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  How Is Lent Relevant Today? Part 3: The Spirituality of Lent We have previously highlighted the history of Lent and some physical benefits of fasting . Let us now take a look at the spiritual benefits of fasting. Lent has traditionally been a time for Christians to approach God through prayer, fasting, repentance and self-denial. Followers of Jesus remember the suffering, death and resurrection of their saviour; marking the season of Lent with forty days, based on Jesus’ time of fasting in the desert while he was tempted by Satan. Non-believers may choose to give up one or more of their pleasures for the season of Lent. Their forbearance and self-discipline may give them a feeling of satisfaction of a sacrifice made which may ultimately benefit their health and welfare. The benefits of such self-denial however may prove short-lived, particularly if followed by a season of self-indulgence, where any gains will be soon forgotten. Humans are naturally ill-disciplined and it can

  How Is Lent Relevant Today? Part 2: The Physical Benefits of Fasting   Biblical References to Fasting Lent, traditionally, is a time for Christians to fast and pray. In this post we will discover that there are many physical benefits to giving up foods and drinks that we would normally enjoy. We will look more deeply into the spirituality of fasting in a future post. It will, however, enlighten us to firstly establish the Biblical origins of fasting. We can go right back to Moses receiving the Ten Commandments to witness fasting in earnest: “Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant” Exodus 34:28 (NIV UK). When Saul took his own life following defeat by the Philistine army, the Israelites fasted for seven days to mourn Saul’s death; see 1 Samuel 31:13 . Ezra called a fast in order to ask for God’s help as he led the Israelites back to Jerusalem from their exi