The Spiritual Practice of Fasting

Scripture reading: Joel 2:12

Joel 2:12 ESV

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

Definition of fasting:

Fasting is voluntarily and temporarily abstaining from food or material pleasures for spiritual reasons.

What fasting is not

#1. Fasting is not a command.

It’s useful, it’s recommended, it’s even expected of Christians to fast. But it’s not a command for Christians. This means that it can only be done voluntarily.

There is only one occurrence in the Bible where fasting is commanded, and that’s for the celebration of Yom Kippur.

So it’s not a sin if you don’t fast. It doesn’t have to do with being justified before God. But it can contribute to the process of our sanctification.

#2. Fasting is not a hunger strike.

When we fast physically, our main goal is to savor the things of the Spirit. Fasting isn’t about twisting God’s arm until He does what we want Him to do.

#3. Fasting isn’t for physical health benefits.

Fasting must be for spiritual reasons. It isn’t a weight-loss program, nor should it be done for the other health benefits associated with it. Don’t do it to improve your insulin sensitivity or lower your blood glucose or whatever. Or if you want to have the physical benefits of doing intermittent fasting or a 72-hour body detox fast, then don’t make it a spiritual thing.

Having a “kill two birds with one stone” attitude doesn’t cut it before God. He sees our hearts.

So then, how can we fast without focusing on weight loss?

If you ask a personal trainer how to lose weight, they’ll tell you to change your lifestyle. Your weight matches your lifestyle.

On the other hand, spiritual fasting is only a temporary thing. So even if you fast for three days, just remember that you’ll regain all your weight back within two weeks.

As for the other physical benefits, we can give thanks that God designed our bodies to have beneficial side effects from fasting. Honestly, we can even take it as a sign that God designed us to fast and pray.

Purpose of Fasting

Fasting to disconnect us from the world

Prayer connects us to God. Fasting disconnects us from the world.

Fasting doesn’t replace prayer. It strengthens it. It adds focus. It adds intensity.

In Jesus’ time, there was a prophetess named Anna whose husband died young. And for many decades, she lived a life as a widow without departing from the temple. And she encountered Jesus.

Luke 2:37 ESV

37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.

What was her secret? She worshiped God with fasting and prayer.

One pastor put it like this: “Fasting puts an exclamation point to our prayers.”

Fasting disconnects us from the world, and helps us connect to God.

In his famous daily devotional “My Utmost for His Highest”, Oswald Chambers wrote this for February 8th.

“We take the term sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared for what sanctification will cost? It will cost an intense narrowing of all our interests on earth, and an immense broadening of all our interests in God.”

Fasting helps with the narrowing of our interests on earth. Prayer helps with the broadening of our interests in God.

Fasting is a Biblical way to humble ourselves before God

Oftentimes, the people of the world seek comfort from things of the world. When they are depressed, they turn to alcohol, binge-watching, junk food, shopping, sexual indulgences. They turn to everything except God.

In God’s eyes, this is pride. To self-medicate the soul with the comforts of this world. And so what God does is He would take these things away in order to humble us. He takes away the thing we depend on.

Is He being selfish? Does He do this for His own sake? He does this because He knows we can find true comfort and peace in Him. All other things harm and damage us. It’s for our sake that He humbles us and removes our coping mechanisms.

So should we wait for God to humble us? We should be proactive in humbling ourselves before God. One way is by depriving ourselves of our coping mechanisms. In other words, fasting.

When Elijah condemned king Ahab over the case of Naboth’s vineyard, Ahab humbled himself before God, and fasted as a sign of his repentance. And this is what God said.

1 Kings 21:29 ESV

29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”

Before their journey from Babylon to Jerusalem, Ezra and the Israelites did a public communal fast in order to humble themselves before God, and to seek God’s protection.

Ezra 8:21 ESV

21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.

But there’s a way to get this completely wrong.

During Jesus’ time, the Pharisees would use fasting to boost their own pride. They would parade their fasting and prayers in order to impress others.

But this is what Jesus had to say about them.

Matthew 6:16–18 ESV

16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The only exception to this rule is the public or communal fast.

Fasting to process grief

What do you do when you’re grieving?

It is not uncommon for us to face big losses in life. Our beloved family members pass away. We make a mistake and lose many years worth of hard earned money. Our closest relationships break down.

When we experience a huge loss, we cannot easily carry on with our normal lives. There has to be some form of grieving whereby we sit with our sadness and process the change.

As people of God, we can fast as a way to process our grief.

When Saul and his sons died, David and the people fasted and mourned for them.

2 Samuel 1:12 ESV

12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

When Nehemiah heard about the state of Jerusalem, he mourned and fasted.

Nehemiah 1:4 ESV

4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Even King Darius fasted while Daniel was in the lion’s den (Dan 6:18).

Fasting thus provides a healthy way for us to process sadness and grief. Instead of seeking comfort from the things of this world, we disconnect from the worldly pleasures and seek comfort from the Lord.

Fasting to restore our hunger for God.

Jesus taught that His disciples were not to fast while He was with them physically. But they would fast when He is away.

Matthew 9:15 ESV

15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Mark 2:20 ESV

20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

It’s easy to get out of touch with the spiritual reality when our bodies are satisfied with food. But by subjecting ourselves to physical hunger, we increase our spiritual sensitivity. When we fast, we feel with our bodies what our souls feel for the Word of God.

Fasting for making big decisions

Many people fast when they have big decisions to make, and they want God’s guidance. But please don’t think that God will speak into your ear to do option A or option B.

Rather, fasting helps us to put first things first.

When we fast, we are weakening our flesh in order to make the decision that benefits our spirits. Many of us know how hard it is to make the spiritual decision, rather than a decision that benefits us physically.

1 Corinthians 9:27 ESV

27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Fasting is like that drink you give to drunk people to help them sober up. It sobers us to our spiritual needs.

Fasting for the leaders of the church.

The early church made it a norm to fast when seeking to appoint new leaders for the church.

Acts 14:23 ESV

23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Acts 13:2–3 ESV

2 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.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

The people would fast and pray for their leaders because it was the leaders who came under the most spiritual attack.

In Zechariah, we see the high priest Joshua being accused by Satan.

Zechariah 3:1 ESV

1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

In the Gospels, Satan demanded to sift the Apostle Peter like wheat.

Luke 22:31–32 ESV

31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

The leadership guru John Maxwell said this:

“The strength of any organization is a direct result of the strength of its leaders.”

If this is true, it’s no wonder Satan targets the leaders the most.

You know how every successful business person wake up early in the morning? It doesn’t guarantee success, but it’s something they all do.

Likewise, most thriving churches have a culture of fasting and praying for their leaders. It doesn’t guarantee the growth of the church, but it’s something they all do.

How can I fast?

Set a goal

Before we fast, we need to have a clear and specific goal.

Esther fasted for protection.

Nehemiah fasted for his country.

David fasted to process his grief.

So we need to have a clear and specific goal.

Is there a sinful habit in my life that I want to stop?

Is there a broken relationship that I want God’s help to restore?

Do I need God’s guidance regarding a specific matter?

Choose what type of fast you’ll do

Different types of fasts

Dry fast

No food or water.

Moses did this for 40 days on Mt. Sinai.

Exodus 34:28 ESV

28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

The city of Nineveh did this.

Jonah 3:7 ESV

7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,

The Apostle Paul did this after encountering the Lord.

Acts 9:9 ESV

9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

It isn’t recommended to do a dry fast for more than three days. And please do this only if you have a clear goal and are in good health.

Water fast

No food, can drink water.

This is probably the fast that Jesus did in the wilderness at the start of His ministry.

Luke 4:2 ESV

2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.

It says that He ate nothing, but it doesn’t say anything about not drinking.

When doing dry fasts or water fasts, you can choose to skip a meal, two meals, a whole day of eating, so on and so forth.

Daniel’s fast

Abstaining from certain pleasurable foods.

Daniel 10:3 ESV

3 I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.

This type of fasting usually includes avoiding meat, sweets, dairy, or other pleasant foods. People would usually eat simple foods, fruits, and vegtables. Probably no durian.

For people who cannot do a dry fast or water fast due to health issues, they can fast in this way.

Corporate fast

This is a public fast proclaimed by leaders for a community.

Samuel’s corporate fast for community repentance (1 Sam. 7:6)

Esther’s corporate fast for community protection (Esther 4:16)

Nineveh’s corporate fast for repentance (Jonah 3:5)

Non-food fast

A non-food fast follows the same principle of abstaining from certain pleasures for spiritual purposes.

For example, the Apostle Paul talks about married couples abstaining from intimacy in order to focus on prayer.

1 Corinthians 7:5 ESV

5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Conclusion

In conclusion, anyone can fast. It isn’t only for the super spiritual, but for anyone who sincerely wants to deepen their relationship with God.

So if that’s you, then may I encourage you to try fasting in some way during this season of Lent. It could be one meal a week. It could be two meals a week. If you’re new to fasting, please don’t go for 3 days without food right away. Ease yourself into it.

Finally, let us fast to strengthen, not replace, our prayers.

What sins or unglorifying habits do we have that we need to let go? What patterns do we need to make or break in our personal life, our family life, our work life, our church life? Are there people we want to believe in Jesus?

Fasting puts an exclamation point to our prayers. Fasting makes our prayers become all caps.

And of all the biblical figures who practiced fasting, not one of them was insignificant. Moses, David, Elijah, Esther, Daniel, Anna, Jesus, and Paul, they all practiced fasting.

Fasting may not be something that our body wants to do, but our souls yearn for it.

Let us give fasting a try, and I pray that we will find satisfaction in the Word of God more than physical food.

Matthew 4:4 ESV

4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

Let this be our confession. Amen?