Evelyn Boyd was on a mission to pray -- for her husband, her church, her city, the nation and the president. So
on Feb. 7, she locked herself in a bedroom to pray and fast. She
brought water and prayer requests and told her husband not to bother
her.
"This is what I have to do," she told him.
For more than three weeks, Boyd, 55, didn't emerge. Her family could have come to her aid if she needed help, but her husband wanted to respect her wish to be alone. He figured she'd be okay, just like the last four times she fasted.
But on the 26th day, family members forced the door open. They found her dead.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office says it appears she died because of the fast. Deputies don't plan to file charges because they believe she fasted willingly and her family said she was mentally sound, Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Her exact cause of death is unknown. A toxicology report could take months. And what happened during those 26 days is a mystery because no one saw her after she went into the room. She may have even been dead for a few days before her family opened the door, Judd said.
On Friday, her death baffled family members, Bartow residents and religious scholars.
"Most people only fast for a day or a couple days," said Father Len Plazewski, director of vocations for the Diocese of St. Petersburg. "To lock yourself in a room and to not come out, that would be very rare."
Even Judd was surprised that a common religious practice went bad.
"I'm a god-fearing man, and I can tell you, God doesn't intend you to fast yourself to death," he said.
Catholics might give up an item or two, such as sugar or caffeine, for the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter, but most people don't forgo all food, Plazewski said.
Fasting is also found in the Jewish and Islamic faiths. The most common day of fasting for Jews is Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. Muslims fast during the day during the month of Ramadan, but they can eat after sundown.
"Lots of religions use some act of starvation as a part of their spiritual process," said Kristen Swenson, who recently published a book about how the Bible affects today's culture. "But most religions stress the importance of maintaining health."
In the Bible, fasting is used during times of mourning, during prayer and to repent. Today, Christians mainly use it to get closer to God, Swenson said.
Evelyn Boyd's husband of 33 years, John Boyd started a Bartow Pentecostal church in 2003. At Higher Praise Full Gospel Ministries, Sunday services last from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. They are loud and boisterous, and a nearby antique store owner said congregation members were known to fast.
John Boyd is a well-respected member of the community, Judd said. He travels to other congregations to lead worship and preach. Before he decided to focus on the church full time in 2008, he held an array of city jobs in Bartow.
Source: Jessica Vander Velde and Shelley Rossetter, St. Petersburg Times
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something ain't right here. something smells fishy here. I hate to say it.
Once I fasted for a week. I ate only an apple in 7 days. I believe I could have gone on forever not eating. Just didn't have an appetite. After 3 days, it goes away. It was my husband who brought an end to my fasting.. He fixed me something to eat and demanded I eat it. I thank God for him. If I hadn't been married to him, I might not be alive today.
I hope all goes well for Rev. Boyd. He probably feels extremely terrible right now.
There is no way that this woman has died because of fasting. Don't blame it on the fasting, blame it on something else. No one goes into a locked room for days to fast and pray without coming out at some point of time to use the bathroom. And because she carried water in the room with her, it shows that the woman was not fasting, for no one can fast while eating and drinking at any given time of a fast. A fast is when one goes for a period of hours without food and water. The woman may have put her own self to death. She could have had medicine in the room with her to take for the reason she took water with her; and if so, maybe she thought that she would get to heaven because of what she called a fast. No one dies on a fast, except they put themselves to death by acting foolishly when they should be wise instead. A good fast is when one puts away all thoughts of murder, envy and strife, while praying, reading God's word and seeking God without food and drink.
Isaiah 58:1-11
That is outrageous.
No Christian should ever consider not to watch over another's fasting.
Some people cannot fast.
Some people may have some problem come up and not be able to get help.
I find it difficult to believe this situation is as reported.
world, I Smile the same Fishish, Scent You smell !! And its call MURDER !!!!!!!!?????
This passage in Isaiah says nothing about the definition of a fast being deprivation from eating and drinking. Certainly there is a time and place for this (Esther 4:16), but there are plenty of other examples in the Bible of fasting while drinking.