Dr. René Johnson
Spiritual Breakthrough and Fasting
Fasting is a somewhat neglected spiritual discipline for most Christians. For one thing, people are a bit unsure about whether it’s manageable. But the bigger issue might be that the church tends to favor outward expressions of devotion, and fasting, as we’re reminded in Matthew 6:16-18, is a private matter between the individual and God.
That’s why I appreciate the quiet devotion of Anna, the prophet. There she is in her corner of the temple, where it’s just her and God. Day after day, on her own and throughout the years until she is quite old, she is found fasting and praying while the priests and righteous men of Israel are up front performing rituals and praising God in very public ways. Not Anna. She is not there to be noticed; she is there to worship, fast, and pray and to make herself available to spiritual openings that might become prophetic words. And then it happens! A spiritual breakthrough occurs when she sees a young couple with a child and knows this is not an ordinary child - this child is Israel's redemption and unto that she will bear witness!
As we make our way through Lent, the season of introspection and solemnity, let us consider the quiet devotion of a fast in our own corners of the world. Let us meet God in that intimate emptiness experienced in fasting where space is created for spiritual breakthroughs. Our eyes might be opened to see more clearly those things that have control over us, our compulsions. We might sense an increased capacity to love and embrace others as they are. Or, we might even see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Whatever it is, like Anna, we will likely see things we can’t stop telling others about.
