Prayer and Fasting

For the past three Mondays I've modified my behavior. I have gotten out of bed, drank my coffee and taken my vitamins, but for the rest of the day I've had only water. Tuesdays are the same, but I break my fast with the Tuesday evening meal.

I had already made it a habit of using my 25 minute drive to work as a time for prayer. I use the "ACTS" method... Adoration takes me across the Wildcat Creek, Confession takes me to State Road 19, Thanksgiving takes me to Highway 26, and Supplication takes me the rest of the way to work.

I have discovered that after fasting on Monday, my Tuesday morning prayers are very different. I am not distracted, and my mind does not wander. I am more focused, more tearful, more joyful, more repentant, and my perspective is more attuned to reality and less focused on the world.

I've come to believe that fasting is to prayer what wind is to sailing... It's what salt is to french fries... It's what prescription lenses are to the nearsighted... It's what gasoline is to a bonfire.

I am not a good man and I'm not disciplined, so I don't know how long I will adhere to this practice. But its effects are very interesting.

Fasting is not fun and it's not convenient... It is a spiritual discipline... And it rewards.

To my Christian friends I say, try it! And let me know if it changes your prayer life.

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