Fasting

I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting.

—Psalm 35:13

When we were preparing to move back to Chicago from Grand Rapids, we wanted to arrive sharp, healthy, and focused, but at the rate we were going, we’d arrive totally off our rockers, cranky and more caffeine-addicted than ever, wild-eyed and bloated. Something had to change.

Aaron said he needed to fast. Fasting is a way of trusting God’s provision and creating silence and space for prayer. I said I’d join him, as did our friends Steve and Sarah. We decided to have nothing but juice or broth for one week, and to pray in the morning and the evening, all at the same time, wherever we were, whatever we were doing.

The fast was embarrassingly hard at first. We were vaguely angry about everything and tried to alternately blame each other and find loopholes. But we were also surprisingly clearheaded. It seemed like my mind and spirit were wiped clean and working well for the first time in forever. I felt able and bright-minded. I slept like a rock and woke up easily. When I prayed, my prayers were full of peace, expectation, confidence. I didn’t feel the panic and anxiety that had been marking my days. I felt hungry but clean and strong.