Fasting
Fasting refers to an act of willingly refraining from eating or drinking for a specified period, which majorly involves a religious observance. According to the Bible (1984), Mark 2:18-20 states that “now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” Jesus answered, “How can the guest of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will get taken from them, and on that day they will fast.”
In my opinion, I believe Jesus portrays himself as the bridegroom and the disciples as the wedding guest, where he meant that the time for the disciples to fast would be during his death, resurrection, and ascending to heaven period and time after that. According to (Venegas-Borsellino, & Martindale, 2018), there are several spiritual benefits of Fasting to which I concur. The mental benefits include soul cleansing, deeper praise, new Christian satisfaction, sensitivity to God’s voice, and majorly developing original and strong desire for God. Fasting does improve not only a persons’ spiritual life but also physical life too.
Through Fasting, better health gets acquired as it helps fight inflammation. Fasting also helps reduce insulin resistance, which helps boost proper blood sugar levels. Mental health disorders are also prevented which helps boost brain functionality (Venegas-Borsellino, & Martindale, 2018) Fasting has helped create and establish a strong foundation based on my Christianity life. People tend to use different styles to practice Fasting. Twice a week method, 24-hour fast, time-restricted eating, and alternate-day Fasting are the primary styles which are used by Christians (Venegas-Borsellino, & Martindale, 2018).
References
Bible, H. (1984). New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Venegas-Borsellino, C., & Martindale, R. G. (2018). From religion to secularism: the benefits of Fasting. Current nutrition reports, 7(3), 131-138.