24. 04.
It is sobering to realize that the very first statement Jesus made about fasting dealt with the question of motive (Matt. 6:16-18). To use good things to our own ends is always the sign of false religion. How easy it is to take something like fasting and try to use it to get God to do what we want.
Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline
When I first took a serious look at the discipline of fasting, I never really thought of it as something necessary for me to practice. However, I decided to do it anyway. I started off fasting for about a day and a half. Then, I fasted for 24 hours once every week for about 10 weeks. What a wonderful experience it was.
During the times that I would have normally been eating, I spent that time alone, meditating or in prayer. God, through His word, revealed to me things that I needed to change in my life.
I think my time of fasting was most effective because I did it out of obedience, rather than to get something from God. I noticed after a few weeks I started to expect God to reveal new things to me, and when he wasn’t, I was going to quit. However, I realized that the purpose of fasting is not necessarily so that God will reveal new things to me, rather it is a time devoted to God in response to recognizing His provision in my life. Foster also notes:
Fasting must forever center on God. It must be God-initiated and God-ordained. Like the prophetess Anna, we need to be “worshiping with fasting” (Luke 2:37). Every other purpose must be subservient to God.
24. 04.
We need not worry that [prayer] will take up too much of our time, for “It takes up no time, but it occupies all our time.” It is not prayer in addition to work but prayer simultaneous with work. We precede, enfold, and follow all our work with prayer.
Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline
I agree 100% with the statement above, however, I still consider it to be of great value to take time, just as Jesus did during his time on earth, to spend in prayer. What Foster is pointing out here is that prayer is not something that should be done only during a dedicated time, rather it should be something we do during our daily tasks so that we may constantly be aware of God’s presence.
Spending dedicated time in prayer, just as with meditation, is part of a healthy Christian life, but more importantly is our call to be in constant communion with God throughout our daily lives.
22. 04.
Christian meditation, very simply, is the ability to hear God’s voice and obey his word.
Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline, Chapter 2
Meditation is a discipline that many Christians don’t understand, or have an incorrect understanding of. The meditation talked about in popular culture involves clearing your mind and releasing negative energy. It is often associated with Yoga and other physical disciplines. There is often an emphasis on becoming part of a universal spirituality that everyone practices in their own unique way.
Christian meditation has a very different purpose from other forms of meditation. The goal is to become united with God, filling our mind, heart and spirit with God’s love, peace, joy and hope. Christian meditation can include focusing on scripture, a song or a prayer.
Hearing God’s voice is often misunderstood as well. Up until a few years ago, I always thought that hearing God’s voice was something only the super-spiritual Christians could do, as though it was a gift or a skill that came with time. I now realize that hearing God’s voice is something we, as believers, must be doing all the time. God speaks through countless things, such as family, friends, scripture, nature, pain (especially pain), sorrow, prayers, songs… the list goes on.
Obeying God’s word can be thought of as an active meditation. Sitting and meditating on God’s word is only one part. Meditation is not at all useful if I get up from my meditation and go right on neglecting the presence of God in my life. Active meditation through obedience is the point of meditation in the first place. We meditate on God’s word so that we will hear it, believe it, understand it and obey it.
William Knelsen