By Raphael Mnkandhla

I love how Mathew 6 is bookended by two active phrases “practice your righteousness (6:1)” and “seek the kingdom and his righteousness (6:33)” It shows that even though righteousness is a gift we are still called to practice it. Jesus didn’t make these optional for disciples by saying, “When you pray, when you fast, when you give “not if you pray, fast give. Seeking the kingdom and his righteousness releases us from the clutches of anxiety and secures us in God to provides whatever we need.

In looking at these practices, fasting has been neglected in discipleship yet it is a vital part of growing and mining the depths of our given righteousness and living out that righteousness.

Fasting has many purposes in the bible and here are a few

· Strengthening prayer (Ezra 8:23; Joel 2:13; Acts 13:3)

· Seeking God’s guidance (Judg. 20:26; Acts 14:23)

· Expressing grief (1 Sam. 31:13; 2 Sam. 1:11–12)

· Seeking deliverance or protection (2 Chron. 20:3–4; Ezra 8:21–23)

· Expressing repentance and returning to God (1 Sam. 7:6; Jonah 3:5–8)

· Humbling oneself before God (1 Kings 21:27–29; Ps. 35:13)

· Expressing concern for the work of God (Neh. 1:3–4; Dan. 9:3)

· Ministering to the needs of others (Isa. 58:3–7)

· Overcoming temptation and dedicating yourself to God (Matt. 4:1–11)

· Expressing love and worship to God (Luke 2:37)55

Ways to Start

Pick something to fast from. The first step is choosing something helpful to fast from. For regular fasting, I prefer simply fasting from all food. But fasting from sugar, meat, alcohol, caffeine, social media, TV, the internet, or something else may be a good way for you to begin regular fasting.
Choose a period. Whether is half a day, 12 hours, sundown to sundown or multiple days pick and schedule a time, and dedicate it to God.
Start with a meal. If fasting intimidates you, a great place to start is just skipping a meal—maybe lunch—and replacing it with prayer.
Schedule times to pray: replace. meals with prayer, just skipping meals doesn’t lead to prayer. I usually take walks instead of eating to actually pray. I have been strengthened by the times of prayer we have set aside to pray as a church.
Fast in community. Fasting is richer in the community. It’s so hard to muster the discipline when doing it by yourself. The communal nature of it changes the experience.