“If any man be desirous of preparing his mind for the highest acts of devotion; for the most complete withdrawment, for a time, from the world; for being lifted above the vanities and sensualities of life; for collecting and fastening his whole soul on God and heavenly things, among other means of attaining his hallowed object, let him not omit to accompany them with real fasting. He who neglects this precious auxiliary to devotion, (for so it assuredly deserves to be called,) has not well considered either the structure of his own frame, or the spirit of the word of God.” — Samuel Miller, The Duty, the Benefits, and the Proper Method of Religious Fasting (1831)