Why Fasting? 

by Mitch and Amanda 

This document was put together for the Student Throne Room 24/7 Prayer, April 2024 to give some reasons, guidelines and considerations on fasting. Our aim is to help understand what fasting is and allow people an opportunity to incorporate fasting into this season of prayer and beyond. 

When this period of 24/7 prayer was first proposed, we felt that this could be an opportunity for something more; a moment to embrace prayer AND adventure into one of the ancient disciplines that was influential in the lives of so many in the bible and early church. 

Let us start by asking three simple questions. 

Fill in the blanks before you read on:

1. What is fasting? 

2. Why do people fast as a spiritual discipline?

3. Have you fasted before or would you consider fasting as a spiritual discipline? 

Seven of the most significant figures in the bible fasted: Moses, Elijah, Daniel, Isaiah, Jesus, Peter and Paul. When they fasted, they experienced intimacy with God. Additionally, there are over 50 references and stories within the Old and New Testament that refer to this ancient discipline. Throughout church history St Athanasius, St Augustine, St Benedict, Justin Martyr, John Chrysostom, Martin Luther, John Wesley, John Calvin as well as modern day pilgrims such as John Piper, Richard Foster, Dallas Willard and Pete Greig advocate for the spiritual discipline of fasting. 

So what’s it all about? Amanda and I hope that this little document will offer some helpful insight that will open your body, mind and spirit to the discipline of fasting. We have broken this into 7 simple headings including one with recommended reading at the end. 

What is fasting? 

There are 7 early ancient practices / disciplines within the christian tradition. Each invite us into healthy life rhythms that involve body, mind and spirit:

• A fixed hour of prayer each day,
• A sabbath rest each week,
• Following a seasonal liturgical calendar, for example, lent, season of pentecost and advent, 
• A pilgrimage (now more common to have a retreat or sabbatical),
• The Lord’s Supper (for some it’s a daily practice, others weekly, monthly and even quarterly),
• Tithing (often contributed on a weekly or monthly basis) and
• Fasting (the early church often fasted Wednesday and Friday, Didache 8:1) 

Fasting is by far and away the most misunderstood, maligned and misused the disciplines. So let’s start by proposing a simple definition for biblical fasting: 

‘A body response to a sacred moment leading to the wilful abstaining from food.’

That sacred moment can come to us in many forms: in a crisis, the realisation of sin, when a nation is threatened, in pursuit of holiness, grief as well as in the discipline of routine. It is the body’s response to the spiritual discipline of prayer. They go hand in hand. When we pray, we pray with our minds and spirit. When we fast, it’s our body response to align with our mind and spirit. 

Foundational to the idea of fasting is understanding that God is interested in our whole person, body, mind and spirit. Often emphasis is only on a spiritual formation and the body is seen as one of four things: as a monster to be mastered, a mere vessel to be filled, a celebrity to be glorified or a wallflower to be ignored. However the biblical picture is that each of us are the image bearers of God (greek: eikons). This image is one of multifaceted unity of heart, mind, soul, spirit and body, all reflecting the image of God. 

How does your body respond in praise and worship? When we kneel, lift our hands, rock back and forth, lie on the floor, dance, sing, lay hands on someone in prayer, it is our body response to what is happening in our spirit and mind. Biblical fasting is about joining the body with the spirit and mind, the immaterial to the material, unified in its expression. 

In the modern church there seems to be an ever increasing rise in people expressing their spiritual selves in physical ways. Much (but not all) of these expressions Amanda and I celebrate, and no doubt over this season of 24/7 prayer, we will see this manifest in many ways mentioned above as well as journaling, drawing, painting, and more. Fasting, in the same way, is a body response to a sacred moment. How we see our bodies can shape how we respond in prayer and worship.  As Kathleen Dugan states, ‘Fasting in christianity is only true itself when it realises the sacredness of the body’.

Before we move on we want you to notice that our definition of fasting is not centred on the outcome but on the sacred moment. This is critical to how we approach the whole discipline. If our focus is on desired outcomes it becomes a process of works that can disappoint. God is no more obliged to answer your prayers with fasting than without. So what’s the point? People often ask: “What are we fasting for? This is the wrong question. It’s a bit like asking someone who has lost a loved one, why they have lost their appetite and are not eating. It’s not that this might change the situation but it is a body response to a sacred moment. Fasting is often a natural response to grief, and we see examples of fasting and grieving throughout Scripture. David and his men, for example, wept and fasted after the death of Saul and his sons (2 Samuel 1:12).

We pray for specific outcomes, yes, 100%,  but fasting should not be results centred. Rather it should be encounter centred. In 2 Samuel 12, the prophet Nathan told David that his son would die. When the child became very ill, David refused to eat and immediately went into prayer and fasting, hoping that he might find grace in the eyes of God. After 7 days of praying and fasting before God, the child died. Did his fasting fail? No. David’s fasting deepened his intimacy with God in a sacred moment.

All of us will know of moments when we want to encounter God in a deeper way through prayer yet we are distracted, we feel empty, unmotivated and even experience a dryness in our prayer life. What do we do? The wisdom of the ages is that sensitive people fast to communicate with God during dry days.

A biblical story about Ichabod and Ebenezer shows how dry days of God's absence led Israel to a sacred moment of repentance. And because they rightly responded to the sacred moment, they found the glorious result of God's blessed presence again. They didn’t fast for God’s presence, they fasted out of a sacred moment of repentance.

Early in Israel's history, during the time of Samuel, the ark of God was captured by the Philistines. When the news of the ark's captivity reached Eli, the 98 year-old judge who had guided Israel for forty years, he fell over backward and died. For Eli, that ark represented the presence and blessing of God. For him, God had left His people. Eli's daughter-in-law responded to Eli's death by going into labour and giving birth to a son whom she named Ichabod meaning "the glory of God has departed” (1 Sam 4). (Not a name we ever considered for our kids!!) 

Yet one person's response is not the whole story. The absence of the ark embodied the absence of God's blessing on Israel. A few chapters later, Samuel recognised the solemnity of this moment of the ark's absence and what it meant for God's blessing. So Samuel challenged Israel to return to worshipping the one and only God. He summoned all Israel to Mizpah, where he prayed for them and called them to respond to God's absence by fasting. 

‘So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the LORD. They fasted that day, and said, 'We have sinned against the LORD.’ (1 Sam 7:6, emphasis added.) 

That day Israel found victory over the Philistines and over their false gods, and so Samuel set up a stone and called it Ebenezer meaning, "stone of [God's] help" (v. 12).

Now, it would be easy here for us to focus on the result and to come away with the idea that if we fast, we might experience a greater presence of God. And that might be true. But let's remind ourselves again of our definition of fasting: fasting is body response to a sacred moment. What we should see in the Ichabod and Ebenezer story is not so much that fasting can trigger the return of God's blessing, but how Samuel and Israel responded to the absence of the ark and the absence of God's blessing. We dare not forget that it was the sacred moment that led to the act of fasting. Because the Israelites repented and yearned for God's presence, they fasted; that yearning was blessed by God.

We believe this story teaches us to focus not so much on what we want but on the grievous nature of the moment. If we sense the absence of God, this is a sacred moment. When you are in the middle of this 24/7 prayer season and you get a burden for our government or an unsaved friend or family member, your reaction will probably not be, ‘let's grab a burger and pray’, but the sacred moment will likely put you on your knees, put you to tears, put you on the floor. Food will not be on the agenda. These are the very sacred moments that give birth to fasting. We need to let this very absence of God create in us a sense of yearning for God's presence, and fasting is one thing we can do to respond to and embody that absence of God. Instead of seeing fasting as an instrument that can bring God back or closer, we need to see fasting as that what a unified person (body mind and spirit)  naturally does when they encounter an experience of God's absence or indeed when in his presence. 

Today as we look across our specific culture in the UK and Ireland, what do we see? Moral decay, mockers of God, the erosion of a biblical framework in our government and schools… maybe this is a time of crisis that calls for a corporate day of prayers. Maybe out of this 24/7 prayer God can use a bunch students to birth a national day of prayer and fasting. Not because we are financially broke, not because of some latest heath cleansing, but because we are spiritually broke and need a spiritual cleansing.  

Only when we understand what fasting is can we fully embrace the powerful sermon of Basil of Caesarea: 

Fasting gives birth to prophets, she strengthens the powerful. 

Fasting makes lawmakers wise.

She is a safeguard of a soul, a stabilising companion to the body, a weapon for the brave, a discipline for champions.

Fasting knocks over temptations, anoints for godliness.

She is a companion for sobriety, the crafter of a sound mind.

In wars she fights bravely, in peace she teaches tranquility.

She sanctifies the Nazirite, and she perfects the priest.

What it’s not

Sometimes the best way to define something is to say what it is not.

 

1. Fasting isn’t a manipulative tool that guarantees results. As we have already pointed out, fasting is in response to a sacred moment, not an instrument to get results. The christian tradition of fasting is not ‘if you fast you will get’ but ‘when this happens, God’s people fasted’.

Here is the truth: fasting for results is a completely wrong motive. When we fast for results, rather than out of the sacred moment, it becomes a system of works rather than a spiritual discipline. The protestant impulses are sola gratia and sola fide - by (God’s) grace alone and by faith alone. That is, we cannot do anything to merit God’s favour; God showers his grace upon us because of his mercy and love, not because we earned it or deserve it.  Fasting is a body response to a sacred moment. It does not make us more holy any more than the one who worships with his hands in the air is more holy than the one who does not. 

2. Fasting is not merely observing rituals. Calvin was not shy to condemn such fasting that was motivated by works but he also knew the benefits of fasting to include better communion with God. Fasting, Calvin wrote in Institutes, had three objectives: to subdue the flesh, to prepare for prayer and meditation, and to be a testimony of self-abasement before God. So, he recommends, "whenever men are to pray to God concerning any great matter, it would be expedient to appoint fasting along with prayer.”

Our home church has a week of prayer and fasting each January. On most occasions Amanda participates and I do not. Why? The timing doesn’t work for me and I don’t want to participate out of ritual. It isn’t a coming out of a sacred moment for me. Easter works much better for me. 

3. Fasting is not the same as abstaining. Abstaining includes not watching TV or staying off social media or avoiding a particular food such as chocolate. It is not fasting. This has its benefits; it is a good discipline and the time can be used for other things or money saved given to other causes but it is not fasting. Biblical fasting is abstaining from food for a given period of time. Some will drink water only, others juice or a little tea/coffee. (Note: Moses fasted for 40 days without food or water (Deut 9:9) but we are not recommending that to anyone. He was in the presence of the Lord for those 40 days and you are not.)

4. Fasting is not petty casuistry (ie. getting around the task and seeing it as a law or test to pass.) Here is how this happens. You chose to fast a meal (lunch) so you eat a breakfast that would feed a family of five for three days, have a protein shake at 1pm and end the fast with a banquet of the finest meat and fish. We’re exaggerating but you get the drift. Martin Luther called this a kind of abuse and never a genuine fast saying “It irks me that some people should practice and permit this mockery of Christendom, deceiving God with the mask of saying that such a life of gluttony and guzzling and belly-filling should be called a fast and a good work”.

5. Fasting with prayer is not better than prayer alone. We do not fast because we will gain a closer hearing from God or twist his arm as if to say: ‘Ok God, when I pray for something, that means I’m really serious about it, but when I pray and fast it is telling you i’m really, really, really serious about it and you should pay more attention.’ This is a messed up theology, we fast because my whole body is engaged as an integrated response to life’s sacred moments. We fast not because we need God to listen and pay more attention to us than by prayer alone, but become we need to listen and pay more attention to God than by prayer alone. The fast may lead us to a breakthrough but even if it doesn’t, it’s our right response to this sacred moment. As Scot McKnight puts it in his brilliant book entitled ‘Fasting’:

“Fasting is what happens to the person who yields the whole person - body, soul, spirit, heart, and mind to God. And like the Pevensie children in the Chronicles of Narnia who sometimes found the wardrobe a passage into Narnia and other times nothing but a wooden enclosure leading to nowhere, so also the surrender to God: sometimes the fasting person is ushered into Narnia and sometimes not. Opening the wardrobe door, just like fasting, is no guarantee the back of the wardrobe will merge into Narnia”.

Why fast?

1. In response to sinful and immoral moments. 

Joel 2:12 -15 (emphasis added):

12 

“Even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
    with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

13 

Rend your heart
    and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
    and he relents from sending calamity.

14 

Who knows? He may turn and relent
    and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
    for the Lord your God.

15 

Blow the trumpet in Zion,
    declare a holy fast,
    call a sacred assembly.

The words of the prophet Joel is an invitation from God that our repentance involves the whole body: in fasting, weeping and mourning. 

Again in Judges 19 and 20 we see a horrific picture of how the moral fabric of the nation has been shredded with violence. What are they to do? 

"Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.” (Judges 20:26)

In Deuteronomy 9, Moses knew the moral core of Israel was disintegrating before his eyes, how would he respond?

“So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands. When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.

Then once again I fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so arousing his anger. I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me. And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too. Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.” (Deuteronomy 9:15-21)

Perhaps our concern for our nation’s failures would be best expressed by joining others too like Jehoshaphat, Nehemiah, Esther and Anna who fasted for their country, leaders and people. 

2. To seek guidance from God.

When the children of Israel (Judah) had been in Babylon too long and were on the verge of returning under the leadership of Ezra, they fasted. Right there at the river Ahava near Babylon, they denied themselves the comforts and pleasures they were used to and fasted in order to plead with God for guidance and protection as they made the long trek back to the promised land (Ezra 8:21-23). Ezra, man of faith that he was, was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers to protect God's people, so he sought the Lord in prayer for that protection. He got it, and God's people finally returned home.

Centuries later the gathering Christians at Antioch were worshipping and fasting when God spoke through his Holy Spirit. “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then with fasting and praying, they laid hands on them and sent them off.” (Acts 13: 2-3). This fasting gave then sensitivity to the voice of the spirit that sent Paul and Barnabas out in their first mission trip. 

The emphasis here is not to force the hand of God but to be yearning to know him and his will more.

3. To surrender our muscle and might to the will of God.

My (Mitch) worst reaction in ministry is ‘I’ll do it’. It usually follows a conversation with staff or our lead team where a gap is identified but no one steps up to respond. It might at first glance be seen as the servant leader stepping up at a time of need, what a hero eh? But underneath this moment is a bigger issue. At times I push myself too hard, feeling the responsibility instead of letting go and trusting God. Fasting is my white flag moment. It’s my surrender of body, mind and spirit and saying ‘Lord, I need you… I repent, I lament, I can’t fix it, I need you to be the hero in the story not me.’ 

Paul spoke of the christian as an athlete (1 Cor 9:25, 1 Tim 4:7-8) as an advocate of whole body (Rom 6). It is rich in illustrations of the disciplines needed to be an athlete which would include nutrition. Perhaps part of our response to 'crucifying the flesh’ can be fasting? 

I like food (Amanda). It’s fun, it tastes good, it’s sociable, but I have discovered that I also use it in response to how I feel. If I’m sad, I treat myself to cheer me up, if I’m feeling low, I comfort eat, if I’m bored, I make a cup of tea and have something to eat with it. And so it goes on. At times of intentional pursuit of God, when I fast and food is unavailable, I find myself wrestling with my thoughts and feelings in a different way. I bring them to God quicker, I seek out scripture faster and I am able to discern what’s of the flesh and what’s of the spirit easier. I’ve also learned that when I want to eat, it’s not just a physical need because I’m hungry, but sometimes there’s a deeper need that I’m trying to meet with a physical solution. Paul in his letter to the Philippians writes about those who are enemies of the cross, “their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things”. (Phil 3:19). Fasting teaches us not to pursue earthly solutions for Godly matters. 

5. In obedience

Jesus expects us to fast. Jesus is questioned about why his disciples didn’t fast, when others did and he replied, “But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; in those days they will fast.” (Luke 5:35) As disciples of Jesus, we are living in that time, Jesus has returned to the Father and he goes to prepare a place for us, his bride. 

Jesus also used language of expectation when he taught on fasting in Matthew 6. “When you fast…” Even though his disciples where not fasting while with him, they would have known the discipline of fasting as Jews. Jesus was implying that they would fast again and that it would be part of their lives. 

Sometimes we may not be moved to fast, and many times we will not want to fast, but our obedience to Christ is a sacred moment. When we choose to fast out of obedience, we are surrounding to his will and ways. It is not a ritual to have planned times of fasting, it’s being intentional. 

John Wesley, in his Journal, wrote on Friday, August 17, 1739, that

"many of our society met, as we had appointed, at one in the afternoon and agreed that all members of our society should obey the Church to which we belong by observing 'all Fridays in the year' as 'days of fasting and abstinence.' We likewise agreed that as many as had opportunity should then meet to spend an hour together in prayer.” Wesley was about twenty-five years old when he wrote this; he practiced fasting the rest of his life.

When should we fast?

The bible sets a whole montage of examples of when people chose to fast:

• David didn’t gloat over his enemies sickness he prayed and fasted for them (Psalm 33:13-14), 
• Isaiah called for a fast out of compassion for others (Isaiah 58:89), 
• King Jehoshaphat called the nation to fast and pray together in order to seek God's direction and salvation (2 Chron 2:20),
• Moses’ supernatural fast of 40 days and nights without food and water was during a divine God encounter (Exodus 34), 
• Elijah fasted after being frightened to death by wicked Jezebel and running away (1 Kings 19) (Mitch: every time I read, write or hear than name I hear a pantomime Boooo in the heavenliness.)
• Jesus fasted for 40 days before entering a supernatural ministry (Matt 4), 
• Paul fasted on his conversion (Acts 9), and 
• The disciples at Antioch fasted, and prayed before commissioning Paul and Barnabas on their first mission trip (Acts 13). 

One of the most telling passages in which fasting is mentioned is Matthew 6:16, where Jesus is teaching His disciples basic principles of godly living. When he talks about fasting, He begins with, "When you fast," not "If you fast.” Jesus' words imply that fasting will be a regular practice in His followers' lives but does not indicate on when the when is! 

Given this spectrum we believe it would be foolish to put legalistic conditions upon it. Our simple answer would be: whenever there is a sacred moment, a sacred moment not based on what we feel like but the inward leading of the Holy Spirit.

Wesley Duewel, a twentieth-century writer, said, "You and I have no more right to omit fasting because we feel no special emotional prompting than we have a right to omit prayer, Bible reading, or assembling with God's children for lack of some special emotional prompting. Fasting is just as biblical and normal a part of a spiritual walk of obedience with God as are these others.” In the same way that we don’t want to become legalistic about WHEN we read the bible and pray, we don’t prescribe a WHEN for fasting. But we do encourage you to make a regular part of your healthy, spiritual rhythms. 

Also, don’t hung up on the length of time you fast for. Start small, but if you decide to do a longer fast, don’t feel guilty for breaking it early if you need to or feel led to. You may fast meal one meal a day for a week, or one day a week, or 3 days a month or 5 days twice a year, or from 6am to 6pm for a month!!

Who is it for? 

You could be forgiven for glancing at the list above as a list of spiritual elite throughout history and say this is not for me. However hidden within these examples is a marvellous story of faithful church missionary pioneers, church planters and fasters whose names we don’t even know. Who commissioned Paul and Barnabas? The Antioch church right? And who are they? Who planted this church. Pilgrims scattered due to fierce persecution. What were their names? Acts 11 simply introduces them as ‘them’. That’s it. No bright lights, no Peter, no John, no James, just unspecified believers committed to mission. These are the people who fasted and sent out the greatest missionary theologian of all time. Just them. 

Fasting is for all those who know and love Jesus with a few exceptions. 

We don’t recommend that the following people fast:

• under 18’s (children and adolescent bodies are still developing and need a balanced diet)
• if you are pregnant or breast feeding
• if you have underlying health conditions that preclude fasting eg. type 1 diabetes
• if you are on medication that will be impacted by a fast (consult doctor for advice)

If you are an athlete, plan fasting around your training regime, or if you have an occupation that is physically demanding (eg manual labourer, fire and rescue), plan your fasting accordingly. 

Before we move into practical advice and recommended reading, revisit the questions at the start…. We hope that through reading this brief document you have have a much more informed response and a willingness to revisit the discipline of fasting. 

Practical advice (including food) 

Before you fast: 

• Plan your fast in advance if/when possible. This helps you to use your time well and to be intentional with how you use your time. No point in planning a fast over a family birthday or during exam week. Sometimes we cannot plan and we are moved to fast immediately.
• Plan when you will start, who will know and when you will finish. Not everyone needs to know. Jesus teaches we should put on a display when we fast and pray, but we may need to let others know who it may impact. Also if you are planning a longer fast, it’s good to have others who will pray for you during your fast.
• Plan your food intake for breaking your fast, especially after fasting for longer periods of time (see below).
• If you plan to only drink water during a longer fast, I (Amanda) would recommend cutting out caffeine a few days prior to starting your fast. I drink a lot of tea and cutting it gives me terrible headaches. This is not pleasant at the best of times but during fasting, it is horrible and distracting. 

During your fast:

• Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water during your fast; 6-8 glasses a day. If you chose to drink others fluids, stick to low calorie drinks like tea/coffee, or diluted juice (low sugar). The ideal is to keep your calorie intake low. 
• Avoid soda, energy drinks, milk, smoothies, milkshakes and high calories caffeinated drinks eg. vanilla latte!
• During a longer fast (over 5 days) you may take a little bone broth. Although it contains some fat and calories, small amounts may provide important vitamins and minerals during longer fasts.

After your fast:

• You don’t need to worry too much about how you break your fast if you have fasted under 24 hours. Generally a large healthy snack or small meal made up of cooked, whole foods (not processed junk) is recommended. Start with something small. Do not binge or over-eat. Maintain good levels of water intake. 
• For longer fasts, your body will have undergone many changes and has been using its energy differently. Your digestion process will have been paused and needs restarted gently. Break your fast will a small, low calorie meal or snack made from healthy, whole, cooked, natural ingredients. Soups are easy to digest. Mitch recommends the recipe below. It’s nutritious and avoids meats, dairy produce, raw veg and fruit. Re-introduce foods gradually over a few days. If you have fasted for 5 days or more, you cannot jump back to normal pattern of eating after breaking your fast - trust me, you will suffer for it!

For longer fasts, how you break your fast really does matter. I (Amanda) have done it well and done it badly. My first 5 day fast ended with a stop at the local kebab shop and I burnt my mouth and  had bad stomach pains for a few days! To be honest, I usually feel out of sorts for a few days and so have learned to be very gentle with myself. 

Lentil soup with vermicelli and lemon  

Traditionally, in many Arabic countries, lentil soup is served for breaking the fast and here is my (Mitch) version of the famous Iraqi one:

2 medium onion, finely chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

1 tablespoon oil of your choice

20g butter

500g red split lentils washed and rinsed

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt to taste

1 teaspoon of mild curry power

3 litres stock or water of your choice, depending on how thick or thin you like your soup - I use one veg and 2 chicken stock cubes. 

2 bundles of vermicelli noodles (crush them up in the packet to save the mess) 

3 whole lemons, possibly more depending on size

Heat the oil and butter  in a large sauce pan, add the onions and chopped garlic and sauté until slightly brown, about 6-8 minutes.  Add the lentils, carrot, turmeric, curry power , salt and black pepper, and mix for a further 2 minutes and start stirring in the 

warm stock and bring to a boil, and leave to simmer gently for about 45 minutes until the lentils are mushy and almost liquid. Add the crushed vermicelli with your hands and gently simmer for another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and add more steer if needed. Note: the vermicelli has a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pot. 

When serving: Add the lemon juice and eat it slowly. Allow a gap of 1 hour before considering a second or third bowl. Listen to you body. Don’t over eat. 

Note: Leftover soup stores well in the fridge for a few days, however bear in mind it goes a lot thicker after a while. Just simply add more water, and adjust seasoning accordingly.

Recommended reading 

Fasting - Scot McKnight 

The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting - Mehesh Chanda

A complete guide to Biblical Fasting - Ted Shuttlesworth Jr. 

Celebration of Discipline - Richard Foster

The Divine Conspiracy - Dallas Willard

Pray First - Chris Hodges