The Coptic Church believes that dramatic spiritual growth requires fasting and prayer. But how, when, and most importantly why do we take fasting so seriously?

How do we fast? In the Coptic Church, we fast from all animal products and by products (we "go vegan") for the duration of the fasts. That means no meat, no eggs, and no dairy. In certain fasts, we do eat fish in honor of the first apostles (who were fishermen). According to our mediterranean diet, fasting means lots of beans (especially "foul" - fava beans), falafel ("ta3miya" as it's known in Egypt), pasta, vegetables, potatoes, and rice.

When do we fast? The Church fasts before nearly every major and minor feast. There's the Great Fast before Easter (Lent), the Christmas (Small) Fast, St. Mary's Fast, the Apostles' Fast, and the one that starts February 18 -- Jonah's Fast (also known as the Fast of Ninevah).

But why do we fast? Is it something new? asting is the earliest commandment: God commanded our ancestor Adam to refrain from eating a certain fruit from a certain tree (Gen 2:16,17) but allowed him to eat from the rest. In this way, God set for the body certain limits.

Mankind, then, was not to have absolute freedom to take whatever he laid eyes on and whatever he desired. He had to abstain from certain things and control his desires for them. From the very beginning, man has had to control his body. By abstaining from food, man rises above the level of the body and above matter, and this is the wisdom behind fasting.

When we fast, we're not following a new commandment given by God; rather, we are taking part in a long history of fasting and its spiritual effects. The Old Testament Prophets fasted: Moses and Elijah, the prophets who appeared with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration fasted for forty days and forty nights (Ex 34:28, 1 Kings 19:8). David, the king and the prophet (see some examples: Ps 35:13, Ps 69:10, Ps 109:24, 2 Sam 12:16). The Prophet Daniel fasted (Dan 9:3), and so did the Prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 4:9). We hear that Nehemiah fasted when he heard that the gates of Jerusalem are burned (Neh. 1:3,4). Ezra, the scribe and priest, also fasted and called upon the whole population to fast (Ezra 8:2 1). The prophetess Anna did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day (Luke 2:37).

The New Testament Apostles also fasted: St. Peter fasted and received a vision about the acceptance of the gentile nations of Christ (Acts 10:10), St. Paul spoke often of fasting (1 Cor 6:5, 2 Cor 11:27, Acts 14:23). The Lord explained that when the bridegroom is taken away from the apostles, that is, when He leaves them, then they will fast (Matt 9:15).

Fasting is a way of tapping into the Holy Spirit: During the Apostles fast, the Holy Spirit spoke to them. Thus the Bible says: As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away (Acts 13:2,3). How beautiful then is the Lord's saying to the Apostles about fasting and its relation to casting of devils: "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." (Matt 17:21). Such is the power of fasting, in terrorising devils.

The most important example: Our Lord Jesus Christ set the foremost example when He fasted in the wilderness for forty days and nights (Matt 4:2) to prepare for His service. Christ started His service with fasting, rejecting the devil's temptation to make Him eat to nourish his body. The Lord Jesus Christ showed the devil that man was not a mere body but also a soul nourished by the Word of God. He said to him: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt 4:4). This was not a new spiritual principal introduced in the New Testament but an old commandment given to man in the first written law (Dent 8:3).

Fasting is a gift: It precedes service, it is a way of manifesting God's power and calling on His intervention, it brings joy and preparation. True fasting is a spiritual act primarily taking place inside the heart.