This past week, our church concluded a study on prayer in which we scoured the Bible in search for the blueprint for the blessed spiritual discipline. Eight weeks is hardly enough time to study prayer properly, much less to consider the many auxiliary topics that can arise in relation to prayer. There is another spiritual discipline that, in Scripture, we often see paired with prayer. In my years of ministry (as few as they are to this point) I have noticed a clear lack of understanding regarding this particular practice. So, just as in our study on prayer, I want to take a moment and consider what the Bible has to say about the spiritual discipline of… fasting. I want to be clear that I am not an expert on fasting, and I have not necessarily put any more time than the next pastor into studying its origins, purposes, and benefits. I have, however, recognized ways in which this spiritual discipline has been abused in our modern Christian circles. What I would like to do is simply define fasting, build a biblical case for that definition, explain some of its intricacies, and finally share some practical things to consider before fasting.
What Is Fasting?
Fasting, fundamentally, can simply be defined as the act of intentionally abstaining from food. The practice has ancient roots in both religious and secular society. For the sake of this article, however, we want to focus on Christian fasting as a spiritual discipline.
So, what is fasting? In a sentence, fasting is the spiritual discipline of desperation. Just as someone may train their body using various physical disciplines to reach or maintain a certain level of physical fitness, fasting is training oneself to be more fully dependent on God and more desperate for God. Fasting is mentioned over seventy times in the Bible and most of the accounts of fasting involve groups or individuals who are desperate to see God move and act, often in specific ways (more on this later). There is perhaps no better example of this than when word got back to Nehemiah that Jerusalem was in a state of desolation. You can read and feel the desperation in his prayer (Neh. 1:4-11). Not only was he uttering this prayer of desperation, but he was putting his stomach where his mouth was by fasting day and night. He was desperate to see God rebuild the ruin.
Fasting is the practice of aligning your heart with God’s heart by way of your stomach. Strangely enough, there are no explicit instructions regarding the practice of fasting in Scripture. The most in-depth passage we find is in Isaiah 58, and it is more of a rebuke of Israel’s poor practices than it is instruction on proper practice. We can learn much from it, nonetheless. Israel’s problem was not so much in their act of fasting, but rather in the motives behind their fasting and the hypocrisy on display during their fast. Their motive in fasting was not to know the heart of God or accomplish His desires but their own (58:3). Their fast was doomed to fail from the outset because they were desperate for their own desires, not for God and His desires. Not only was their fast skewed on the front end, but their lives during the fast did not reflect the inward humility that is at the heart of fasting. While they were getting all spiritual by fasting, they were neglecting basic practices of faith such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and giving to the poor. They were so focused on trying to move the mighty, miraculous hand of God with their fasting that they failed to be the hands and feet of God in practical ways as He had instructed. As we consider some of the intricacies of fasting, we must not lose sight of these two facets of this discipline: the biblical motive for fasting is desperation for God and what He desires; fasting is not a substitute for the practical works of faith done in the power of the Spirit.
Longing For the “Not Yet” of the Kingdom of God
Sure, the Old Testament has a good bit to say about fasting, but we are New Testament believers. What does Jesus, Himself, have to say about fasting? The most instructive passage we find is Matthew 9:14-15. The apostles of John (the Baptist) come to Jesus and ask, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” Jesus proceeds to explain that there is no need for wedding guests to mourn (long for) while the bridegroom is with them. Then Jesus states, “But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” So, there is an assumption in Jesus’ teaching here that during the time between His incarnation and His glorious return, believers “will fast.” Jesus’ model prayer establishes that His followers are to long for the kingdom of God. While we are kingdom citizens right now, there is a “not yet” aspect to His kingdom, and fasting is an expression of our longing for that manifestation of the kingdom. As John Piper says, “Fasting is a physical exclamation point at the end of the sentences: ‘I need you! I want you! I long for you! You are my treasure! I want more of you! Oh, for the day when you would return! Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!’” So, if fasting is a discipline in desperation and aligning our hearts to God’s desires, there will always be an underlying sense in which it is tied to a longing for the “not yet” of the kingdom of God.
Fasting Reveals What Lies Beneath
When I go too long without food, I can become less than desirable to be around. I become what my wife calls “hangry”. I was surprised to find this word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary defined as “irritable or angry because of hunger”. I am sure you have also been hangry or experienced the displeasure of someone else’s “hanger”. It seems that when our stomachs become emptier our worst traits and attitudes tend to rise to the top and bubble out. Going without food has a way of exposing what lies just beneath the surface in our attitude. Fasting does this as well, but on a deeper, more spiritual level. When we go without food for an extended period of time and replace that hunger for food with devotion to prayer, our hidden sins, the ones we didn’t even see ourselves, will begin to be revealed. Job serves as a good case study on this. Job, on the surface, had it all together and was what everyone would consider “a good guy”. Now, Job did not fast in the sense that he actively chose to go without food, but a terrible fast was sort of thrust upon him and it included a lot more than just food. Family, farm, health, and more were all stripped away from him. It was in this state of emptiness that his deeper sins were revealed. He had some wrong ideas about God that he would later have to repent of. Fasting can provide the “deep clean” that our hearts so often need.
Fasting Is Often Focused On Something Specific
Most instances of fasting in Scripture are specific in their nature. They tend to be either a response of anguish to a particular calamity, or a cry of desperation for God to act in a particular situation or in a specific way (such as Nehemiah’s case). There seems to be a pattern wherein fasting is not only focused in seeking God, but also focused on seeing a particular outcome. God certainly calls His people to be praying people and He delights in our prayers. Our prayers reveal (more to us than to God) where our hearts are and what we care about and prioritize. Fasting, turns the dial a little further, saying, “I care about this more than just words. I am in anguish over this and will match the longing in my heart with a hunger in my stomach. With every grumble in my belly I will cry to the Lord to act for His name’s sake.”
There was only one day each year that God’s people were instructed to fast – the annual day of atonement (Lev. 23:27, 32). Animal sacrifices were offered daily, but once a year the nation would be called to a day of intense focus. All normal activities ceased, including eating from sunrise to sunset. Nothing was to hinder God’s people from focusing on their own wickedness and their desperate need for God to redeem them. Such intense focus is at the heart of fasting. Oh, that God would give His people eyes to see the ruin, hearts that would be in anguish, voices that would cry out in desperation, and a spirit that longs to see God redeem the desolate places.
Things to Consider When Fasting:
1. Fasting and Dieting Are Not the Same Thing
A concerning and all too common trend is Christians over-spiritualizing their diet by calling it fasting. Now, I am not against dieting. In fact, I am in the midst of a diet myself. We simply need to understand that dieting and fasting are two different practices with two different goals. I would even go so far as to say that there is a spiritual aspect to both of these practices (the body is the temple, after all). Dieting is tending to the body and can benefit the spirit. Fasting is tending to the spirit at the expense of the body. They prioritize different things. If your desire at the end of a three day fast is to see a difference when you step on the scale, you are not fasting, you are dieting. Weight loss and detoxification may naturally take place during a fast, but these are not the goal or the driving force of a fast. If you are concerned about your physical fitness, there is no shame in dieting and tending to the body, simply acknowledge what you are doing and what you are not doing. A popular form that this confusion takes is what is commonly known as a “Daniel fast”. If you search the internet, you can find plan after plan for a “Daniel fast” many of which will feature testimonials and “before and after” pictures of the physical benefit the “fast”. The (un)biblical basis for this “fast” is found in Daniel chapter 1 where Daniel and a number of other young Hebrews have been marched to Babylon as captives of King Nebuchadnezzar. They are offered the king’s foods which include meats and drinks that are forbidden in the Levitical law. Daniel “made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank.” So, Daniel and a few others abstained from these foods and restricted their diet to that which was permitted by the sacred laws (probably mostly fruits and vegetables). After ten days, it was found that Daniel and those who abstained were in better physical condition than those who partook of the king’s food. Many believers today see this as a biblical blueprint for fasting. Here’s the problem, though – Daniel wasn’t fasting, he was obeying. The term for fasting is never used in this episode. Daniel wasn’t fasting and he wasn’t even dieting, he was being obedient to the instruction God had already given him. If you need to lay off the steak and eat more fruits and veggies, by all means, do so. Just don’t call it a fast. Daniel didn’t and we shouldn’t either.
*Note - Abstaining from all food (as one might do during a fast) is not a healthy form of diet. Please diet responsibly. Please fast biblically.
2. Fast Food. Kill Sin.
Another troubling trend regarding fasting is to “fast” from things other than food. This is often done because a person recognizes an unhealthy habit in their lives. For example, I have heard of people committing to a social media “fast” or a “fast” from secular music. I see two issues with this practice. First, every mention of fasting in the Bible involves abstaining from food. There is a big difference between food and social media or music – one is necessary for your continued survival; the others are not. Abstaining from these things will not result in the inward desperation that is found when fasting food. Second, if there are sinful habits in our lives, we do not need to fast from them, we need to kill them. I have actually heard young men say that they are going to fast from pornography! God doesn’t want you to fast from sin, He wants to kill sin. Now, your anguish over your sin may lead you to the point spiritual desperation in which you fast food. That would be a perfectly good reason to fast. I won’t belabor this point any further. We fast food. We kill sin.
3. Fast In Secret, But Share When Necessary
This final point is more of a nuts-and-bolts issue than those that precede it. One of Jesus’ most well-known teachings on fasting is his public rebuke of the common hypocrisy on display in fasting (Matthew 6:16-18). Jesus instructs his followers to avoid putting on a gloomy face and making a public showing of our fasting in order to be noticed by others. Instead, we should present ourselves normally and fast “in secret” so that we are not noticed by others. This can present some practical difficulties, however. I am married and my wife would take notice if I went days or weeks without eating. What if I am fasting and a church member invites me to lunch? Am I just supposed to say no? Am I supposed to come up with an excuse? Am I supposed to avoid my wife for the duration of my fast? If we are supposed to fast “in secret”, then how do we handle these potentially awkward scenarios? Well, first, God certainly does not want us to lie. If my wife asks me why I am not eating, I should not offer a deceptive answer. Second, proper fasting with biblical motives can be of tremendous help here. There is a big difference in fasting for the purpose of being noticed by others and giving an honest answer about why you are not eating. As a pastor, it would be wrong for me to announce from the pulpit, “I am fasting this week, so please do not invite me to lunch.” If, however, someone was to personally invite me to lunch and I am otherwise able to oblige, I do not think there is anything wrong with humbly explaining that I am fasting. The hypocrisy that Jesus points out is not in the practice so much as it is in the motive. Our aim in fasting should never be to flex our own “righteousness” to impress others. Our aim in fasting should be to desperately seek God and the alignment of our hearts with His desires.
