All Practices
Fasting
Voluntarily going without food to cultivate a deeper hunger for God and loosen food's hold on the soul.
Step-by-step guide
1
Start small. If you've never fasted, begin with skipping one meal. Don't attempt a 40-day fast on day one.
2
Set an intention. Before you begin, name why you are fasting. Write it down. 'I am fasting to seek clarity about ____' or 'to pray for ____'.
3
When hunger comes, let it become a prayer. Instead of reaching for food, pause and say: 'God, I want you more than I want this.'
4
Drink water throughout. Fasting is not thirst. Hydrate, and if needed add a small amount of juice to keep your body functioning.
5
Expect your mind to wander toward food constantly at first — this is the fast doing its work. It reveals how dependent we are on comfort.
6
Break your fast gently with a small meal and a prayer of gratitude. Don't binge — the feast after the fast is itself a spiritual act.
Tradition & history
Jesus fasted (Matthew 4) and assumed his disciples would too — 'When you fast,' not 'if you fast' (Matthew 6:16). Richard Foster writes that fasting 'reveals the things that control us' and that 'more than any other Discipline, fasting reveals our excessive attachments' (*Celebration of Discipline*). Dallas Willard adds that fasting trains the body to serve the spirit rather than dominate it — a discipline practised across nearly every monastic tradition from the Desert Fathers onward.
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