Fasting has been around since Biblical times. It involves abstaining from something for a set period of time as a religious observance. People fast for a variety of reasons, though most of the time you hear of people fasting, it's for Lent.
A very common question is, "What am I supposed to fast from?"
There are a number of things you can fast from. But the main purpose behind the fast should be to take away the thing that most distracts you from spending time with the Lord and prevents you from hearing His voice in your life.
Here is a list of just a few ideas that have proven to be distractions for me, personally.
Food
Who doesn't love food? A lot of times we can turn to food for comfort. We mindlessly eat instead of turning to God to fill us up with the Bread of Life. Taking time away from our dedicated mealtime allows you plenty of time in the day to sit down and spend time in the Word and in prayer.
Social media
In today's world, social media is relevant in almost everyone's life. We are constantly on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat in order to stay up-to-date on other people's lives. We have developed a need to know everything about everyone else and tell the world all about ourselves. However, we've forgotten to take the time to know all about God, His life and His Word, or to simply tell Him about our life. Fasting from social media allows you the opportunity to turn to the One who never leaves you nor forsakes you, instead of others who may or may not be there for you tomorrow.
Television
Sure, the picture doesn't really apply to how we watch television anymore. We are an impatient society and commercials annoy us, therefore we have moved from watching TV on a traditional television set to watching shows and movies online. Netflix and Hulu+ have turned us from committed week-by-week series watchers to hermit binge watchers. Fasting from TV and movies frees up so much time and brain space for soaking up the Word of God and spending time in His presence.
Free reading
This doesn't apply to everyone. But for those of you like myself, who love to read and read and read without stop, fasting from free reading can be a real struggle. Reading a good book can take you away from reality when things get hard and you become a new person with a new story and problems that can be fixed by the next chapter. Fasting from a good read forces you to stay in the real world and turn to God to help you with your problems.
Video games
For a lot of people, video games are not just a pastime but a way of life. You come home from school, get your homework done (sometimes) and then play video games until you can no longer see straight. When you fast from video games, which includes games on your phone, you clear up so much time that you can now spend with the Lord.
Secular Music
This is a hard one, especially for myself. I grew up listening to every type of music out there, which is mostly secular. Fasting from secular music can be a real challenge to begin with, but once you get a couple days into listening to only Christian music, you will notice a marked improvement on the attitude of your heart. This fast will bring you back to what really matters and clean out your heart and mind of all the pollution that secular music puts in.
Nights out with friends
For the introverts in the world, not socializing every night isn't that big of a deal. However, for the extroverts among us, this can be torture. Fun nights out with friends are often the events of the week that we look forward to the most. So when you take that away, there is seemingly nothing to look forward to, especially on the weekends. But if you look at it with a heart that is willing to follow through with the fast, you will see that the alone time you have is best spent with the Lord by your side.
