Fasting For Diabetics

Q

Re: Fasting For The Lord I have asked my doctor about fasting and was told that since I am diabetic it was not a good idea for me to do so. I want to fast to clear my mind of things however and I just don’t know how to do so. I have tried denying myself some things I enjoy but I guess that doesn’t seem the same as when I used to fast “for real” before I developed diabetes. Can you suggest anything to me that might help me?

A

If you’re taking insulin or any other drug for your diabetes, you should follow your doctor’s advice. That said, a year ago [note: Jack originally wrote this in 2013] I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Rather than resign myself to a life of medication, I brought it under control through a combination of prayer, modified fasting, and exercise. It’s not the same as dieting, in that I’m not trying to lose weight. In fact, after the effects of diabetes I needed to gain some weight, especially muscle weight.

In the beginning, it felt like a “real” fast because I was voluntarily depriving myself of many of my favorite foods. But after a while, it became clear that through my fasting the Lord was changing my tastes so that I now desire the foods that are good for me and reject those that aren’t. It took five months, but now I can control the diabetes without any medication.

This is the same kind of fasting that Daniel spoke of in Daniel 2:12 and Daniel 10:2-3, in that it’s a voluntary abstinence from certain foods. I don’t know if this is what you’re looking for, but I do know it’s a kind of fasting suitable for diabetics.