When people talk about fasting, the first thing that usually comes to mind is food.
No more pizza, buffalo wings, soda, hamburgers, or just food in general until the time period of the fast has passed.
But what if we were to fast from something different than food?
What if God is calling us to a modern version of fasting?
True fasting involves giving up something we are attached to in order to instead rely on and spend time with God.
Fasting from food is difficult as hunger pangs drive us to the kitchen. It is only by relying on God to strengthen our will that we are able to maintain the discipline necessary to give up food for an extended period of time.
But do we take food everywhere we go, even to the bathroom?
Of course not, because that would be gross.
But we do take our phones. We take our phones everywhere and seldom do we even sleep without them in our clutches.
Why are we so addicted to our phones? Surely, we won’t die of some incurable disease should we forget to check our texts. We know it’s not the end of the world, but for some reason, we just can’t shun technology. It’s almost as if we’re not allowed to.
Just take a moment and think about fasting from your phone for an extended period of time.
Does it make you a little nervous just to think about it? Did you pick up your phone to check it instinctually as a result?
If the thought of giving up your phone and giving all of that time to God makes you feel a little uneasy, or you start to offer excuses as to why you can’t do it like “I need it for work,” “I need to stay up to date with friends and family,” etc., maybe it’s time to consider if you’re acting in the spirit or the flesh.
God wants to be number one in our lives and we can’t say he’s number one if all we really do is pray to God that we get a whole bunch of likes on Instagram.
Taking some time away from your phone, even if it’s only for a few hours a day, will not only strengthen your relationship with God, but it will actually leave you with a lot less stress too.
Half the time we’re on our phones, we aren’t actually having the time of our lives.
Instead, we are reading mean comments from trolls and haters who have zero clue as to who you are in your real life. This can cause a lot of anxiety because we are constantly worrying about what other people think of us.
We as a general society have let phones dictate our lives, using them non-stop, even as the world moves around us.
God wants only the best for us and for us to worry about who said what in the latest political debate on Facebook, or worrying about who unfollowed us on Twitter, is definitely not our best.
Fasting from our phones will inevitably bring us closer to God and further away from any lingering depression and anxiety.
In the Bible, when people fasted, it was during times of celebration, grief, repentance, or just generally longing for a deeper connection with God.
Trusting God and saying you’d give up anything for Him may require you giving up things (permanently or temporary) that will probably make you squeamish, but just know that it’s worth it, because God honors sacrifice.
Is God speaking to you as you read this article? Is he putting this on your heart right now?
Do you feel God is calling you to this modern version of fasting?
If so, please pray and talk with God, ask and be open to receive His answer about what He wants you to do. And fast with joy, knowing that you’re going to be getting closer to our heavenly Father and away from the cares and anxieties of the world.
That’s what fasting is all about anyway, right?