Fasting before prayer?

[torch621]

I stumbled across an essay that said something to the effect that praying without fasting was like trying to climb a ladder while chained to the floor. Basically, that prayer should be accompanied by fasting.

How do you think one should do this? If a typical fast means that only one meal a day is eaten, would that mean we must eat only one meal every single day of our lives? Or do you think something else?

Do tell me, I’m curious as to what you think.

 

[Edward_H]

That quote has some merit, at least to me, in the following sense. Fasting has been considered a prayer of the senses. We use our body’s natural reflexes (hunger) to spur us into a prayerful dialog with God. So it’s possible that a fast can heighten one’s sense of God and ones closeness to Him…as long as one is using fasting as a form of conversation with God.

In this way, the whole body and mind are conversing with God.

The Bible tell us to “Pray always”. We know our Lord ate and drank and he prayed. So I think it’s clear that our Lord would like us to do the same.

You can still converse with God while eating. Thanking Him for the food before you eat, while eating, and afterward.

If you wanted to cut short your meal a bit - not taking seconds, eating more slowly (with a little bit more temperance), skipping dessert, perhaps not seasoning your food every now and then, you could offer that small sacrifice to our Lord for some good, somewhere in the world. That act of detachment from food, and closer attachment and affiliation with our Lord is similar to a fast.

A fast that doesn’t cause more union with God, that’s not done for Him, is less effective.

So fast every now and then - let your spiritual director know what you’re doing - but seek to pray always…while you’re fasting, while you’re working, while you’re eating and playing.

Just my .02

 

[revert_jen]

I don’t think they meant that each prayer had to be accompanied by a fast. I think they meant that fasting has to be a part of your life in order for you to gain virtues that would be invaluable to you in your prayer life.

However, if you had a special intention that you were going to pray for, e.g. you were going to pray a novena for something very important to you, you might fast for the nine days or something.

Also, “fasting” in general doesn’t necessarily mean one meal a day. When you are talking about a voluntary fast, it means anything from no food at all to a restriction of some particular type(s) of food or drink. For example, one can be on a bread and water fast. However, if you have any medical issues be sure to check with your doctor before any type of fast, and it is a good idea to talk to a priest about any special fasting you are intending, to make sure you are going about it in the best way.

Also, generally included in with the prayer and fasting, to make the spiritual experience complete, is almsgiving. If you are going to engage in prayer and fasting for a particular purpose (including if that purpose is increased holiness for yourself), generally it is a good idea to engage in almsgiving as well. For example, you could give the costs of the food you do not eat to a local food pantry.

This is just my opinion, not any official teaching.

–Jen