Ep 022 Beginning a Christian Fast and Overcoming 4 Common Fasting Fears
Continuing this series on Christian fasting as a spiritual discipline, in episode 022, we further unpack how to get started with Christian fasting. Whether you're a beginner or looking to deepen your fasting discipline, this episode tackles the common fears and obstacles that might be holding you back. Discover practical insights and spiritual encouragement to overcome fears of hunger, weakness, social challenges, and the fear of failure. Join Stephanie as she shares personal anecdotes, scriptural wisdom, and expert tips to help you confidently begin your Christian fast.
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Key Takeaways
Fasting is a spiritual discipline, and the purpose is to help you grow closer to the Lord. Sometimes, the logistics, planning, and idea of being hungry can overwhelm the spiritual pursuit. Before, during, and after your fast, keep a focus on prayer, reading the Word of God, and being led by the Holy Spirit.
In this episode, we talk about four common fears to overcome along with seven tips that will help you prepare to fast.
7 Practical Steps to Start Christian Fasting:
1. Prioritize the Spiritual: Focus on the spiritual aspects of fasting first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
2. Reduce and Eliminate Caffeine: Taper down your caffeine intake before starting the fast to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
3. Increase Water Intake: Drink at least 64 ounces of water daily to stay hydrated and help reduce reliance on other beverages.
4. Adjust Your Diet Gradually: Start eliminating foods you'll abstain from during the fast, like sweets and meats, and increase intake of fresh fruits and vegetables.
5. Eat Mindfully and Reduce Snacking: Focus on eating smaller, mindful meals without distractions and avoid grazing throughout the day.
6. Plan Your Meals: Prepare meal plans and shopping lists in advance, especially if doing a partial or liquid fast, to avoid stress and last-minute decisions.
7. Seek Prayer Support: Engage a few trusted friends for spiritual support during your fast, emphasizing the humble nature of fasting and shared prayer.
Blog & Coaching Resources
Daniel Fast Journey Book on Amazon
Fasting Resources
Types of Christian Fasts in the Bible (Plus 6 Fasting Terms to Know)
Daniel Fast and Intermittent Fasting: What are the Differences?
Ep 008: Why do Christians fast? How to start the spiritual discipline of fasting
Read more about the stories shared in this episode at danielfastjourney.com/stories.
Show Transcript
Note: Podcast transcripts are automatically generated and may contain some errors. The transcript below has been lightly edited for grammar and readability, so may not match the podcast audio verbatim.
022 Beginning a Christian Fast and Overcoming 4 Common Fasting Fears
Fasting aligns our priorities and brings our spirits, souls, and bodies into connection with the heart of God. It's about making room for Him to move, speak, heal, and transform us. It's not just about the physical act of abstaining from food, but often this idea of not eating is so overwhelming that it holds people back from ever starting.
If you're new to fasting or you'd like to disciple and help others as they start their fasting journey, remember it's all about compassion. We've all had to start somewhere. And in today's episode, we're going to talk about how to overcome four of the most common fears around fasting so you can begin this transformative spiritual discipline for yourself.
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Welcome to a new episode in our mini-series on Christian fasting. I'm your host, Stephanie Hodges. And today we're going to talk about taking the plunge into fasting—that's right, after a while you have read enough about fasting, you've learned enough about it, and it's time to just do it. So today we're going to talk about overcoming some of the common fears.
So I want to tell you, I talk about fasting a lot. Not because it's so easy for me. I'm not that person to say, "Hey, you just need to pray harder, have more faith, read your Bible more, and then it's going to be easy for you to fast." That's not true. It's always challenging to me. And so, as I was processing through some of these common fears that I hear from other people, the truth is that I often have a little bit of anxiety before I fast, even though I've done it so many times. But I am here to tell you that those whispers of doubt, the fear of the unknown, or maybe some misconceptions about what fasting entails.
They can create barriers in our mind, but there is nothing to fear. So today's episode is dedicated to all of those who have felt that prompting and pull towards fasting, but you're hesitating at the edge a little bit. Unsure. Maybe you still have questions. We're going to clear the fog and light the path forward because when God calls us into deeper waters, he's not going to stand on the shore and watch us flail or watch us fail.
He's going to be with us every step of the way. And so if you're someone as well, who really likes to over-prepare for things, you're really a perfectionist you want to get exactly right. I'm going to have to ask you to release that need for perfectionism, because there's no way that we're going to get it all exactly right. And that's part of the spirit of fasting where we're laying down ourselves and we're laying down our control. We're laying down our need to be sufficient and to get it all right on our own and to depend more on God. And that can be really uncomfortable for a lot of us because we like having that control.
We like knowing how it's going to go.
However it's really difficult. And I would say almost impossible to find the perfect time to fast. So that may be one thing you're waiting for. You're waiting for your schedule to be completely clear. You're waiting to feel ready. You're waiting to have enough time to prepare everything so that it's going to be exactly right going into it.
And we are going to give some practical tips at the end of this episode for how to prepare yourself. And while that's great, having everything perfectly lined up is probably not going to happen.
So it's okay to fast imperfectly. If that means every scenario and situation around you, isn't going perfectly to plan. Or even if you have some stumbles along the way. But the most important thing is just to start. And let's start out with a little passage of scripture in Matthew chapter six, Jesus is talking to his disciples about giving, praying and fasting. And in verses 16 and 17, he says, whenever you fast do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do for, they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full, but you, when you fast anoint your head and wash your face.
And so many of us have this impression that it is so gloomy to fast.
It's so dark. It's such a down
er. But that's not necessarily the case and that's not what Jesus is calling us to here. But it's to go about our business. To be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might and to have this good attitude as we go into fasting. So before anything else. Let's just go ahead and lay down our expectations that fasting has to be miserable, that it has to be terrible. And see what God has to say about it.
So I want to talk about overcoming some of these common fears about fasting. These are things that people often feel nervous about going into a fast. Or these are the concerns that are just kind of holding them back from taking that step. And the first one is the most basic, it's the fear of hunger. Because hunger is such a deep, psychological physiological need within us that our body is going to kick back when we're not giving it food or not giving it the type of food that it's used to. So, this is a very real thing. You're going to have a very natural reaction to be afraid to be hungry there.
Your body's giving you a good signal in that. But the most immediate thought that comes to mind when we think about fasting, is am I going to feel hungry all the time? And can I handle it? And I want to reassure you that while hunger is part of fasting, it's the part where the growth happens. And step one is to just embrace the hunger, to know that yes, you are going to feel hungry. There's no way to avoid that.
Even if you end up doing a partial fast or something like the Daniel fast. You're going to be hungry, probably and have cravings for certain things, because what you're eating is so limited, that's still the case with most forms of partial fasting. Step two, when it comes to overcoming, this fear is to ride the wave. Because the good news is that physically hunger comes in waves, it waxes and wanes.
So you're not going to just get progressively hungrier and hungrier and hungrier until you explode or eat the table. After you don't eat for a period of time, your hormones are going to recalibrate and your hunger will subside. And I can't tell you exactly how long that will take because it's highly variable person to person.
And even, you know, earlier in your day, it might go away sooner and later in the day, it might last longer. But just know that eventually the intensity of your hunger is going to decrease. It's going to go back down and it may not disappear completely, but it will be more subtle. And the same is true for cravings for sugar or other foods.
You may feel more and more like you can't stop thinking about it. You have to have it, but if you continue to press through and wait long enough, that craving is going to go away. And that's true in all times in life, not just with fasting.
Hunger is not all bad. It reminds us of our physical needs, but it also redirects our focus towards getting some spiritual nourishment. When you're hungry when you're in those times, getting into the word, praying, maybe going outside and going for a prayer walk to clear your head can really do wonders for outlasting that wave of hunger. And maybe at some point you've joined a 30 day challenge for prayer or Bible reading.
And although we should pray at all times, pray without ceasing and be in the word daily.
There's something special when you dedicate yourself to really intensely and intentionally pursue God for a period of time. And when you do any of those types of challenges that can have that effect, but fasting takes things up a notch because you may forget to pray. Or decide you can't pray because you're busy, but you can't ignore the hunger. So that's where fasting is truly an intense experience that causes you to continually focus on the Lord because we eat every day. It affects our rhythms.
It affects our lives. And so it serves as this constant reminder. And when those hunger pangs arise, remember that fasting isn't just about abstaining and what we're getting rid of. It's also about substituting. So feed on God's word, draw closer to him. And then a third thing to address here is that you need to tell yourself the truth, because we don't have to have our afternoon chocolate or ice cream at night or a morning coffee.
You know, although it feels that way, especially for me when it comes to coffee. But as you go into fasting, make sure you're telling yourself a truthful story, because it's common for us to say, like I have to have this, or I can't not have fill in the blank. It's not true to say something like I have to have a glass of wine in the evening to wind down. Because instead, Psalm 16, five says, Lord, you alone are my portion.
And my cup,
you make my lot secure.
So as we fast, we're breaking down those cravings. We're breaking down the root behind many of our eating and drinking habits. That's really a need for something deeper. That we fill temporarily with food, but this is the opportunity to go to God for all those needs. And to reveal what needs to be revealed in us and to embrace again that discomfort to know, Hey, this is telling me something.
And when I get to the other side of this, I'm going to be stronger in my relationship with the Lord. And I'm going to have a better understanding of myself through fasting. So, again, those steps to overcoming the fear of hunger is one embrace the hunger it's going to be there, but it's going to be okay. Two is to ride the wave, know that it will come and go. And step three is tell yourself the truth.
Now we're going to move on to the second fear, which is tackling the fear of being weakened.
Emotional. Many people worry that fasting is going to leave them drain. That they're not going to be able to manage their daily tasks or they're going to become overly emotional or hangry because they're not eating. And it's true that fasting can heighten our emotions and it will sometimes lower our physical energy levels, especially in the beginning. But the thing is in our weakness, God's strength is perfected.
We know that second Corinthians 12, nine tells us his strength is made perfect in our weakness.
So we're allowing for some weakness, we're allowing for some vulnerability because that opens the door for us to rely more deeply on the Lord.
And rather than trying to hide our lack or pretend it doesn't exist or put on a show. We're going to allow his power to shine through. It's not about our strength, but it's about his strength that carries us. And we'll talk more about practical steps in the next part, but do, be kind to yourself, especially in the beginning as you adjust, knowing you may be a little bit weaker, you may be more tired and fatigued. You might be more emotional.
So allow yourself some time for rest. And give yourself permission for your emotions to flow in healthy ways, like healthy ways doesn't mean you're yelling at your spouse and kicking the dog and blaming it on the fast, but it's like putting time aside for worship and journaling to process what you're going through. So in overcoming this fear. First of all you want to be self-aware. Another one is you want to ask other people to be praying for you to have a prayer covering over you and send that quick text message when things are getting really hard and say, Hey, I'm struggling. I really need you to pray for me right now. But above all else, be dependent on the Lord.
Don't be afraid to be a little bit more weak in your own strength and to be more dependent on his strength.
Next there's the fear of social challenges. And this goes back to that idea of trying to wait for the perfect timing, where you can have a perfectly clear calendar, which doesn't always happen. But you might be wondering, what will people say? How do I navigate these social gatherings? Like what about our work happy hour family birthday or something else that's coming up. And while you don't want to plan to fast while you're on vacation, there are sometimes these other situations that pop up and they're unavoidable. And if you do a prolonged fast chances are probably pretty sure that at some point you're going to be offered food in some kind of social setting. And fasting in a food centric culture can definitely feel daunting.
Most of the things that we do with our friends and family center on food. But fasting also offers a chance for us to witness and share a testimony that this is not about our willpower. It's not just a dietary exercise that we're doing. But it's our commitment to seek God above all else. And I found that people are usually pretty interested in fasting, even if they don't want to talk about anything that they see as religious or Christian. They are curious about hearing about fasting. And so prepare ahead of time to know what you would say in these kinds of scenarios and let the Lord lead you. Sometimes you might simply say no, thank you.
If somebody's passing donuts around work, you can just say, no thanks. Not today. You don't have to get up on your chair and preach. Although you could, if you want to, if that's how the Lord leads you. Uh, but there are other situations that might require you to give some explanation as to what you're doing.
But fasting also an exercise in discreteness. It's a personal journey it's between you and the Lord. And that's what it says as we continue in Matthew chapter six in verses 17 and 18, it says, but you, when you fast anoint your head and
wash your face. So that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your father who is in secret. And your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. So you don't have to announce your fast to everyone.
You don't have to post it on social media.
But you're going to need to talk to your family about it and your kids and others, you might be responsible for cooking for, and those who are close to you.
But again, It's vital not to fall to lies. Like there's no way I can not eat when everyone else is eating. Or there's no way I can not have a cupcake at a birthday party because the truth is you can do it. You don't have to have the birthday cake to survive. You can go without it for a little while.
So lastly, we're going to talk about the fear of failure. And that does loom large when people are just wondering, I don't know if I want to start fasting now.
Cause I don't know if I can complete it. Does that mean I failed in the fear of failure in this sense. It's not so much like, oh, I didn't do good on that project. There's a deep idea tied to fasting that well, if I have enough faith in, if I'm spiritually strong enough that I'm going to be able to do this. Yet, there are many people I know who are very strong in their faith who have tried to fast at different times.
And something came up along the way.
And it's important that we don't get caught up into a guilt and condemnation around fasting. And to remember that fasting is a practice, not a performance and every attempt at fasting, whether you see it through to what your intended goal was or not, it's still valuable. You can still learn something through it.
It's still an experience where you're gaining.
And it's our heart posture towards surrender and obedience that counts. It's not the tally of how well we did fasting. God is going to honor your sacrificing, your intentions. So, although you might not complete a fast exactly like you wanted to, there's no such thing as failure you learn and grow from every experience. And I'd like to take a second to read a rather lengthy passage from Isaiah 58.
And I recommend you read this chapter every time you fast. But the people are questioning God about their fasting and he's responding to them. And it in Isaiah 58, verse three, they're saying, why have we fasted? And you have not seen, why have we humbled ourselves? And you have not noticed. Behold on the day of your fast, you do as you please.
And you oppress all your workers. You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice be heard on high. Is this the fast I have chosen a day for man to deny himself to bow his head like a Reed and to spread out sackcloth and ashes. Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the Lord. Isn't this the fast I have chosen to break the chains of wickedness to untie the cords of the yoke to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke. Isn't it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home. To clothe the naked when you see him and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood. Then your light will break forth like the Dawn and your healing will come quickly.
Your righteousness will go before you and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call and the Lord will answer. You will cry out and he will say, here I am. If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and malicious talk. And if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul. Then your light will go forth in the darkness and your night will be like noon day. The Lord will always guide you.
He will satisfy you in a sun scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins. You will restore the age old foundations. You will be called repair of the breach, restore of the streets of dwelling.
So consider this passage and what Jesus said in Matthew chapter six, about the heart of fasting. And first John four 18 reminds us, there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. So we don't have to focus on this performance and ritual of fasting. But about leaning into the heart of God and listening to God, listening to what he has for us.
That's going to guide you in the right way to fast.
So now that we've covered all of that, let's talk about some practical
tips and we have seven practical tips here to make the transition easier when you're beginning to fast. Now it's not going to make it completely easy. It's not going to make it completely painless. But Jesus did say don't stand on the street corner, making a production, but anoint your head and wash your face, don't look gloomy.
And I take that to mean that we don't get extra brownie points for extra suffering when we fast. That we should be wise about how we prepare physically, mentally, and spiritually. And taking into account for each individual, what your normal diet is like, what your normal pattern is like and what is going to be a big shift for you.
So of course you want to be obedient to whatever the Lord is calling you to do. He may say, Hey, you need to start fasting. Now, the time is now. And if he's told you that, then you can trust that he's going to sustain you. Because preparation is not going to make it a cakewalk, but it is going to make it more doable.
And when people dive from the typical modern Western diet with a lot of processed food, a lot of fast food, and they go right into a water only fast, it can be overly shocking .
And this is a good time to remind you that you should consult your doctor, especially if you're on prescription medications or you have any health conditions.
Fasting is not for women who are pregnant or those with eating disorders and if you have any doubts from a medical perspective, Just talk to your doctor. It's better to be safe than sorry.
So here are seven practical tips to prepare yourself for fasting. And you may be considering doing a water only fast, a liquid fast, or a partial fast, like the Daniel fast. So you can adjust the advice as needed. And also know that the length of your fast is going to make a difference as far as how long and how intensively you should prepare. A longer, fast or more extreme, fast as in a water only fast.
You're going to need a little bit more preparation than fasting for a day or doing like a three-day Daniel fast. But nevertheless, I think these seven tips would be helpful for anyone.
So the first is to remember that this is a spiritual practice. It's easy to get preoccupied with the food end of things, but to keep your priorities right. Think about the spiritual in first, when you wake up in the morning. Let that be your first focus. And when you lay down to go to bed at night, even if you're a little bit hungry, remind yourself that that is the first focus it's on the Lord and dedicate time to spend to being with the Lord, even in this week or whatever timeframe it is that you're preparing to fast, make extra time there to pray worship. Read the word, get that in your rhythm that you're focusing on the Lord, preparing your heart, mind, and body.
The second tip is to reduce and eliminate caffeine.
If this is something that you're giving up.
Because caffeine withdrawals are usually the source of the worst side effects, the headaches, the fatigue, and the mood swings. It's not so much the fast itself, but it's actually the caffeine withdrawal, especially if you drink a lot of caffeine and you've done that for a long time.
So try to actually taper down and eliminate your caffeine before you start fasting.
If that's something that you're giving up.
The third tip is to drink more water and 64 ounces here is a bare minimum. That's eight, eight ounce glasses. Or, you know, measure your water bottle, see how much you're actually drinking and make sure you're getting enough. And along with doing it, let that water displace other beverages.
Like we just talked about caffeine, but also alcohol, sugary drinks and soft drinks. Make sure you're also reducing and eliminating those before you start fasting, because some of those require the biggest adjustments from a physical and mental standpoint. Some people are used to having a soda every afternoon, and it's such a deep part of your routine.
So try to get those things tapered down and eliminated before you start your fast.
This also goes for tip number four, which is to reduce the items that you're going to be abstaining from. So sweets and desserts, packaged snacks, meats, et cetera. Start to eliminate all of those items and replace them with fresh fruits and vegetables,
it's going to help reduce the shock to your system and start cleaning you out internally as you prepare. And also all those fresh fruits and vegetables in that fiber is going to get things moving in your digestive tract, which is important.
So number five is eat smaller meals, mindfully and eliminate grazing.
The mindfulness is a big piece because you may be surprised how many random bites you're taking throughout the day. If you walk past a candy dish and grab a piece, or if you're cleaning
up after dinner and you take a bite off someone's plate, you know, those things can happen all the time. And so mindfulness just means that you're focused on what you're doing in the present.
It means you're not eating distractedly or on autopilot, and that's a very important, healthy eating habit overall. Raul. But maybe something else you, you do along with that in this time leading up is that when you eat, you're not doing anything else. You're not eating while you're driving or eating while you're working or looking at your phone, but you're really focused on your food as you're eating. But overall being really aware of what you are eating throughout the day, eating mindfully and eating smaller meals, that's going to help you a lot as you transitioned to your fast.
Number six actually just applies to those who are doing partial fasting or liquid fasting, but make sure you make a meal plan and you create shopping lists for that meal plan and do it ahead of time. 'cause you never know what's gonna come up as you're fasting. And when you wind up on Thursday at 4:45 PM and you're exhausted and your creative tank is all used up for the day, but you don't have groceries in your house and you don't know what to make. A lot of times on the Daniel fast, that means eating oatmeal for dinner. Which is fine.
And that can be part of your fasting experience, but. It just goes back to the point of being a little bit ahead at all times, having that separate meal plan and also that allows you to not be preoccupied about food and what you're going to eat next all the time. You've just already decided ahead of time what you're going to do. Now the one part of this that does apply maybe to more people.
Is that if you have kids or people in your home that you cook for, you also want to make a meal plan for them, keeping it as simple as possible as best of course. And that can be extra work to be making two different types of meals for people. But that's why the more you're able to do it in advance and to plan it out. Then the less, that's going to preoccupy your time when you're fasting. The seventh one is to find prayer support.
And that doesn't mean you have to go post on Facebook and say, everybody pray for me because I'm fasting, but ask a few trusted friends. And it's humbling to ask for help, but fasting is all about humbling. Psalm 35 says I put on sack cloth and humble myself with fasting. And in the book of Ezra in verse 21, Ezra proclaimed a fast as he was returning with the exiles.
And the purpose was to humble ourselves before our God to seek from him a safe journey. And most examples in the Bible are about people fasting and praying together. And if you want a group to pray with you, as you fast, you can go to Daniel fast journey.com and look for our fasting community group that you can join.
It's free and this year in 2024, we're fasting together every first Wednesday. So if you're beginning of fast, these seven tips will help you to adjust and ease in. And remember that there's nothing to be afraid of. That's a lie.
In my firm foundation, devotional, I talk about three toxic CS, which are comparison competition and criticism.
These are three things we can't have. We need to detox from these as we're fasting. First of all, you don't need to compare yourself to anyone else. Second, you don't need to compete with anyone else and you don't need to compete with yourself. And third is you don't need to criticize. You don't need to be self-critical.
You don't need to criticize other people's chosen fast or fear criticism from others of your fast that maybe you're not doing enough, or you're not doing as much as someone else. It's between you and the Lord, how you fast. So have peace in that.
And I'm excited for you to fast.
Not because you're going to have a gold star certificate of completion, a hold up, but because you're going to connect with the Lord on a whole new level.
So let's close with a prayer. Lord. I thank you for everyone listening. I thank you for your word of truth. Your word, it's a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. And so I pray that you would guide each person here as they go about their spiritual practices as they go about deepening their relationship with you. That it would not be so much about what we do, but about having a heart centered on you, having a desire to draw closer to you. Father for everyone who's listening.
I know that you have great plans for them for a future filled with hope. And I lift up everyone to you in Jesus name.
Amen.
Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Wholly Well Journey podcast. Visit https://www.danielfastjourney.com for more info on fasting and spiritual disciplines.
