Each January, my church engages in a time of fasting and prayer together. I enjoy the timing of the fast at the beginning of a new year and the sense of community it fosters. While there are several ideas and opinions about how fasting should be done “right,” this brief commentary is not a how-to list but rather a collection of thoughts about fasting.

1. Fasting requires sacrifice. People fast many different things from specific foods (or all food) to shopping or technology. The goal is to set aside something important to us to create space for God.

2. Fasting creates space. When we become empty of food or something else that “fills” us, we create space in our lives that can be filled by God.

3. Fasting purifies the soul. Just as refraining from food (or types of food) initiates a physical detoxification process and allows our bodies to be renewed, fasting and prayer spark spiritual detoxing and refreshing.

4. Fasting makes us hungry. Missing a meal signals a hunger response in our bodies that should remind us that our desire should be for God with the same intensity as the hunger pangs that long for food to satisfy them.

5. Fasting makes us thirsty. While one should not fast water, the natural side effect of fasting food is we often become more thirsty. Drinking extra water is a good idea because it helps to abate the hunger sensations and flushes toxins from the body. Water is a wonderful reminder that Jesus is our living water that quenches our spiritual thirst.