Fasting: A Humbling of Ourselves

In my reading on fasting, Wilhelmus a Brakel in his magnum opus "The Christian's Reasonable Service" instructs his readers about fastings main purpose. He says:

"Fasting serves but one purpose: to facilitate the humbling of the soul; it has no significance beyond that."

He goes to explain what the humbling of ourselves consist of.

1. The confessioin of sin, accompanied with grief and shame...
2. Declaring ourselves to be worthy of judgment...
3. A supplicating for grace, frequently accompanied with weeping...
4. A renewal of the covenant with the wholehearted intent to forsake former sins and live a godly life...
5. The giving of alms
   

Father Brakel, as he was known in his day (1635-1711) also instructs the members of his congregation and the church about how long should a fast be and in what manner should it be preformed.

The duration of the fast is limited to a twenty four hour period - from evening to evening...Everyone has personal freedom in doing this...In so doing we will acquaint ourselves with the Lord; we will become more modest and holy, and the Lord generally grants more spiritual grace to such. In setting such a day apart, every one is free as the the extent to which he wishes to do so...It can be that he will desist from his labors if he is self-employed and if it is not to the disadvantage of his family; he can do this without anyone noticing this. Or it can be that he sets this day apart while nevertheless intending to do this work...and to eat a limited amount of food, so as to conceal form others the fact that he is fasting that day. The latter must very much be his objective according to the instruction of Christ in Matthew 6:16-18.

(The Christian's Reasonable Service - Fasting - Vol. 4, p. 3-10)