23.009 --> 00:03:27.330 um again i was born and raised in to islam and 00:03:27.330 --> 00:03:31.289 muslim fasting is one of the five pillars of 00:03:31.289 --> 00:03:34.909 islam it's one of those things where Any able 00:03:34.909 --> 00:03:39.650 Muslim is supposed to fast. And there is a big 00:03:39.650 --> 00:03:42.550 component of it, which is on the lack of food 00:03:42.550 --> 00:03:46.870 and water. Basically, you have to finish eating 00:03:46.870 --> 00:03:50.550 and drinking an hour before sunrise, and then 00:03:50.550 --> 00:03:55.409 you can break your fast at sunset, at the sunset 00:03:55.409 --> 00:04:01.090 prayers. Okay. There probably is a spiritual 00:04:01.090 --> 00:04:05.909 component aside from... uh, empathy with those 00:04:05.909 --> 00:04:11.629 who don't have food and, and like, and like being 00:04:11.629 --> 00:04:14.389 humble and all that. I'm sure there's other sort 00:04:14.389 --> 00:04:17.649 of like spiritual things, but I mean, I don't 00:04:17.649 --> 00:04:20.069 even remember if I was ever told that I didn't 00:04:20.069 --> 00:04:21.949 have an interest in that. I don't have any, any 00:04:21.949 --> 00:04:25.069 more not being Muslim, but, uh, you know, it's 00:04:25.069 --> 00:04:28.220 sort of, uh, You know, a lot of the things, it 00:04:28.220 --> 00:04:30.300 sort of ended up being, well, you know, this 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:32.500 is what the Prophet Muhammad did, this is what 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:35.399 we have to do. Right, so it was like an instruction, 00:04:35.660 --> 00:04:37.180 a thing that you were supposed to do as sort 00:04:37.180 --> 00:04:39.199 of part of the faith and part of like emulating 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:41.079 your spiritual leaders and that sort of a thing. 00:04:41.220 --> 00:04:44.139 Yes, and from what I'm understanding is that 00:04:44.139 --> 00:04:48.629 Christian fasting is... is optional it's not 00:04:48.629 --> 00:04:50.850 something you have to do right and it can be 00:04:50.850 --> 00:04:54.149 done at any time sure this with muslim fasting 00:04:54.149 --> 00:04:56.730 it's always the month in the month of ramadan 00:04:56.730 --> 00:04:59.990 which uh which uh has already ended a couple 00:04:59.990 --> 00:05:04.529 days ago right uh and you know and that's again, 00:05:04.649 --> 00:05:06.930 whenever you list the month of Ramadan, that's 00:05:06.930 --> 00:05:09.129 when all Muslims are supposed to be fasting. 00:05:09.589 --> 00:05:12.009 Right. Yeah. So I think that there, there are 00:05:12.009 --> 00:05:14.470 some similarities. So you talked about like empathy. 00:05:14.509 --> 00:05:16.189 You talked about, you know, maybe there's a spiritual 00:05:16.189 --> 00:05:18.329 focus on humility. Like, like Elizabeth talked 00:05:18.329 --> 00:05:20.610 about, there is a sense of emulating like Jesus 00:05:20.610 --> 00:05:22.490 fasted. And so maybe that's one of the reasons 00:05:22.490 --> 00:05:24.970 that Christians fast as well as to emulate Christ. 00:05:25.209 --> 00:05:27.449 So there's some connection, but I think you also 00:05:27.449 --> 00:05:29.509 pointed out there are some intentional and important 00:05:29.509 --> 00:05:33.129 differences. Right. So as you said, sort of, 00:05:33.389 --> 00:05:36.069 Christian fasting is often viewed as optional 00:05:36.069 --> 00:05:39.209 and we can debate the extent to which it's optional 00:05:39.209 --> 00:05:42.350 or, you know, Jesus says when you fast. So is 00:05:42.350 --> 00:05:45.050 Jesus sort of expecting that of us? But regardless 00:05:45.050 --> 00:05:47.069 of all of the whether or not this is necessary, 00:05:47.350 --> 00:05:50.209 why would we do it? Why? What's the point of 00:05:50.209 --> 00:05:53.410 not eating and making yourself hungry? Yeah. 00:05:53.509 --> 00:05:57.459 What? Why? Why would we do that? Yeah. The reason 00:05:57.459 --> 00:06:02.279 why we do it, because Jesus fasted 40 days and 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:07.100 40 nights. And also, you know, we do, Christian 00:06:07.100 --> 00:06:13.480 does it in order to be humble, to focus more 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:17.980 on God, you know, to, like I said before, to 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:22.699 pray, meditate, and to read the word of God. 00:06:22.819 --> 00:06:26.800 Right. That word, we can't just read the word 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:30.899 of God alone. We have to read it and apply it 00:06:30.899 --> 00:06:34.980 into our daily life. Okay, so how do you think 00:06:34.980 --> 00:06:39.259 that fasting helps you to do that? Fasting helps 00:06:39.259 --> 00:06:44.480 me to stay humble and to be more focused. Okay, 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:47.220 because you're not distracted by preparing food. 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:51.819 Yeah. Okay. pleasure you know okay okay okay 00:06:51.819 --> 00:06:56.040 so it helped me to focus more on god sure to 00:06:56.040 --> 00:07:00.240 think of you know spiritual things yeah not of 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:04.220 the worldly things sure yeah yeah yeah because 00:07:04.220 --> 00:07:08.199 uh in the bible it says uh we are in this world 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:11.399 yeah but we are not of the world right so we 00:07:11.399 --> 00:07:17.120 have to separate ourselves you know from It's 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:20.040 kind of, you know, the way worldly people does 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:23.680 things, even the mode of dress, you know, all 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:27.319 those things. We have to dress modestly and all 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:33.220 that. Yeah. Okay. So it's partly a way of sort 00:07:33.220 --> 00:07:36.610 of recognizing that. Not everything that my body 00:07:36.610 --> 00:07:39.009 wants is actually good for me. Not everything 00:07:39.009 --> 00:07:43.110 that I feel drawn towards is good. And food is 00:07:43.110 --> 00:07:47.389 not bad, obviously. But yeah, it is that way 00:07:47.389 --> 00:07:52.269 of saying, I am more than my body. I am an embodied 00:07:52.269 --> 00:07:54.089 person, and that is super important. But I am 00:07:54.089 --> 00:07:57.430 more than my body, and I need to focus on the 00:07:57.430 --> 00:07:59.730 spiritual things. It's sort of a way of training 00:07:59.730 --> 00:08:02.910 yourself to do that. Yeah, okay. What would you 00:08:02.910 --> 00:08:06.850 say, Hugh? Why fast? Well, I think there are 00:08:06.850 --> 00:08:10.230 many reasons why we need to fast. But one is 00:08:10.230 --> 00:08:15.110 to create a space for God in our lives. And, 00:08:15.149 --> 00:08:18.910 you know, Jesus said, man does not live by bread 00:08:18.910 --> 00:08:21.949 alone. And so we need to create a space where 00:08:21.949 --> 00:08:28.060 we're hungry for God. And by leaving the food 00:08:28.060 --> 00:08:31.560 out of it, we leave out another distraction out 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:34.500 of our lives. And it's another way of focusing 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:39.120 on God. And so that's that's one reason to do 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:44.980 it. Other reasons would be when you have an important 00:08:44.980 --> 00:08:49.059 decision to make discernment. When you fast, 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:53.019 you really you really you're on your knees and 00:08:53.019 --> 00:08:56.309 you're saying, Jesus. I don't want any distractions. 00:08:56.529 --> 00:09:01.929 I want just to focus on you so that I can get 00:09:01.929 --> 00:09:06.470 your guidance and I can get your next steps on 00:09:06.470 --> 00:09:10.610 this decision. So that's another way that people 00:09:10.610 --> 00:09:16.629 fast. And it shows really a more total dependence 00:09:16.629 --> 00:09:19.529 on God when you fast because you've left everything 00:09:19.529 --> 00:09:22.370 of the world because food is so much a part of. 00:09:22.809 --> 00:09:25.750 what we consider the world sure so when food 00:09:25.750 --> 00:09:30.230 is gone then then we really um we're really saying 00:09:30.230 --> 00:09:34.250 god i'm really totally dependent on you and yeah 00:09:34.250 --> 00:09:37.409 what you know yeah yeah yeah for sure yeah i 00:09:37.409 --> 00:09:40.549 think it's interesting because when we think 00:09:40.549 --> 00:09:44.049 about we think about food as a distraction. I 00:09:44.049 --> 00:09:46.129 think the immediate like sort of counter argument 00:09:46.129 --> 00:09:47.950 that comes into my mind is like, well, then won't 00:09:47.950 --> 00:09:51.850 I just be distracted by being hungry? Right. 00:09:51.990 --> 00:09:55.110 And if I'm just focused on being hungry all of 00:09:55.110 --> 00:09:57.450 the time, like, is that actually less of a distraction? 00:09:59.009 --> 00:10:01.470 But yeah, I don't know. In your experience, like 00:10:01.470 --> 00:10:04.230 has hunger been a distraction in your practices 00:10:04.230 --> 00:10:08.070 of fasting or has it been something that. you 00:10:08.070 --> 00:10:10.789 sort of work through like i don't know it can 00:10:10.789 --> 00:10:14.970 be what yeah it can be it's uh i mean even like 00:10:14.970 --> 00:10:17.169 with muslim fasting you know you're dealing with 00:10:17.169 --> 00:10:20.610 you know hunger thirst headache tiredness weakness 00:10:20.610 --> 00:10:24.190 all that kind of stuff but i think what connects 00:10:24.190 --> 00:10:27.629 both islam and christianity in that fasting practice 00:10:27.629 --> 00:10:32.029 is it's mind over matter it's pushing through 00:10:33.310 --> 00:10:37.009 these bodily feelings and and things that are 00:10:37.009 --> 00:10:40.429 going on you know and i mean i think part of 00:10:40.429 --> 00:10:44.230 it is you know is also like that's where you 00:10:44.230 --> 00:10:47.549 really have to focus on god because i mean it 00:10:47.549 --> 00:10:50.970 was jesus was tempted during those 40 days by 00:10:50.970 --> 00:10:53.169 the devil it wasn't jesus didn't have a full 00:10:53.169 --> 00:10:56.470 belly of food and drink and he was all relaxed 00:10:56.470 --> 00:10:59.409 no he was he was fighting through all of his 00:10:59.409 --> 00:11:03.000 uh you know, the fasting and then, and it was 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:05.740 there that he was tempted. Sure. You know, in 00:11:05.740 --> 00:11:09.159 a week in probably in a physically weakened state. 00:11:09.159 --> 00:11:12.659 Sure. You know? So I think we have to sort of 00:11:12.659 --> 00:11:16.480 like, I think it's a way for, I guess in a Christian 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:20.179 perspective, it would be a way to really, you 00:11:20.179 --> 00:11:23.000 know, it's either going to strengthen us or we're 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:25.320 going to give in. Right. And we have to be strengthened, 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:30.840 not given. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's for me, 00:11:30.860 --> 00:11:34.080 it hasn't been a distraction. It's it really 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:36.919 helps with the distractions. It's it clears my 00:11:36.919 --> 00:11:41.480 mind. Sure. And but, you know, not as much of 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:43.960 a distraction as when I'm doing a quiet time, 00:11:44.019 --> 00:11:46.519 you know, and I'm trying to be quiet that way. 00:11:47.860 --> 00:11:54.379 the fasting really clears your mind. It prepares 00:11:54.379 --> 00:11:57.820 you for that really important meeting with God. 00:11:57.919 --> 00:12:05.570 And it brings you into... I think it's that clarity 00:12:05.570 --> 00:12:11.730 that also is an act of renewal. It's an act of 00:12:11.730 --> 00:12:17.950 renewal of your mind, your soul, your heart towards 00:12:17.950 --> 00:12:22.710 God. And that renewal is really important. It's 00:12:22.710 --> 00:12:24.549 interesting. Sometimes you have to give something 00:12:24.549 --> 00:12:28.590 up to get more. Sure. So to be renewed, you have 00:12:28.590 --> 00:12:31.519 to give up, to give something. Yeah. And it's 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:34.279 also an identification of solidarity, if you 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:38.230 want, with the poor. Although we're so rich in 00:12:38.230 --> 00:12:43.029 our culture, but it's a small, small experience 00:12:43.029 --> 00:12:46.610 of identifying with the poor or those that don't 00:12:46.610 --> 00:12:50.230 have three meals a day or that don't have the 00:12:50.230 --> 00:12:53.070 quality of food that we have. And I think there's 00:12:53.070 --> 00:12:56.230 many areas in Scripture where Jesus suggests 00:12:56.230 --> 00:13:01.730 that we identify with those that don't have as 00:13:01.730 --> 00:13:04.740 much as we do. And so fasting reminds us of that. 00:13:04.860 --> 00:13:07.559 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think about like in 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:11.960 some of my experiences of fasting, most recently 00:13:11.960 --> 00:13:15.419 I have sometimes, not regularly, but sometimes 00:13:15.419 --> 00:13:19.360 adopted this fasting where you don't eat breakfast 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:21.220 or lunch and then you break the fast sort of 00:13:21.220 --> 00:13:24.039 at dinner time. And this has been a pattern that 00:13:24.039 --> 00:13:27.720 I've done a few times. And I'll find, okay. skipping 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:29.919 breakfast is like not ideal but like it's fine 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:32.419 but then by lunchtime i'm like oh i am actually 00:13:32.419 --> 00:13:36.340 hungry um and there is that moment where that 00:13:36.340 --> 00:13:39.059 hunger feels like a bit of a distraction but 00:13:39.059 --> 00:13:43.100 it doesn't then continue to feel like a distraction 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:45.200 for the entire afternoon like it's kind of this 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:47.860 like intense period that then i can say okay 00:13:47.860 --> 00:13:52.580 no i'm gonna Use those hunger cues as a cue to 00:13:52.580 --> 00:13:55.980 prayer, as a cue to scripture reading. And then 00:13:55.980 --> 00:13:59.740 continue to just like move about my day. And 00:13:59.740 --> 00:14:02.519 it doesn't it doesn't seem to be, at least in 00:14:02.519 --> 00:14:05.720 my experience, an ongoing distraction. Oh, that's 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:10.320 good. So what has called each of you to fast? 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.039 Because it's not like because, again, in Islam, 00:14:13.179 --> 00:14:15.919 it's more of an obligation. This is a Christianity. 00:14:15.980 --> 00:14:19.600 It's a choice. So what? What leads you to say, 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:22.399 you know, I'm going to fast today? Sure. Yeah, 00:14:22.500 --> 00:14:25.720 that's totally. The problems of living. Okay. 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:28.639 Well, then I guess we'll always be hungry because 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:31.720 there's so many problems of living. We have so 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:34.960 many times in our lives where we hit the brick 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:37.720 wall, you know, and we need guidance and we need 00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:42.679 support. We need strength. And fasting is a really. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:47.419 a terrific i think very rich spiritual practice 00:14:47.419 --> 00:14:50.379 that gives us that guidance you know when we 00:14:50.379 --> 00:14:53.779 have an important decision to make um when you 00:14:53.779 --> 00:14:58.059 know we we're looking for uh for a partner we 00:14:58.059 --> 00:15:02.429 have uh i don't know critical job decision to 00:15:02.429 --> 00:15:06.509 make. We have an issue in relationships. You 00:15:06.509 --> 00:15:10.110 know, the problems of living. I think fasting 00:15:10.110 --> 00:15:12.789 really comes in there and really helps us. Right. 00:15:12.789 --> 00:15:14.909 So for you, fasting has been something that's 00:15:14.909 --> 00:15:16.990 really helped you in important decision making 00:15:16.990 --> 00:15:19.250 and discernment. For sure. Taking that time to 00:15:19.250 --> 00:15:21.809 listen to God. For sure. What about for you, 00:15:21.830 --> 00:15:26.490 Elizabeth? For me, you know, when I was growing 00:15:26.490 --> 00:15:30.980 up, our parents make it compost free. Okay. Okay. 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:33.039 So there was a little bit of, this is just what 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:37.139 you have to do. Yeah. So fast, you know, those 00:15:37.139 --> 00:15:40.000 years, you know, you thought maybe they are so 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:43.600 strict and all that. Yeah. Why, why, why do they 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:47.100 want us to go through hunger and all that? But, 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:52.539 um, it's a commandment, you know, because Jesus 00:15:52.539 --> 00:15:57.460 Christ fasted. Uh, so that is what they, put 00:15:57.460 --> 00:16:00.379 in now if that is what they embedded in our mind 00:16:00.379 --> 00:16:03.299 that time that you know okay you always say you 00:16:03.299 --> 00:16:06.480 are a follower of jesus christ jesus christ go 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:11.559 through this fasting so why can't you go through 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:17.440 it sure so that's number one and again weekly 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:25.110 my mom she used to fast wednesday and So, you 00:16:25.110 --> 00:16:31.149 know, she also encouraged us to do that. So I've 00:16:31.149 --> 00:16:36.210 been doing it all my life. And even on Sunday, 00:16:36.289 --> 00:16:41.509 you know, after I did the confirmation at our 00:16:41.509 --> 00:16:45.809 church back in Nigeria, I decided on Sundays, 00:16:46.129 --> 00:16:51.600 being the Sabbath day, that I, you know, I should 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:57.340 fast. It's just the prompting that I got. So 00:16:57.340 --> 00:17:01.700 I don't eat breakfast. If you notice me, everybody 00:17:01.700 --> 00:17:08.359 always drinking water. So I skip that. The first 00:17:08.359 --> 00:17:11.799 thing that I put in my mouth, apart from brushing 00:17:11.799 --> 00:17:17.240 my teeth, is Holy Communion on Sundays. So after 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:22.079 then, I can... Okay. So it's been part of my 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:28.660 life. Fasting has been what empowers me to do 00:17:28.660 --> 00:17:34.900 God's will. And when I need prayer, it helps 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:40.299 me to focus more on prayer. Because fasting is 00:17:40.299 --> 00:17:46.400 like a boost that takes your prayer to the throne 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:52.690 of grace. help prayer answered faster than, you 00:17:52.690 --> 00:17:56.589 know, normal prayer. So that's my belief. And 00:17:56.589 --> 00:18:01.230 that is what I've been, you know, I've been going 00:18:01.230 --> 00:18:03.789 through all my life. Yeah. So it's just sort 00:18:03.789 --> 00:18:06.089 of become part of your rhythm. Yeah. It's something 00:18:06.089 --> 00:18:08.390 that you feel like God has compelled you to do 00:18:08.390 --> 00:18:10.750 something that you feel able to do. Yeah. Yeah. 00:18:10.769 --> 00:18:14.890 Yeah. I think for me, the first time as an adult, 00:18:15.009 --> 00:18:18.519 I guess that I did, And actually, maybe really 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:21.259 the first time that I did fasting sort of intentionally 00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:24.259 as a spiritual practice, I was in Bible school. 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:26.460 And so, again, I was sort of instructed to do 00:18:26.460 --> 00:18:31.460 it. And but the purpose of this day. So it was 00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:33.440 like a sort of silent retreat day. So it's like, 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:36.240 OK, so you do fasting and, you know, you do some 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:37.980 prayer and scripture reading. But then another 00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:42.150 part of this day. was that we had this sort of 00:18:42.150 --> 00:18:45.950 24 -7 prayer room situation. And we were supposed 00:18:45.950 --> 00:18:49.009 to all sign up for an hour and go and pray with 00:18:49.009 --> 00:18:51.630 a focus on praying for the persecuted church. 00:18:51.829 --> 00:18:53.630 So praying for Christians around the world who 00:18:53.630 --> 00:18:55.970 are experiencing suffering because of their faith. 00:18:56.369 --> 00:18:59.589 And what I found in that moment was that there 00:18:59.589 --> 00:19:03.809 was something about coming to that space of prayer. 00:19:04.680 --> 00:19:07.319 in a physically vulnerable state, like being 00:19:07.319 --> 00:19:11.940 hungry, that somehow like deepened my ability 00:19:11.940 --> 00:19:15.640 to pray for people who were suffering. And I 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:18.220 can't explain it. I can't be like, oh, this is 00:19:18.220 --> 00:19:19.920 exactly how that worked. But it just like it 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:25.940 felt different to me. And it felt like a little 00:19:25.940 --> 00:19:28.019 bit like solidarity, a little bit like empathy. 00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:30.660 But it was just this space of being able to say, 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:36.450 OK, I am. suffering with the suffering church 00:19:36.450 --> 00:19:38.529 definitely not to the same level at all like 00:19:38.529 --> 00:19:40.730 i'm not saying that but like there was a sense 00:19:40.730 --> 00:19:43.569 of feeling connected it helps happen to that 00:19:43.569 --> 00:19:46.950 empathy yeah yeah i think so yeah and so that's 00:19:46.950 --> 00:19:48.869 been something that i'll sometimes come back 00:19:48.869 --> 00:19:51.269 to when i'm like yeah when i like want to be 00:19:51.269 --> 00:19:54.049 praying for a specific thing or yeah sometimes 00:19:54.049 --> 00:19:56.089 like you said when i'm like trying to really 00:19:56.089 --> 00:19:59.269 make a decision um or just feeling like okay 00:19:59.269 --> 00:20:03.430 i need I need some more clear space in my life. 00:20:03.470 --> 00:20:06.569 Yeah. That fasting is helpful then. I've been 00:20:06.569 --> 00:20:11.750 to a church in Canada here that every first Sunday 00:20:11.750 --> 00:20:15.930 of the month we have to fast. Okay. And then 00:20:15.930 --> 00:20:25.069 that equivalent to the breakfast dollar that's... 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:29.140 we are going to use for that breakfast, we always 00:20:29.140 --> 00:20:33.220 donate it to the less fortunate individuals. 00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:36.359 Right, so you look at your sort of budget and 00:20:36.359 --> 00:20:38.880 you say, okay, I would have spent $20 on food 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:41.460 today, for example, and so I'm going to donate 00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:45.539 that $20 to a charity of some sort that helps 00:20:45.539 --> 00:20:51.559 folks who are suffering. Yeah, so that's sort 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:54.359 of... the what and the why and the experience 00:20:54.359 --> 00:20:56.700 of it. This feels like an obvious question, but 00:20:56.700 --> 00:21:01.500 what is hard about Fasten? What makes it a challenging 00:21:01.500 --> 00:21:05.950 thing for us to sort of... Well, it's a discipline. 00:21:06.470 --> 00:21:11.309 It's a spiritual practice. And so you've got 00:21:11.309 --> 00:21:13.730 to be sort of intentional about it and say, you 00:21:13.730 --> 00:21:17.569 know, I'm going to fast. And not just for fasting, 00:21:17.769 --> 00:21:21.049 but for a reason. There's a reason for fasting. 00:21:21.190 --> 00:21:25.089 But it's a practice like any other spiritual 00:21:25.089 --> 00:21:30.009 practice that we've discussed so far. There's 00:21:30.009 --> 00:21:32.630 a discipline component to it. For sure. For sure. 00:21:33.019 --> 00:21:37.559 Yeah. Yeah. I think so last week when we were 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:39.839 talking about. Sabbath, one of the things that 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:41.299 I said was that it's important if you're going 00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:42.940 to practice Sabbath that you get your household 00:21:42.940 --> 00:21:44.859 on board with that. I would say the same thing 00:21:44.859 --> 00:21:49.619 about fasting. Now, I think you can decide that 00:21:49.619 --> 00:21:51.599 you are fasting and that doesn't mean that you 00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:53.140 need to force everybody in your household to 00:21:53.140 --> 00:21:55.279 fast with you. Sometimes that's actually super 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:58.039 helpful if you and your partner or whoever can 00:21:58.039 --> 00:22:01.420 fast together. That's great. But at least letting 00:22:01.420 --> 00:22:04.720 them know that that's what's happening. Especially 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:07.799 if you're not the cook. Yes, that's right. Your 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:09.779 wife cooks you this lovely dinner and then you 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:12.019 show up and you say, oh, actually, I'm fasting. 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.559 I'll enjoy the five hours and I can have my fast. 00:22:15.660 --> 00:22:19.460 Yeah. So, yes, I think that communication piece 00:22:19.460 --> 00:22:24.039 is important. Yeah. I don't know. Is there anything 00:22:24.039 --> 00:22:26.660 else that you feel like something that makes 00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:32.440 it particularly challenging to fast? I think 00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:36.920 it's just understanding. why you want to fast 00:22:36.920 --> 00:22:40.920 that day that's that because again i mean like 00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:47.119 especially i guess it's it can be tricky especially 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:49.799 when you're a younger person and you're told 00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:52.660 to fast you know you don't know why but this 00:22:52.660 --> 00:22:55.660 is just what we do or so yeah so i think it's 00:22:55.660 --> 00:22:58.599 important that it especially as an adult if you're 00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:01.660 gonna fast you gotta have to have in mind What 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:03.740 do you want out of it? What are you gaining out 00:23:03.740 --> 00:23:06.980 of it? And how long do you even want to fast 00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:10.539 for? Because it doesn't have to be an hour before 00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:14.700 sunrise until sunset, no food, no water, like 00:23:14.700 --> 00:23:19.339 with Islam. So I think that's important. And 00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:25.559 I think it can be a challenging thing if you 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:29.220 don't realize that as well. is part of your faith 00:23:29.220 --> 00:23:31.980 journey and you know like like elizabeth said 00:23:31.980 --> 00:23:33.819 you know if you're a follower of christ well 00:23:33.819 --> 00:23:37.940 christ fasted right so that is more of an incentive 00:23:37.940 --> 00:23:41.599 to fast because we all want to live like jesus 00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:45.509 and follow his teachings and his ways So you're 00:23:45.509 --> 00:23:49.630 more motivated, you know, versus if, well, mom 00:23:49.630 --> 00:23:51.710 and dad said, so we're all fasting. You know 00:23:51.710 --> 00:23:54.109 what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think your point 00:23:54.109 --> 00:23:56.650 is well taken. You have to have a why to fast. 00:23:56.950 --> 00:24:00.130 I grew up as Catholic, so we had to fast every 00:24:00.130 --> 00:24:03.619 Friday, but we only had fish. and i thought i 00:24:03.619 --> 00:24:05.980 could never understand that that the why wasn't 00:24:05.980 --> 00:24:10.680 there why can't i have fish and chips why can't 00:24:10.680 --> 00:24:13.059 i have black licorice too with that because i 00:24:13.059 --> 00:24:15.700 really love black licorice sure yeah yeah but 00:24:15.700 --> 00:24:18.819 so we but we could we fast but it's just fish 00:24:18.819 --> 00:24:22.259 but why why so there was no why so it was very 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:25.579 very difficult yeah yeah yeah for sure yeah i 00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:27.599 think that also makes me think about You know, 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:30.119 some of these practical questions are super important. 00:24:30.140 --> 00:24:32.960 The like when and the how and the what. Right. 00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:36.259 Because there is fasting that is abstaining from 00:24:36.259 --> 00:24:39.599 all food. There's fasting that includes abstaining 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:42.240 from water. There's some fasting that is, you 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:44.559 know, I will only eat a certain type of food. 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:47.279 So I only eat fish or only fruits and vegetables. 00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:50.339 And then, yeah, there's all of these practices 00:24:50.339 --> 00:24:52.980 of abstinence as well, of just getting rid of 00:24:52.980 --> 00:24:56.069 some habit or some. practice in your life that 00:24:56.069 --> 00:24:58.970 you want to sort of get rid of. Um, yeah. To, 00:24:59.069 --> 00:25:02.910 to help you focus on, on something else. Um, 00:25:03.029 --> 00:25:06.450 yeah. So just thinking through the practicalities 00:25:06.450 --> 00:25:08.910 of it sort of ahead of time. Yeah. And I think 00:25:08.910 --> 00:25:11.529 the bigger picture to Hugh's point is especially 00:25:11.529 --> 00:25:15.109 if you're a Christian, that's raising a family 00:25:15.109 --> 00:25:18.150 is when you're raising kids, they need to have 00:25:18.150 --> 00:25:20.549 a why they need to have an understanding because, 00:25:20.670 --> 00:25:23.799 you know, let's just face it. Fasting is not 00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:27.500 a fun practice. It's not. Nobody goes, oh, boy, 00:25:27.619 --> 00:25:30.420 I get to stay abstain from food and water. Yay. 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:33.819 You know, nobody does that. But it's like if 00:25:33.819 --> 00:25:37.700 you know why you're suffering, at least for temporarily. 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:40.859 Yeah. It makes a difference because, you know, 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:43.720 you want to think you think about because you 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:45.599 could think of fasting as a negative thing and 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:48.259 a thing to draw you away from Christ and away 00:25:48.259 --> 00:25:51.559 from Christianity. You know, so you need to be 00:25:51.559 --> 00:25:54.779 able to. Your kids have to know when they're 00:25:54.779 --> 00:25:57.640 old enough that this is why we fast and this 00:25:57.640 --> 00:26:00.480 is the purpose of it. And, you know, so that 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:03.400 they can continue on. And I think especially 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:06.480 it's important in a Christian household to let 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:08.859 them know that, you know, it doesn't have to 00:26:08.859 --> 00:26:11.400 be an every week thing. It doesn't have to be, 00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:15.440 you know, it can be when you need that discernment. 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:18.500 Sure. So, yeah. And don't drive them by a Swiss 00:26:18.500 --> 00:26:23.950 chalet. Temptation. Yes, yes, yes. That might 00:26:23.950 --> 00:26:26.609 be hard in the city where everything has a drive 00:26:26.609 --> 00:26:33.430 -thru. I know. Yeah. Okay, so it's really hard, 00:26:33.470 --> 00:26:36.730 and we've talked about some of the whys, but 00:26:36.730 --> 00:26:41.130 what makes it worthwhile? Have any of you ever 00:26:41.130 --> 00:26:43.589 had experiences where you fasted and you felt, 00:26:43.670 --> 00:26:45.930 okay, that was worth it, even though it was hard? 00:26:46.069 --> 00:26:51.029 And what made it feel worthwhile? I had a really 00:26:51.029 --> 00:26:53.589 important decision to make at one point in my 00:26:53.589 --> 00:26:56.289 life. I went back to school a couple of times, 00:26:56.369 --> 00:26:59.049 but the last time I went back, I was 38, and 00:26:59.049 --> 00:27:06.289 I had three children, 12, 11, and 9. And so we 00:27:06.289 --> 00:27:10.490 had to sell our house because I was doing a doctorate, 00:27:10.490 --> 00:27:13.509 and I had to be on campus in those days for two 00:27:13.509 --> 00:27:18.579 years. And so I had to go. if I was going to 00:27:18.579 --> 00:27:21.480 do that. Huge decision. For sure. You've got 00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:23.880 three kids, you sell your house, and you may 00:27:23.880 --> 00:27:26.259 or may not have enough money to last you two 00:27:26.259 --> 00:27:30.700 years. And is that really what God is calling 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:32.900 me? Sure. You're wrestling with that call. For 00:27:32.900 --> 00:27:34.599 sure. Because the world's saying, oh, you've 00:27:34.599 --> 00:27:36.740 got a good job, you've got a nice house, why 00:27:36.740 --> 00:27:39.960 are you doing this? And yet the call of God is 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:42.079 saying, because I'm calling you, I'm calling 00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:46.619 you to something else. So we spent, my wife and 00:27:46.619 --> 00:27:49.740 I spent probably most of the day on our knees 00:27:49.740 --> 00:27:55.240 fasting. And really asking for clarity and asking 00:27:55.240 --> 00:27:59.519 for a renewed vision, a renewed conviction that 00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:04.519 this was the call. And I think the result was 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:09.539 that we felt renewed. We felt the renewed call 00:28:09.539 --> 00:28:13.539 after spending that time in fasting. And that, 00:28:13.640 --> 00:28:16.319 you know, led us to follow up on the decision. 00:28:16.660 --> 00:28:19.759 But when you have those important decisions, 00:28:20.059 --> 00:28:22.680 even the healthy, decision sometimes. You know, 00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:24.779 if you're facing a really difficult health decision, 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:27.740 fasting will really, will really, will really 00:28:27.740 --> 00:28:31.440 help. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's like asking 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:35.799 Jesus. Even when you're going for some medical 00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:43.380 test, you know, they will ask you to fast, you 00:28:43.380 --> 00:28:48.000 know, in order to, to do the test then so that 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:53.029 you will get proper result for blood work usually. 00:28:53.829 --> 00:28:58.970 Yeah. So what about for you, Elizabeth? What 00:28:58.970 --> 00:29:01.589 do you find joyful or helpful about fasting? 00:29:02.890 --> 00:29:10.230 It renews my mind and strength. I remember when 00:29:10.230 --> 00:29:16.450 I was in Nigeria in 1987, I went to a retreat 00:29:16.450 --> 00:29:24.170 and there was a prophetic ministration going 00:29:24.170 --> 00:29:29.730 on and I was called and I was told that I would 00:29:29.730 --> 00:29:34.430 be trapped. I don't even dream of my, my siblings 00:29:34.430 --> 00:29:37.549 are in United States that time, but I don't even 00:29:37.549 --> 00:29:42.650 think of traveling, you know? So then there was 00:29:42.650 --> 00:29:48.509 a prophecy that I'm going to travel. But before, 00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:53.519 that traveling before that this i can get the 00:29:53.519 --> 00:29:59.220 visa that i have to fast for 21 days so i was 00:29:59.220 --> 00:30:03.559 looking and you know like but oh my gosh i i 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:07.839 believe in god but i was looking and yeah but 00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:16.509 i i went through the fasting and um Within a 00:30:16.509 --> 00:30:22.730 few weeks, that visa came through. Then in 1988, 00:30:23.150 --> 00:30:26.849 I traveled to the United States. So, you know, 00:30:26.970 --> 00:30:30.890 sometimes first thing open doors that you don't 00:30:30.890 --> 00:30:38.940 even expect that it will open. Fasting, I can 00:30:38.940 --> 00:30:42.480 tell you a lot of testimony about my life. Yeah, 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:45.259 how you've seen the effect. Yeah, even my daughter, 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:48.839 you know, within my family, I can, you know, 00:30:48.859 --> 00:30:52.759 through the power of fasting, you know, prayer, 00:30:52.900 --> 00:30:59.140 answer, and things turn around from worst to 00:30:59.140 --> 00:31:04.079 good. Yeah, it's so interesting because I think 00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:06.299 that there's there's a careful line we need to 00:31:06.299 --> 00:31:09.220 walk here where like fasting does do these really 00:31:09.220 --> 00:31:12.480 powerful things in our lives and through us. 00:31:12.599 --> 00:31:17.299 And we see answered prayer. And I don't want 00:31:17.299 --> 00:31:20.480 to then say that like somehow we fast and we 00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:22.680 like get to earn these good things. Right. We 00:31:22.680 --> 00:31:24.900 don't fast and then God pays more attention to 00:31:24.900 --> 00:31:28.559 us because we're fasting. That's not how it works. 00:31:28.660 --> 00:31:32.059 I don't know exactly how it works, but there 00:31:32.059 --> 00:31:36.160 is. Some spiritual power that's there. It helps 00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:38.720 us to pay more attention to God rather than the 00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:40.779 other way around. Well, I think it's like with, 00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:43.779 I don't know if it was last week's sermon or 00:31:43.779 --> 00:31:47.400 the week before, but how Rob was saying, you 00:31:47.400 --> 00:31:52.059 know, yeah, it's not our works that get us to 00:31:52.059 --> 00:31:55.920 heaven, but God appreciates those works, especially 00:31:55.920 --> 00:31:58.779 if it's in Jesus' name. Right, right. And those 00:31:58.779 --> 00:32:02.819 works... form us into the image of christ exactly 00:32:02.819 --> 00:32:05.619 yeah yeah yeah for sure because yeah you don't 00:32:05.619 --> 00:32:07.759 have to do any of it but and you can believe 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:11.099 in jesus but you know there's more sort of like 00:32:11.099 --> 00:32:14.900 you know how you know how well did you follow 00:32:14.900 --> 00:32:18.140 jesus you know because i don't think i i mean 00:32:18.140 --> 00:32:19.880 i don't know if everybody that gets to heaven 00:32:19.880 --> 00:32:22.140 will hear jesus say well done my good and faithful 00:32:22.140 --> 00:32:25.950 servant they may They may get entered, but you 00:32:25.950 --> 00:32:29.369 know, it's just, I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe. 00:32:29.430 --> 00:32:32.529 Yeah. I think it's like, is it reserved for people 00:32:32.529 --> 00:32:35.130 that actually try to walk the path of Jesus? 00:32:35.210 --> 00:32:38.029 Sure. You know, and, and do those practices. 00:32:38.130 --> 00:32:40.890 Cause I mean, the whole point with the series 00:32:40.890 --> 00:32:44.849 is to be more like, live more like Jesus and 00:32:44.849 --> 00:32:47.930 follow his teachings and his practices. Yeah. 00:32:48.009 --> 00:32:51.980 Yeah. Yeah. And so fasting just like is. is a 00:32:51.980 --> 00:32:54.920 way that that happens, right? And it's a way 00:32:54.920 --> 00:32:58.980 we become more Christ -like, I think. Even if 00:32:58.980 --> 00:33:01.160 we don't understand exactly how that works. Even 00:33:01.160 --> 00:33:04.400 if we can't say that there's an... that a causes 00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:08.519 b right that i fasted and therefore i got a visa 00:33:08.519 --> 00:33:11.619 right like it looks like that and like maybe 00:33:11.619 --> 00:33:14.440 there's some causation there but like yeah we 00:33:14.440 --> 00:33:16.660 don't know exactly how all of the pieces fit 00:33:16.660 --> 00:33:19.279 we don't know how god works yeah we're just supposed 00:33:19.279 --> 00:33:21.980 to follow god they're not supposed to ask yeah 00:33:21.980 --> 00:33:23.700 we're not supposed to ask god well why are you 00:33:23.700 --> 00:33:26.259 asking me to do this sure sure i mean there's 00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:28.259 space for that i think we definitely can ask 00:33:28.259 --> 00:33:31.569 god those questions but we don't need to know 00:33:31.569 --> 00:33:33.690 the answer to the question in order to live the 00:33:33.690 --> 00:33:38.349 life of faith. God will reveal it in time. Yeah. 00:33:38.470 --> 00:33:42.589 Okay. So then as you think about fasting, like 00:33:42.589 --> 00:33:46.829 this is in some ways a really tangible practice. 00:33:47.049 --> 00:33:51.170 It's something that requires some practical preparation 00:33:51.170 --> 00:33:54.569 and sort of steps. So then what sort of tips 00:33:54.569 --> 00:33:56.529 would you have to offer to people who want to 00:33:56.529 --> 00:33:58.410 try and practice fasting? What are some important 00:33:58.410 --> 00:34:01.960 things to sort of keep in mind? What would you 00:34:01.960 --> 00:34:06.019 say, Elizabeth? They should just start gradually, 00:34:06.420 --> 00:34:11.139 you know. Sure. Maybe one step at a time. If 00:34:11.139 --> 00:34:17.559 you can't fast all day, you can break your fast 00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:24.579 at noon. Sometimes if you have the strength, 00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:28.780 you can break your fast at 3 p .m. Sure. Or if 00:34:28.780 --> 00:34:33.019 you if God empowers you, you can break your fast 00:34:33.019 --> 00:34:37.159 at 6 p .m. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. So just doing it 00:34:37.159 --> 00:34:39.219 in the chunks that sort of work for you. Yeah. 00:34:39.579 --> 00:34:42.860 Yeah. What else would we say? I would I would 00:34:42.860 --> 00:34:47.579 go and suggest that they go into the scripture 00:34:47.579 --> 00:34:52.050 and see all the times that. that the scriptural 00:34:52.050 --> 00:34:55.369 characters fasted and why they fasted. And that 00:34:55.369 --> 00:34:58.710 might give them an idea of, of the reasons for 00:34:58.710 --> 00:35:01.110 fasting. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting. 00:35:01.170 --> 00:35:03.230 So when you sort of go through scripture, so 00:35:03.230 --> 00:35:05.309 obviously we have this example of Jesus and Jesus 00:35:05.309 --> 00:35:08.929 was preparing for his ministry. We have examples 00:35:08.929 --> 00:35:13.010 of Daniel and some of the others who were living 00:35:13.010 --> 00:35:18.590 in Babylon and under this oppression. Yeah. And, 00:35:18.670 --> 00:35:22.119 and the example of Esther, And so Esther was 00:35:22.119 --> 00:35:24.960 asking folks to fast because she had this really 00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:26.940 important decision to make. So sort of like you 00:35:26.940 --> 00:35:31.199 were saying, Daniel was fasting as a way of standing 00:35:31.199 --> 00:35:33.820 up against empire, as a way of saying, I don't 00:35:33.820 --> 00:35:36.559 want to be like my culture. I want to be shaped 00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:41.000 by God. Right. Yeah. I think there are other 00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:43.659 reasons, like sometimes people will fast because 00:35:43.659 --> 00:35:47.010 they're struggling with. some sort of a sin in 00:35:47.010 --> 00:35:50.030 their life and sometimes it's it's it's a really 00:35:50.030 --> 00:35:54.130 fleshly or like bodily sin so like struggling 00:35:54.130 --> 00:35:56.750 with you know gluttony or with lust or struggling 00:35:56.750 --> 00:36:00.650 with pride and greed and like sometimes fasting 00:36:00.650 --> 00:36:03.690 is a way of challenging those sins quite directly 00:36:03.690 --> 00:36:08.840 by saying i am Not going to let my body have 00:36:08.840 --> 00:36:12.780 a say in what I want and how I behave. And it 00:36:12.780 --> 00:36:18.000 brings you to repentance. So when you focus on 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:24.079 fasting, you know, it makes you humble because 00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:28.760 you have to look at the way Jesus was humble 00:36:28.760 --> 00:36:33.059 and the way he associated with his disciples. 00:36:35.099 --> 00:36:39.199 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think the other another practical 00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:42.599 consideration is that this is a very physical 00:36:42.599 --> 00:36:44.940 bodily practice. And so you need to listen to 00:36:44.940 --> 00:36:46.940 and take care of your body in this practice. 00:36:46.980 --> 00:36:49.980 Right. And for some people, fasting from food 00:36:49.980 --> 00:36:52.139 is just not something that they will physically 00:36:52.139 --> 00:36:54.440 be able to do because of health condition or 00:36:54.440 --> 00:36:56.820 whatever. Right. And there's there's no shame 00:36:56.820 --> 00:36:59.280 in that. Right. There are other practices of 00:36:59.280 --> 00:37:01.199 abstinence or ways of doing fasting that will 00:37:01.199 --> 00:37:04.059 work for those people. And if you're concerned 00:37:04.059 --> 00:37:05.679 about that at all, and maybe even if you're not 00:37:05.679 --> 00:37:08.059 concerned, it like is worth like bringing it 00:37:08.059 --> 00:37:09.679 up and talking with your doctor and being like, 00:37:09.739 --> 00:37:11.639 okay, this is a practice that I want to integrate. 00:37:11.920 --> 00:37:14.039 Like, what should I be aware of? Especially, 00:37:14.139 --> 00:37:16.139 you know, if you have certain health conditions 00:37:16.139 --> 00:37:18.059 or if you're taking certain medications, you 00:37:18.059 --> 00:37:20.840 know, just making sure that you gather all of 00:37:20.840 --> 00:37:22.559 that information so that you are taking care 00:37:22.559 --> 00:37:25.599 of yourself even as you're doing this practice. 00:37:25.699 --> 00:37:29.650 Yeah. I think it's important to the, that. fasting 00:37:29.650 --> 00:37:31.929 is not always physical but that's what we always 00:37:31.929 --> 00:37:34.329 think of you know whether it's for a medical 00:37:34.329 --> 00:37:39.130 test or religious or thing you know or you know 00:37:39.130 --> 00:37:41.550 but uh i think as well the other thing i would 00:37:41.550 --> 00:37:47.409 say with the tip wise is um the way like fasting 00:37:47.409 --> 00:37:50.630 and keeping the sabbath are kind of two sides 00:37:50.630 --> 00:37:54.530 of the same coin in a way like the sabbath is 00:37:54.530 --> 00:37:57.829 like almost like a digital detox you know it's 00:37:57.829 --> 00:38:00.730 a digital fast it's a getting rid of that you 00:38:00.730 --> 00:38:04.250 know and then obviously fasting is a physical 00:38:04.250 --> 00:38:07.230 getting rid of but what's important with both 00:38:07.230 --> 00:38:10.360 is what are you filling that space and that time 00:38:10.360 --> 00:38:13.059 with? Yeah. You know, if you're just not eating 00:38:13.059 --> 00:38:15.500 and you're just miserable and doing nothing or, 00:38:15.500 --> 00:38:18.340 or, or you're, or you're, or you're, or if you're 00:38:18.340 --> 00:38:20.719 fasting and then just like, I don't know, watching 00:38:20.719 --> 00:38:24.300 food network videos or something like that. Well, 00:38:25.119 --> 00:38:27.059 you're not doing it. You're not doing any good, 00:38:27.119 --> 00:38:30.000 but if you're in prayer, if you're in meditation, 00:38:30.159 --> 00:38:33.000 if you're reading the Bible, if you're doing 00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:35.250 that thing, you know. Again, if you're going 00:38:35.250 --> 00:38:37.329 to give up something, you have to fill it with 00:38:37.329 --> 00:38:39.869 something else. Yeah, yeah, for sure. For sure. 00:38:40.070 --> 00:38:43.489 Making that space. Yeah. And then I think the 00:38:43.489 --> 00:38:46.230 last thing I would sort of say is like having 00:38:46.230 --> 00:38:49.369 a plan. Right. So and being flexible with that 00:38:49.369 --> 00:38:51.090 plan. Right. So if your plan is, OK, I'm going 00:38:51.090 --> 00:38:54.750 to fast until 3 p .m. and you get to noon and 00:38:54.750 --> 00:38:56.949 you feel like this is unbearable, like that's 00:38:56.949 --> 00:39:00.119 OK. And then having a plan. OK, so knowing, OK, 00:39:00.179 --> 00:39:02.099 I have some water available. I have some food 00:39:02.099 --> 00:39:04.380 readily available so that when I'm ready to break 00:39:04.380 --> 00:39:07.739 my fast, I can do that sort of easily. Yeah. 00:39:07.800 --> 00:39:10.280 Just getting all of those practical considerations. 00:39:10.860 --> 00:39:15.480 Yeah. Yeah. Fasting is like I like I started 00:39:15.480 --> 00:39:18.480 out by saying it's really hard, but it is really 00:39:18.480 --> 00:39:22.760 powerful, I think. And it's something that I 00:39:22.760 --> 00:39:25.460 think. I know I spent a lot of my life sort of 00:39:25.460 --> 00:39:27.239 brushing it off and sort of saying, well, fasting 00:39:27.239 --> 00:39:29.920 isn't really that important. Fasting is for a 00:39:29.920 --> 00:39:32.500 certain subset of Christians who are like really 00:39:32.500 --> 00:39:34.960 super spiritual or who are like really believe 00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:36.860 in that. And I don't know, it's just sort of 00:39:36.860 --> 00:39:38.679 over there. But I think it is something that 00:39:38.679 --> 00:39:42.480 we can all participate in in some way and something 00:39:42.480 --> 00:39:48.280 that, yeah, is formational in surprising ways 00:39:48.280 --> 00:39:51.869 sometimes. Yeah. So thank you so much, folks, 00:39:51.929 --> 00:39:55.289 for this conversation. And thank you for tuning 00:39:55.289 --> 00:39:57.809 in to this week's episode of Trinity Talks. Whether 00:39:57.809 --> 00:40:01.650 you decide to fast from food or not, whether 00:40:01.650 --> 00:40:06.530 you are going to go ahead and fast from social 00:40:06.530 --> 00:40:09.780 media or shopping or whatever. I hope that you 00:40:09.780 --> 00:40:12.260 can find some practice that works for you where 00:40:12.260 --> 00:40:15.199 you can remove distractions and find that time 00:40:15.199 --> 00:40:18.039 to really focus on God and to experience God's 00:40:18.039 --> 00:40:21.679 presence and power and compassion in the midst 00:40:21.679 --> 00:40:25.000 of that hardship that you are facing. And we 00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:25.980 will see you again next week.