Why do Some Christians Fast During Lent

Why do Some Christians Fast During Lent Why do some Christians fast during Lent? This is a very valid question. Fasting isn't always about giving up something that we need to survive (like fasting from food/water). Fasting is all about giving up something we typically rely on (maybe our morning cup of coffee) to refocus our attention on how much we need God. If you think you want to try fasting to connect with God in your journey through Lent, but don’t really know what it looks like, take a bite (get it?) out of this devotional below and get an idea how fasting can bring you closer to God: Six years ago, I moved across the country for a job I believed God had opened up for me to take. Six months after that, the department I was working for was disbanded and I was out of a job. I was unemployed, in a new town, and I was terrified. To find direction for my next step forward, I did something I had never done before—I fasted. I didn’t grow up in a church that participated in or even really spoke of fasting. But, I knew it was a biblical practice, modeled by firm believers in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. I knew the basic idea was to go without food in order to pray and focus and listen to God alone, and I knew that was exactly what I needed. James 4:10 encourages people of faith to “humble themselves before God,” and this is what fasting is ultimately about. It’s an active way to take the focus off of self and put it back on God. The result we’re offered at the end of this verse is that God will “lift you up.” If we want to be transformed from scared and confused to clear-minded and at peace, then a position of humility is a good place to start.