Do you ever wonder what why there is so much suffering and pain in this world? Why innocent people die and young children are stricken with disease? Why loved ones leave us so soon? These are such difficult things to talk about and even more difficult to understand God's plan in it all. This brings me to the word peace.
Fast and Pray.
I believe that understanding peace of heart and mind is understanding God's love and plan in all of this for us all. Just think about this, when we fast (deny ourselves something we desire for a short amount of time or a period of time) and pray regularly we start to establish a sense of peace or withdraw from the world around us and it's problems. We are able to construct within us a fortress of trust and love in God. Once we have a glimpse of this peace we yearn for more. Don't get me wrong, at times we will get caught up in some trouble, worry or even a vice or two that combats this peace, but by returning to prayer and fasting we are able to re-establish some of this peace, however little we get a taste again, like a little mini mental vacation that can be taken from anywhere. It is in this practice that we gain a thing called discipline, a wondrous virtue that can evolve the soul and mind of even the most ardent sinner. With discipline comes peace, which continues to construct this fortress of trust and love in God within ourselves.
Praying & Fasting = Discipline..this equals peace. Humility takes us home.
So the goal is to be one with God right? God is all love and peace. He is discipline. To be one with God's requires us to be of peace, love and discipline. Oh, but what about humility? Well, prayer is a sign of humility towards God. Humility is the exact opposite of pride and selfishness, which only enhances our sacrifice in fasting. Now here is how I would suggest fasting and praying can assist in our day to day suffering. Let me take you into a analogy to help better explain my reasoning.
I spoke of constructing a fortress of trust and love in God within ourselves, which establishes peace from within. Think about it this way, if you were a nation what is one thing you need to ensure peace of mind? Protection from a threat. So, in peace time, and sometimes during war time you are constructing a fortress of protection to ensure the enemy does not get to the capital of your nation, where decisions are made and ideas have their greatest strength. Keeping in mind it is much easier to build and reinforce the fortress during peace time than during a war with so many distractions. Once you have fortified your fortress, you have some peace of mind, but are never fully comfortable resting on your laurels so you continue to maintenance and reinforce what you already have, no matter how strong you think it is. Well, think of your nation as your soul and your capitol as your heart. Think of your fortress as protection for your heart and soul and prayer and fasting as the granite blocks that will defend your heart and soul. The enemy is evil, the devil, whatever you call it depending on where you are. Either way, building these fortresses requires perseverance in prayer and fasting. It requires discipline. Nothing great ever comes without discipline. Exercising prayer and fasting ever day will continue to strengthen your defense against evil (even corruption from within i.e pride, lust, selfishness) so when we suffer in ways we can never imagine one day (get attacked by five nations at once from all sides), our fort will hold, our love and trust in God will not waiver, and our peace will not be destroyed. Most importantly, our heart and soul will not perish and will remain with God.
