Fasting Is Feasting on Manna

I do my own different sort of fasting sometimes.  I take what I call retreat days or half days and these are dedicated to pursuing Jesus in some way or another.  It takes on different forms but usually includes what I call fasting and feasting all together.  I’ll explain that more in a minute.

John Piper has a great book about fasting called Hunger for God.  Fasting in the sense of a Christian discipline means to deny ourselves what temporarily satisfies in order to put our dependence on God in its proper place.  It is easy in this culture to find myriads of things that will distract us from our need and dependence on God.  We can get lost in this for days, weeks, months, and sometimes years.  We can buffer ourselves from pain and God’s direction or at least put it from our minds with various entertainments.  Fasting uniquely purposes to make us realize want.  In our want, we seek God to fill the void.  Often we find that there is more “want” that we realized when we seek to know our need. 

There are fasts when no food is eaten or some particular favorite is denied.  In these, God desires for us to not only deprive ourselves of the one, but to feast on what He provides.  Perhaps the provision is a long conversation with Him in prayer…or meditation on his word…or merely being thankful for all that is given.  In the midst of the fast, he invites us to feast on the bread of life….the manna.

When I have my retreat days I fast from most foods, but I feast on the foods associated with the communion table.  I have a bottle of grape juice and a loaf of bread and I can have all of it that I can eat.

It represents to me the idea that God does not want us to have limited communion with us, but for us to feast on His presence.  The deprivation is little and maybe this particular exercise doesn't always make me feel my need, but it helps me with remembering…that my God wants to be with me and commune with me much more than I allow time for.  He is my all in all and there is no limit to what He wants to give me in regard to partaking of His presence and His kingdom.