Fasting is a practice foreign to most evangelical Christians. We know it means abstaining from eating and it was practiced in biblical times. But the closest we come to fasting is for purely secular reasons.
When going to the doctor for a blood test, for example, we’re instructed to “fast” for a number of hours beforehand. And some people say they are “fasting” to imply a brief diet. We assume the only people still practicing spiritual fasting are monks cloistered in some faraway land.
Fasting has been out of vogue for most of the past 150 years, but it’s making a comeback as people of faith seek a deeper, more intense spiritual life. The renewal may be part of a general wave of interest in practices such as meditation that promote a break from our busy, noisy lives. It also may be that our modern obsession with fitness is adding to the interest, although true spiritual fasting is not about physical health.
“Fasting” comes from the Greek word nesteia – a compound of ne, “no,” and esthio, “to eat,” and the practice is mentioned throughout the Bible.
Moses was the first person reported to fast in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus went into the desert and fasted for 40 days, during which time he resisted Satan’s temptation to turn stones into bread.
References abound, and they help explain the “whys” of fasting:
• Leviticus 16:29-30. “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work . . . because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you.” Hebrew scholars tell us that “deny yourself” was synonymous with fasting, and this fast was for spiritual cleansing.
• Psalm 35:13. “Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting.” Through self-denial, one approaches God in humility and submission.
• Isaiah 58:6. “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” Fasting breaks the chains that Satan has on us.
• Matthew 17:21. When the disciples were unable to cast a demon out of a child, Jesus said, in a verse that is not in all biblical manuscripts, “This kind (of demon) does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” A faith strong enough to cast out demons requires fasting and prayer. It’s interesting to note that biblical fasting always occurs with prayer.
• Acts 13:2-3. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'” Through fasting, we’re more attuned to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
These Scriptures, and many others, show that fasting provides spiritual cleansing and strengthening. Fasting takes our focus off our physical being and our most primal physical desire – to eat – so we can concentrate on our spiritual being. In this state, it is easier to pray, listen to God’s voice and discern God’s will.
Many more verses in the Bible point to the occasions for fasting – seeking God’s will, intercession, confession and repentance, to receive healing, spiritual deliverance, mourning, seeking protection, needing material sustenance, in time of fear, protection from danger.
There are several types of fasts, all with biblical examples:
• Partial fast – a restricted diet. In Daniel 1:11-15, Daniel, Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego ate only vegetables and drank only water.
• Normal fast – abstention from food but not water. While some in the Bible fasted as long as 40 days in this way, one to three days is common today.
• Absolute fast – abstention from both food and water. Common sense – and doctors – warn that an absolute fast should not exceed three days. While the Bible gives examples of extended absolute fasts, the individuals were always sustained directly by God.
• Natural/spontaneous fast – abstention from food for extraordinary reasons. We see this when someone is grieving and they lose their appetite, or when they are so caught up in a struggle that they forget to eat.
So when should we fast? The natural/spontaneous fast provides the best answer: When we are directed by the Holy Spirit.
In the Bible, fasting is always connected with spiritual turmoil or an anxious heart. It comes naturally during a struggle for wisdom regarding a serious matter. It is not something planned ahead of time, not something to schedule in your daytimer or add to the agenda of a church retreat. As one writer puts it, “It’s not something you choose, so much as something that chooses you, because it’s that important.”
The fast commanded in Leviticus for the Day of Atonement is the only fast recorded in the Bible for a specific day and occasion. That fast accompanied the confession of sin, but the New Covenant in Jesus Christ makes that “scheduled” fast unnecessary.
Like prayer, fasting should be a humble practice. Jesus instructs in Matthew 6:16-18: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. . . . But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
And with that statement, Jesus answers one last question: What should we do while we are fasting? We are to carry on with our daily routines. In that way, fasting becomes a form of constant prayer.