When living in Boston as a young girl, at the time of Ash Wednesday and Lent, my friends (who were mostly Catholic and a few Jewish) would all discuss, “What are we giving up for Lent”.
Isaiah 58:6
“Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness,To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke?”
God wants us to fast and be in supplication and prayer about any bonds or yokes which tether us to sin.
The Bible has about 60 verses about fasting.
Can we say that God created us to fast? Research and studies show that feeding for 8-10 hours, then fasting the rest of the day, ideally between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., definitely has healthy metabolic benefits . . . Fasting, with prayer and supplication, gives us spiritual healings, as well.
Joel 2:12
12 “Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
