Fasting

In much of the church today, we do not know what to make of fasting.  We know that the Bible teaches it, but we do not know why.  Many teach today that fasting is simply about time management: we skip meals to free up more time to pray.  I think that this misses the point.  Cassian  teaches that fasting, in the tradition of the desert fathers, is about learning impulse control.  The idea is that we need to practice impulse control in small things in order to be ready to practice it in larger areas.  So, we set up a way of denying our impulses in a controlled setting.  We resist the impulse to eat for a short time to build up our spiritual muscles of self-denial. I have found this to be at work in my own life.  In times when I am fasting regularly, I also tend to be more obedient.