Isaiah 58:8-10 “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”

With so many people all over the world starving for the lack of food, it seems almost ridiculous that anyone would intentionally go without food for any amount of time. Yet, every year at about this time, millions do so as they celebrate Lent. There was a time when fasting was a regular part of church discipline, but in today’s relaxed, casual, contemporary churches, such strict disciplines are spurned as being too legalistic or too traditional to bother with. But did you know there’s a lot good news that comes with fasting? When it’s done with right motives and a right attitude, powerful things happen when you fast. From healing, to guidance and direction, to repentance and forgiveness, all of these things are affected powerfully by fasting. I agree that tradition done for tradition’s sake is worthless, but when we understand the biblical reasoning behind disciplines like fasting, we’ll discover one more tool to help us draw nearer to God; and isn’t that good news?