There are many theories explaining the biblical origin of sin. But apart from that, we ourselves as humans do tend to fall into sin many times. Because of this sinful state, humans are actually aware that their relationship with God will be further away. And because of that there are many things that humans do to help restore their relationship to God. Starting from praying to doing forgiveness of sins in Christianity.
It is known that there are fasting activities carried out by the religions that we know. Even though the fasting performed by our fellow believers looks stricter, it turns out that many religions practice fasting as an activity in their worship rituals. This is done because there are indeed many purposes of fasting that have many benefits for those who are fasting and in the following I will share information about the purpose of Christian fasting for you.
1. Help grow faith
The purpose of the first Christian fast is to help grow the faith of the people. By fasting, we will try to reflect more on everything that happens in our lives. This is because during the fasting period there are a number of rules that we must follow where these rules will make our movement space much narrower and not as free as when we are not fasting. It will help us to see it from a new perspective because there are some rules during fasting that we must live and follow. For example, if previously we still had some fears over some things that might happen to our lives, then after undergoing fasting some of these fears will be resolved because we have entrusted our lives to God.
Even Jesus himself advised His disciples who were trying to cast out demons by praying and fasting. This means that fasting can have a big enough impact to help develop our faith in Him, by entrusting everything that happens is in His name. Especially if fasting is accompanied by praying which has many benefits praying for Christians, surely that faith will grow better. The existence of a measure of spiritual growth in us can be seen from how much we believe in God's design and do not worry about everything that will come as long as we have done our best in our lives.
2. Means of self-control
The means for self-control is the aim of the next Christian fast. Fasting is more than just an activity to endure hunger and thirst. Doing the activity of fasting is where we can try to hold back and keep away from the temptations of Satan that drop and make us do things that Satan wants more than things that God wants us to do more. So, through fasting, we can have better self-control in choosing and deciding to do good or bad things. Talking about self-control, of course, this will become even wider. Self-control also has to do with how we can control our emotions and to help you with this there are several Bible verses about patience that you can read and reflect on every day.
Controlling emotions is not an easy matter. This becomes even more difficult if we encounter someone's fault, be it a stranger or someone closest to us who is constantly making the same mistakes. However, because Jesus himself taught us to continue to love and forgive one another, of course we can change our tendency, which often feels emotional, to become a person who likes to forgive and see the good in others. And Jesus also teaches us to continue to forgive others who make mistakes even up to seventy-seven times seven times as much, and join in praying for those who are hostile to us. Because these things are more important matters between our relationship and God and who we are that we have the right to judge and not forgive our neighbors.
3. Awareness to remain grateful
Furthermore, the perceived purpose of Christian fasting is to help awaken us to remain grateful no matter what condition and circumstances we are in. By fasting and feeling hungry and thirsty, we will feel that there are other people out there who are not as fortunate as us. There are people whose conditions are very far below us. And by unanimously having the determination to do fasting, then we will indirectly be formed into a person who is more grateful for our situation. The meaning of gratitude in the Bible must really be understood and meditated on.
A heart that always has gratitude will help us also become a better person. Gratitude teaches us that everything we have is enough, and we don't have to worry about tomorrow's to come because one day's hardships are enough for just one day. Having a grateful heart will also prevent us from becoming greedy humans. Greed can have a bad impact both on our safety in the future and of course it can also harm other people around us. And also know that surrender can also be a form of idolatry because we focus more on one thing such as money, for example. Some of the things about idolatry are quite broad in scope and so get to know and study what idolatry means in the Christian faith.
4. Prefix for starting good habits
The next goal of Christian fasting is that it can be a starting point for a good habit. A habit where we will pray more often and reflect on our daily circumstances. Maybe if before we commit to fasting we tend to forget to pray and choose directly to do all our work, then this will slowly change.
By regularly fasting we will also begin to realize the bad effects of sin according to the Bible by continuing to try to change old habits into good habits. Doing reflection and meditation regularly will also help clear our minds from all the bad things and this will help us to become a person who has a more positive mindset in the future. All good habits will begin with positive thoughts, thoughts that want to bring us closer to God the Father.
5. As a form of proof of love for Allah
As a fragile human being who often falls into sin, we often pray for God without us knowing it through a few small things. One example of sin in Christianity that we often do is to doubt God's power. We doubt what will happen next to our lives. And this is tantamount to our duality of God and preferring to believe in our vulnerability as human beings who are limited in their abilities.
Doing fasting and consciously following the rules that are applied during fasting means that we have tried to give a form of proof of our love for Allah. Because we consciously want to cut ourselves off from worldly passions and get closer to God. The proof of our love for God that we manifest by fasting will certainly please God. And this of course is good because two individuals show their love for each other, and with this, our relationship with God will be even tighter and there will be no space for the devil to tempt or destroy the relationship that we have intimate with God. .
6. Helps maintain health
If fasting is often associated with the spiritual benefits that can be felt by those who are fasting, this time I will add to the health benefits of fasting. Doing fasting is tantamount to giving our bodies the opportunity to avoid various foods that can harm our health. Fasting will help us detoxify the toxins in the body so that the toxins in the body will come out and our metabolism will be smoother and healthier.
These are some of the goals of Christian fasting that I can share with you. Hopefully by knowing some of the goals of this fast, you can become more stable and have a strong determination in doing your fast. Thank you for taking your time by reading our article. Don't forget to also read and find out more about some good and true Christian fasting methods so that you can do your fasting smoothly.