But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:18

As I finished chewing an oversized bite of my six inch Spicy Italian sub last night, I looked at my girls and then had what I guess some would think was an odd conversation.

I asked them if they'd thought about maybe fasting one day this week.

Strange, I know.

Fasting, especially from food, isn't my idea of a good time. We love eating.  All five of us Burdens. We plan birthday parties and trips around good food. Eating is one of our favorite pastimes.

But if you were at church somewhere on the First Baptist Nederland campus yesterday you know why I brought up fasting. Yesterday Jason preached on the unpopular subject and brought up some worthy reminders and good points.

• Fasting is mentioned more times in the Bible than baptism.
• Fasting turns us to prayer. (When fasting from something like food or technology, we hunger for those things we deprive ourselves of. In that hunger that we've resolved not to satisfy, we're reminded that we need help. And we pray.)

• The Bible doesn't say "if you fast" but rather "when."

• Jesus fasted. And we're to follow him.

• There are dozens of mentionable outcomes  following characters in the Bible who chose to fast, seeking God's strength and help. Just look to Daniel, those from Ninevah, Hannah, Mordecai and Esther, to name a few.  They fasted and through God's mercy lives were saved, peoples restored.

Saying all that, I shamefully admit that I've yet to successfully fast. I get queasy when I don't eat. I've tried technology fasts, but I always end up cheating. I try to keep my focus off of food or (in the case of a technology fast) away from my phone, but my mind stays fixed on those things. 

Years ago when Jason and I were practically youth ourselves, we lead a youth group.  We held a twenty-four hour fast with the focus on world hunger. We had a lock-in where we mostly distracted ourselves from hunger by playing games for hours on end. We prayed, but looking back, my focus wasn't on the truly hungry and it wasn't on God. It was a superficial fast that sought to get through twenty-four hours using the art of distraction. 

This week I'm trying again and I'm more hopeful.

This morning while still curled in the fetal position with my eyes closed in half-slumber, a bible verse came to mind.

 I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalm 61:2

Fasting is only fasting when it's accompanied by much prayer.

Fasting is only accomplished through a humble strength (weakness) that begs to be traded in for God's strength.

Fasting will remain purposeless when that which we abstain from is only replaced with something else earthly in nature and we forget to fix our heart and our attention on God.

"Duh", you're saying.

Unfortunately, the effective giving up of things I find comfort in (even the temporary giving-up) is one area where my diet is still milk and not solid food.

That's why my prayer this morning, and hopefully continuing on, is that God would "lead me to the rock that is higher than I". ...that as I feebly attempt to put aside my comforts to implore God's help for my family, the church, our nation and a hurting world, he'll come alongside lifting me to a place where my feet won't stumble.

There I'll talk with God, and listen from the firm place. I'll not starve and stumble. I won't sink in the sands of otherness.

We're supposed to fast in secret just as prayer has a place in a closet. That doesn't mean that the subject of fasting is a secret. Fasting is a subject worth practicing and it's a secret worth sharing.