Fasting: Making Room for God

For a long time, I thought fasting was something only really devout Christians did. The kind of people who woke up at 5 a.m. to pray, knew the Bible inside out and somehow managed to survive an entire day on bread and water. I knew fasting was part of the Christian faith, but outside of giving up chocolate for Lent, I hadn't given it much thought. And if I'm being completely truthful, the idea of voluntarily going hungry didn't sound particularly appealing.

Recently, I've been reading Fast with the Heart by Fr Slavko Barbarić, a Franciscan priest who served in Medjugorje, and it's helped me understand why fasting has such an important place in Christian life. One of the things he emphasises is that fasting and prayer belong together. We're not simply giving something up for the sake of it. We're making a sacrifice that, when offered with prayer, can help us grow closer to God.

In Matthew 4:4, Jesus says, "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." We know that we need food to live, but how often do we think about what we're feeding our souls? We can be so good at making time for everything else in our lives, yet struggle to find even ten minutes to sit down and pray. Fasting reminds us that our spiritual lives need attention too.

We know that we need food to live, but how often do we think about what we're feeding our souls?

And when you think about it, we're not particularly used to going without things. If we're hungry, we eat. If we're bored, we pick up our phones. If we want something, we can usually have it within a few clicks. There's nothing necessarily wrong with any of this, but it does make you wonder how much control our everyday comforts have over us. Fasting gives us an opportunity to recognise those attachments and practise not giving in to every desire the moment it comes along.

Of course, there's a difference between fasting and simply testing your willpower. You could spend an entire day without eating, feel absolutely miserable and count down the minutes until dinner. But if you haven't spent any time praying or thinking about God, what have you really gained? This is something Fr Slavko speaks about in his writing. Fasting is meant to go hand in hand with prayer. When we feel the absence of something we've given up, we can use that moment to turn our attention to God, even if it's only for a short prayer.

Fasting is meant to go hand in hand with prayer.

In Medjugorje, fasting on bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays is encouraged. Fr Slavko taught that fasting should be done with the heart, not simply treated as another religious obligation. And there's something worth remembering here: you can give up food for an entire day and still be impatient, irritable or unkind to everyone around you. If we're fasting to grow closer to God, that should eventually be reflected in how we treat other people too.

Jesus also speaks about fasting in Matthew 6:16, where He tells His followers not to make a show of it. We don't need to announce what we're giving up or make sure everyone knows how difficult we're finding it. It's not a competition to see who can make the biggest sacrifice. It's something personal between ourselves and God.

Another thing worth considering is fasting for a particular intention. Maybe there's someone in your life who's going through a difficult time, a situation you're worried about, or something you've been praying about for a while. You can offer your fast for that intention and let it remind you to pray throughout the day. It gives the sacrifice a purpose beyond simply seeing whether you can stick to it.

If you've never fasted before, the idea might feel a little intimidating. But you don't need to start with an entire day of bread and water. It's important to take your health and circumstances into account, and food fasting isn't suitable for everyone. You can begin with a small, intentional sacrifice and use that time to pray. What matters is understanding why you're doing it rather than trying to achieve something impressive.

What matters is understanding why you're doing it rather than trying to achieve something impressive.

What I've come to appreciate about fasting is that it isn't reserved for people who have their faith all figured out. You don't need to be particularly holy or have an amazing prayer life to begin. In fact, fasting is one of the ways we can work on those things. It teaches us patience, helps us recognise what we're attached to and reminds us to make time for God.

And perhaps the next time we think about fasting, instead of asking ourselves what we're going to give up, we could start by asking why we're doing it. Is there someone we want to pray for? Have we been neglecting our relationship with God? Is there something in our lives we've become a little too dependent on?

Fasting isn't about earning God's approval or proving how committed we are to our faith. God already loves us. It's simply one of the ways we can learn to put Him first, even when doing so requires a little sacrifice.

Inspired by Fr Slavko Barbarić's book Fast with the Heart, particularly his teaching on fasting, prayer and conversion of heart.