Spiritual Benefits of Fasting

It was an answered prayer to be the first ever layperson invited as a guest of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal on Ascension Presents. Reform Wellness founder Jackie joined Fr Mark Mary and Br. Elijah of the CFR’s to record a series on the physical and spiritual benefits of fasting. 

Fasting is a topic that comes up often at Reform Wellness under our wellness pillar of space. It’s a practice that creates space for healing within the body and soul to invite God in. In this first video of our two-part series, we speak about the spiritual power of prayer and fasting. 

Fasting makes our intentions incredibly powerful (see Mark 9:29) and it also cultivates and sustains intimacy with God. In a world where we seek immediate gratification, it feels impossible to “stay hungry” for anything--especially God. Fasting gives us the opportunity to pause and grow closer to God. We’ve heard so many times in our culture that the best things in life are worth waiting for. Fasting is a habit that allows us to fully experience and embody this sentiment. It’s when we sacrifice the immediate needs of the body and open the eyes of the soul that we can dive into the deep places that we are typically not able to go. 

There’s a lot of resistance towards fasting for most because it’s uncomfortable on both a physical and emotional level. And we are here to encourage and remind you that we rarely ever grow when we’re comfortable. 

If you’re at the point where you want to go deeper in your spiritual life and establish a more intimate relationship with God, if you have a big prayer intention, if you want to repair your soul, if you want to come outside of yourself and take that leap of faith, if you want to create more space in your life, to dive deeper--we invite you to take 15 minutes to watch this video. Let’s die to the ways that no longer serve us to become healthier, happier and holier, together.

Stay tuned for part II: the physical benefits and how to implement fasting soon!