This post is all about fasting.
“So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.” Ezra 8:23 NKJV
As a Christian, you may hear the word “fasting” very often. It is repeated many times throughout scripture, and oftentimes is recommended by other members of the Christian community. But what is fasting? Why should we do it? How often should we fast? Many of these questions go unanswered because we are simply told the blanket term “Christians should fast.” Sometimes no one even tells us we should!
Let’s dive into the topic of fasting and everything the Bible says we should do regarding it.
What is Fasting? Why Should We Fast?
1. It is implemented by God to cause a change
“And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” Mark 9:28-29 NKJV
In the Bible, fasting is always mentioned during a time where men and women of God need God to change something. We observe oftentimes when right before a large battle, the people of God go down in prayer and fasting, reaching out to God to help them. Sometimes a large fast is declared after the people have sinned greatly, and is pleading with God for forgiveness and a return of His presence.
Fasting moves God to change situations. It is another spiritual tool we can use to draw near to God and allow him to draw near to us.
Everything that Jesus did while he lived on earth was given to us as an example for how we should live, and one of the big things he did was fast. He fasted right before he was tempted, and he was spiritually alert and able to ward off the enemy. So it is with us. When we direct our hearts and souls to God with fasting, we subject ourselves to our spirit and God equips us with strength in our souls to fight the war of faith.
2. It shows our sacrifice/commitment
“Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” Esther 4:16 NKJV
When we abstain from eating and drinking (or whatever particular fast you are committing to) for a few hours/days, it is very challenging. Neglecting that instinctive urge to do something is hard, and when we show God we are putting efforts towards him, he notices. He notices every work we do for him and his kingdom and he appreciates it. It moves him with compassion towards our situation and causes him to act on the change we desire.
When we commit something to God, we show our dedication to Him and even more so, our faith. We believe by doing this challenging thing that God will act on our behalf. We are literally surrendering it to him and displaying that we cannot do it on our own, but by the act of dedicating ourselves through this restriction, and focusing solely on you, we are relying on your supernatural power to change this situation. And won’t God do it?
3. It increases our ability to focus on spiritual things rather than earthly things
“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.” Joel 2:12-13 NKJV
One of the main components of fasting is drawing away from our natural, fleshly habits and focusing mainly on our spiritual needs. So, typically, fasting involves abstaining from all food and drink for a set amount of time and only praying/reading the Word/worshipping during that time. This gets us into the practice of learning to say no to any worldly urges/temptations we may face. We will become accustomed to rejecting temporary pleasure/satisfaction and be able to hone in on our heavenly purpose.
How to fast?
“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting…But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Matthew 6:16-18 NKJV
Fasting (in God) is the act of abstaining from an earthly/worldly/fleshly habit for a set amount of time and instead, focusing on godly behaviors/actions. For example, the most common way to fast (and the way it is described in the bible) is to abstain from all eating and drinking for a time and seek God through prayer, worship, and meditating on His Word. However, today we can fast in many additional ways.
We can have specific fasts geared towards a particular worldly habit we have. For example, we can put away and abstain from all technology for a few hours/days. We could also abstain from all social media. This particular fast is meant to withdraw ourselves from things that can pose as threats to our quality time with God. Avoiding these things for a set amount of time, and instead, using that time to spend with God is a wonderful way to elevate your life with Christ.
A key note here is to start small. It is okay if you cannot fast for days when you just start out. Start by fasting just for the hour. Gradually increase your fasts to two or three hours and go at your own pace. How often we fast is up to our discretion, but also directly parallel to how much we want to grow in Christ.
This post was all about fasting.
