What Did Wesley Say About Fasting?

“It is not all; nor yet is it nothing. It is not the end, but it is a precious means thereto, a means which God himself has ordained; and in which therefore, when it is duly used, he will surely give us his blessing.” -John Wesley

Wesley is speaking here of fasting in his sermon “Sermon on the Mount, VII,” from a collection of sermons that he gave on Jesus’s famous exposition found in Matthew 5-8. And now that we’re just about to Ash Wednesday, and therefore Lent, it’s time to think about fasting.

There are all kinds of ways to fast. In the early church, believers often fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays, up to 3:00 in the afternoon. Wednesday was the day of Christ’s betrayal and Friday the day of his crucifixion, which ended at 3:00. Wesley often adopted this ancient pattern as his own; no food after midnight until 3:00.

But note what Wesley says about fasting in the quotation above. Fasting itself is not the point. As with the means of grace, they are means, or channels, of God’s grace, his power made available to us. But we don’t focus on the means, we focus on the grace offered. Or to put it differently, our actions are not the point, it’s God’s work in and through them that matters.

Lent provides an opportunity to take on fasting, or other means of grace, as we journey with Christ through his suffering, death, and resurrection. Even its forty days—which never includes the Sundays of Lent—is taken from the pattern of his life when he fasted for forty days in the wilderness following his baptism.

As someone who sees the great benefits of Lent, but admittedly isn’t always good at it, let me commend it to you. Lent can be a wonderful time of renewal, of gaining focus, and of transformation. Lent re-orders our priorities.

But like every aspect of the Christian life, Lent requires thoughtful engagement. And now is the time before Ash Wednesday catches us off guard. So plan out your Lent now before you receive the ashes on Wednesday. Take hold of the opportunity and be intentional about it. Pray about it. God will guide you. He may open your eyes to an area of your life that needs particular attention.

And as you journey through Lent leading to Holy Week and Easter, don’t give up. If you fall, start again. God’s grace will be available to you throughout. And at the end of it, the Easter celebration of the resurrection will be all the richer for it.

Ryan N. Danker is director of the John Wesley Institute, Washington, DC. This is reposted from a weekly JWI newsletter that can be subscribed tohere.

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