Where, oh where, has fasting gone?

For the next few weeks, we will be going over some of the history and principles of fasting.

Fasting is a mystery to me. Why does starving myself have anything to do with my prayers being more effective? Is it that I show I am more serious about my prayers by refusing to eat food? But does not God know my heart anyway? That is my line of thought when it comes to fasting.

But fasting is not based upon my logic. For some reason, our prayers do seem to be more effective when we fast.

Jesus said "when you fast" which followed sections in the Sermon on the Mount on giving of your finances and praying, yet we ignore fasting and still emphasize the others.

Richard Foster had this to say in regards to the disappearance of fasting:

What would account for this almost total disregard of a subject so frequently mentioned in Scripture and so ardently practiced by Christians through the centuries? Two things. First, fasting has developed a bad reputation as a result of the excessive ascetic practices of the Middle Ages. With the decline of the inward reality of the Christian faith, an increasing tendency to stress the only thing left, the outward form, developed. And whenever there is a form devoid of spiritual power, law will take over because law always carries with it a sense of security and manipulative power. Hence, fasting was subjected to the most rigid regulations and practiced with extreme self-mortification and flagellation. Modern culture reacts strongly to these excesses and tends to confuse fasting with mortification...

...Perhaps it is best to avoid the term "command" since in the strictest sense Jesus did not command fasting. But it is obvious that he proceeded on the principle that the children of the kingdom of God would fast. For the person longing for a more intimate walk with God, these statements of Jesus are drawing words.

Where are the people today who will respond to the call of Christ? Have we become so accustomed to "cheap grace" that we instinctively shy away from more demanding calls to obedience? "Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross." Why has the giving of money for example, been unquestionably recognized as an element in Christian devotion and fasting so disputed? Certainly we have as much, if not more, evidence from the Bible for fasting as we have for giving. Perhaps in our affluent society fasting involves a far larger sacrifice than the giving of money.