“Given this history and our Reformed tendency to make biblical and early church practice normative for us, the question for us should be not ‘Why fast?’ but rather ‘Why not fast?’ When the entire scriptural and early-church witness points to fasting as a practice both widely used and firmly fixed in the spiritual life of God's people, we need to give reasons why we do not follow it.”
—Harvey Smit, “Fasting,” © December 1987, ReformedWorship.org, CC BY-NC-SA.
Fasting is a practice that some people incorporate into their spiritual lives on a regular basis—even weekly. Scot McKnight defines fasting as “a whole-body response to a grievous sacred moment” (Fasting: The Ancient Practices, Thomas Nelson, 2009). But why should we fast? McKnight’s definition helps us understand why: to respond to something that is spiritual enough, and grievous enough, to merit such an action.
Is it possible to get people of the Reformed faith to set aside a day for prayer and fasting?
Our elders struggled with that question last fall. Prayer they were comfortable with—after all, it's always been part of our tradition. But fasting? That sounded a little "foreign."
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