The more I think about fasting, the more I wonder how importance the practice is to the "walking in the spirit" that the New Testament speaks so much about.
If the flesh is the seat of all that wars against God and His will, and fasting is feeding our spirits while denying our flesh, then it is hard to avoid the conclusion that fasting is incredibly important to a life of "walking in the spirit".
I do believe that fasting should be encouraged, if for no other reason than because it is biblical.
But perhaps fasting is all the more important in modern America - where we are overburdened with material plenty. Where stuff and food fill our lives. And where every desire - be it for food, entertainment, or pleasures of all kinds - is fanned into flames endlessly by Madison Avenue, with the promise of instant satisfaction.
We must never forget: "It is hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven."
Fasting may be the antidote American society needs.
I shrink away from this conclusion, but only because fasting is such a neglected and resisted practice in this day and age.
How does one effectively promote a practice which is so thoroughly counter-cultural?
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