ถืออดอาหารอย่างไร How do I Fast

How Do I Fast?

Matthew 6:16-18, Acts 13:1-3

Today we continue our new sermon series on practical Christian Living. Last 2 weeks, we preached about “how to have a quiet time” and “how to know God’s word”. Today’s topic is “how do I fast?”. Fasting is a familiar topic but at the same time, not many Christians practice fasting. Why? Some believe that fasting is an Old Testament commandment, therefore Christians do not need to fast. For others, they may find fasting too difficult because like me, they love to eat! But for most Christians I know, don’t find fasting necessary because they have not been taught about fasting.

Yes, it’s true that Jesus did not command us to fast, but, then again, the bible did not command us to pray either, but yet both fasting and prayer are important aspects of our Christian life. In Matthew 6:16, Jesus says, “when you fast….”. He did not say “if you fast…”. So, although fasting is not commanded in the bible, it is something expected of us. Fasting was practiced throughout the whole bible. In the Old Testament, Moses, David, Esther, Ezra as did the prophets like Daniel and Elijah. Jesus fasted, His disciples fasted, the apostle Paul fasted and so did the churches in the New Testament.

So, fasting is an important aspect of our faith, just like praying, and it is certainly something which is beneficial and good for us.

What is fasting?

Fasting is the act of going without food for a period of time for the sake of pursing intense spiritual activity. Fasting has to for the purpose of pursing a spiritual activity. If not, it is just dieting. Therefore, usually fasting has to include activities like prayer, reading God’s word and worship. Before, I explain why do Christian fast, I want to speak about the wrong motivation for fasting.

A. Wrong Motivation for Fasting

1. To fulfill Religious Duty (Luke 18:12-14, Isaiah 58)

Firstly, we don’t fast because it’s a religious duty. In the gospels, all the Pharisees and religious leaders fasted because of it was a religious duty and not motivated to please God. Christianity is a religion of the heart. The motivation to fast has to because we love God and desire to follow Him in obedience.

2. To Show-Off (Matt 6:16-18)

Secondly, we don’t fast to show-off to others how religious we are. Jesus said, when you fast, wash your face, so that your fasting is not seen by others. Again the Pharisees would fast and look gloomy so that other people will see how religious they are. There was a pastor from Singapore who fasts for 40 days every year. How do I know? Because every time he preaches, he would tell others how God often reveals supernatural things to him and that when he fasts he can see angels and demons. Well, it is good if his motivation was to encourage others to fast. But after hearing this pastor a few times, I feel that he was just showing off, that he was better than others because he was able to fast 40 days, every year.

3. To Manipulate God

Thirdly, the wrong motivation to fast is to manipulate God and force Him to answer our prayers. “God, you see I’m fasting, I’m missing my hamburger, so please, please help me”. If our prayers do not get answered, we get disappointed with God.

These are some wrong motivations for praying. So, what are some right motivations or reasons for fasting? And, what are the benefits of fasting?

B. Why Do Christians Fast?

1. To Expresses Spiritual Hunger for Jesus (Matt 9:14-17, Luke 2:36-38)

John Piper said, “what we hunger for most, we worship”. If we hunger for money, we worship money. If we hunger for God, we worship God. Luke 2 introduces to us the prophetess Anna (2:36-38) as someone who loved God and who worshipped God night and day by fasting and prayer.

Once the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered, “can the wedding guests mourn when the bridegroom is with them? But when the bridegroom is taken away, then they will fast.” When Jesus was with the disciples, He is like a bridegroom in a wedding, there is joy and celebration, but when he is no longer with them, they will fast, because they long to be with Jesus again. So, fasting expresses a longing and spiritual hunger to be with Jesus.

He we hunger for Jesus, what do we do? We spend time praying, reading Scriptures, we worship God, and fasting is also one important way we draw near to God.

2. To Humble Ourselves Before God (Deuteronomy 8:1-5)

The second important aspect of fasting is to humble ourselves before God our maker.

In Deuteronomy 8, Moses told the Israelites that God allowed them to hunger, to test them, and to humble them that they may know that “man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” We believe that we need to eat to survive, yes, but more than that we need God. Our children need food to survive, but more than that, they need us their parents who provides them with everything.

When we fast, we humble ourselves before God and remind ourselves that we are fully and totally dependent on him for everything in this life. That is important because often when we have success in life and when we are self-sufficient, we feel that we achieve everything we have achieved by our own abilities, talents or hard work (tower of Babel). Or, we worry about material things in this world like money, career, relationships and forget that it is God who provides and sustains us. Through fasting we turn our concerns to God and learn to live by faith.

3. To Seek Guidance/God’s Will (Judges 20:26, Acts 13:1-3)

Do you want to know God’s will for your life or that you want God’s guidance when making important decisions? We can do so through fasting and prayer. The nation of Israel would seek God through fasting before going off to war and Acts 13, tells us that it was when the church in Antioch were worshipping and fasting, the Holy Spirit told them to “set apart Barnabas and Saul” for the work of missions (Acts 13:1-3).

I had a friend who suffered from Leukemia and she had been in and out of hospital for chemotherapy treatment. Naturally, our cell group was praying very hard for healing. One day, our cell group leader told us, “yes, continue to pray for healing but more than that, pray for God’s will to be done.” So, the cell group began to fast together. It during this time that God told us “let go” and that God will take care of her. After that, our prayers were for God’s will be done – and if he wants her to go, to let her go painlessly. She soon passed away, and we felt God’s real peace and presence throughout the funeral, even her parents who were not Christians.

Some people think that by fasting we are asking God to listen and answer our prayer, but the truth is the opposite. When we fast for God’s guidance, we submit ourselves to God’s will. We bend our wills to follow God’s.

4. To Intensify our Prayers (Acts 27:13-38, Esther 4)

Fasting and prayer goes together. We all pray, but when we fast as well, we intensify our prayers. When Esther found out that Haman was plotting to destroy the Jews, she became very distressed and asked all the Jews to fast for 3 days and 3 nights and pray for God’s favour so that she can find a way to tell the king. Likewise, when a group of people on a boat who were caught in a storm with Paul, they fasted for 14 days for God to save them.

If we have something in our hearts which we are praying very hard for, we can fast as well - Always ready to submit to God’s will.

5. To Confess sin and brokenness (Nehemiah 1; Jonah 3:5-10)

If we have sinned against God or someone, fasting is one way of showing our repentance and contriteness before God.

6. To Casting out Demons (Matthew 17:14-21)

When Jesus’ disciples could not cast out a demon from a boy, Jesus told them that this type of demons can only be cast out through fasting and prayer. When we know we have to go to do ministry like deliverance, it’s good to spend time in prayer and fasting.

How do we Fast?

The bible records different types of fasting and duration of fasting. For example, some fasted 1 day, or 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days and up to 40 days. A “Normal” fast is fasting from food but not water. A “partial” fast is fasting from certain food e.g. Daniel only ate vegetables and no meat. An “absolute” fast means no eating or drinking – of course I do not recommend doing an absolute fasts for more than 3 days.

I would suggest that if you are beginning to fast, you can do a normal fast for just one day, or just fast for a meal. If you are doing a partial fast, you do up to 3 days but drink plenty of water. Remember, fasting also means we have to intentionally set aside time to pray and seek God. Fasting is not dieting.

When do you fast? As mentioned above, you can fast anytime to worship God, to humble yourself before God. When we want to intensify our prayers, when we want to repent of our sins.

More than just fasting when we have a reason to fast, fasting can be part of our spiritual discipline like daily devotion and prayer. Just like brushing our teeth and bathing daily, it becomes our regular spiritual habit. You can fast weekly, like every Friday – a normal or absolute fast. Personally, I fast when I feel when there is a need and I do regular fast during the season of Lent and sometimes during Advent, to prepare myself for Easter and Christmas.

I remember Aj Lee used to do a John the Baptist fast during Lent. John the Baptist ate only locust and wild honey, so Aj. Lee would only eat dried crispy bamboo worm and crickets snacks purchased from 7-11 for the 40 days of Lent. I tried it. One day I bought 2 packets and ate it in a café, while reading my bible. Soon, I began to feel itchy on my hands, then my head, body, legs and face. I developed an allergy and had read splotches all over including my face and scratching like a monkey. Lesson, we all don’t need to fast the same way. So apart from fasting from food and water, we can also regularly fast from computer games, social media, television, or secular music, so that we can spend the time pursuing a deeper relationship with God.

Individually, with a spiritually buddy or as a DG – don’t force otherwise we lose the meaning.