I’ve been in a post series called “In Relation to Food” and would recommend beginning at the Series Intro. If you’ve been following along, jump right in. You may remember that at the end of part 2 we asked the following question:
Is fasting just a B.C. ritual?
The short answer is “no”. Of course, we aren’t going to just stop at that one word answer. So, here we go...
² When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. 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. (Matthew 6:16-18)
We learn from this passage that:
1. Believers will have a need for fasting at some point in their lives.
2. Fasting is not to show others how “holy” you are.
3. Fasting is a private act between you and God.
What is fasting (generally speaking)?
What comes to mind when you hear the word? Have you ever known someone who told you that they were fasting? What image came to mind? To most believers, the topic of Biblical fasting is quite foreign. It’s viewed as something from the past that’s outdated and unnecessary. I can’t say I saw it as such personally but I was definitely in the category of “ignorant” when it came to Biblical fasting.
Main Entry: 3fast
Function: intransitive verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English fæstan
1 : to abstain from food
2 : to eat sparingly or abstain from some foods
The Greek word for fasting is nesteia. Ne is a negative prefix and esthio means “to eat”….resulting in “not to eat”. Most people can define the physical act of fasting. Probably a good number of us have done it for medical reasons (blood-work, surgery…etc). Biblical fasting is similar but with a spiritual focus on communication with God.
Through these weeks of study, I’ve discovered many views on fasting. Let’s get clear what fasting is NOT before we explore Biblical fasting any further.
Fasting is not…
As with anything, man will try to distort God’s design, the same holds true for fasting. I think it’s important that we have a clear understanding of what fasting is not so that we can erase any pre-conceived notions from our minds before we proceed.
Not a command – we see fasting mentioned in the Bible as a largely voluntary act. There is only one fast command from God in the Bible. This was the fast on the Day of Atonement (Lev.16:29-31,23:32). Of course, as believers we know that Christ is the atonement for our sins now.
Not a weight-loss plan – fasting is to be motivated by spiritual goals. If you are denying your body of food and/or water to lose weight, you have a serious condition and need to seek professional Christian counseling. Satan would like to mask your underlying emotional issues with seemingly “spiritual fasting” so be sure you are motivated to fast for the right reasons. This of course does not deny that true spiritual fasting does have psychological and physical benefits, they just shouldn’t be the motivation behind the fast.
Not a manipulative tool – we cannot strong arm God into doing what we want by fasting. Do you recall the folks who plotted to kill Paul in acts? They sought to get God on their side with manipulative fasting. (Acts 23:12-14) Of course God did not give in to their demands. Check out Jeremiah 14:12 also, God will not be manipulated. He knows your motivation. If you’re fasting to manipulate God, you’re wasting your time.
“Fasting is not a means of seeking God’s blessings as much as it is a means of seeking God.” (From “40 days of community”)
Not a “show & tell” experience – In the verse mentioned at the beginning, we see that fasting should be done in secret. Again, your motivation is important here. If you’re motivated by others seeing how “holy” you are, that temporary “warm-fuzzy” will be the extent of your reward. We humans do seem to crave praise so we must be careful while fasting to be humbled before the Lord. Our audience is the Lord and the Lord only. Don’t follow the Pharisee example. Supposedly they fasted twice a week because Moses went up Mt. Sinai on the 5th day and returned on the 2nd. Of course, looking into Jewish history we find that market day in Jerusalem was on the 2nd and 5th day. Market day means that virtually everyone came to town on those days. The Pharisees would walk through the streets looking quite terrible thanks to taking special effort to appear humble. This doesn’t mean we can never share our fasting experiences. I believe that we can often encourage other believers through our walk but true humility is important. It’s about “motivation”, are you glorifying God or yourself in the way you’re sharing?
What is fasting (Biblically Speaking)?
² Fasting is an outward response to an inward attitude and cry of the soul.” 40 days of community
² First, let it be done unto the Lord with our eye singly fixed on Him. Let our intention herein be this, and this alone, to glorify our Father which is in Heaven.” John Wesley, speaking of fasting.
² Fasting helps to express, to deepen, to confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything…to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.” Andrew Murray
We’ve shown that fasting means “not to eat” and we’ve looked at what fasting isn’t meant for. Biblical fasting goes much deeper than the physical of just “not eating”. During my study, these are what I’ve found Biblical fasting to be:
Assumed – as we see in the verse at the beginning of this post, Christ assumes that all believers will fast. It’s not commanded like the Day of Atonement was but rather a part of a believer’s walk with the Lord. It’s unfortunate that the church today has been largely uneducated about this valuable act of worship.
Voluntary – Some churches have fallen prey to legalism and have taken fasting along with them. We must carefully approach fasting in a voluntary, humble way. Again, Leviticus 16 references the Day of Atonement fast. For Christ followers this specified fast isn’t necessary as we know Jesus is our atonement. Mark your calendar to fast if you will, but make sure you are led by the Lord to do so. Otherwise, might we begin to just go through the motions, making fasting into a physical religious ritual rather than a spiritual experience with God?
Varies – The length and type of fast is entirely between you and God. We see fasts from one day (sunset to sunset) to forty days in the Bible. We also see fasts that abstain from food and water, food only or just certain foods.
Active – Look back at our main verse. You can see that obviously it is not only assumed that we will fast but that we will be around others at some point during the fast. This seems to indicate that we will be “active” in carrying out our everyday lives while fasting. We see evidence that people fasted in the Bible while being quite active (soldiers on the battle field, sailing ships…etc). We do not have to be physically on our knees throughout the day to be in constant prayer. The fast places us in that position. Which brings us to our next point…
Private – When we fast, it should be for an audience of One. Even though we will be out amongst others, we should not draw attention to the fact that we’re fasting. We don’t need to spend anymore time on this as I think we covered it in the section on what fasting is not.
Internal – “Don’t tear your clothing in grief, instead tear your hearts.” Joel 2:13(NLT) Fasting, true fasting, goes way beyond the physical act of going without food. As seen in Leviticus 16:29, fasting is described as afflicting the soul. (Lev.16:29 NIV, Lev. 16:29 KJV)
Purposeful – There needs to be a reason. As we’ve already shown, fasting isn’t just some religious ritual to make us more religious. If God has called you to fast, there will be a reason, a purpose. Setting a specific day to fast arbitrarily for fasting sake is merely “not eating”. What are some reasons for fasting found in the Bible? Well, I’m so glad you asked :o)
“Occassions for Fasting”
Dennis Rupert listed seven “occasions for fasting” found in the Bible in his article, Going Faster in the Christian Life. Several other articles and books had others listed, most were similar to Rupert’s list. Here’s a list that’s basically a summary of all the lists I came across:
Mourning death – (1 Samuel 31:13; 2 Samuel 1:12, 3:35; 1 Chronicles 10:12) Fasting when mourning the death of someone was considered normal behavior. If you’ve ever experienced the loss of a loved one, you probably remember a period of time where you didn’t feel like eating. This is very normal of course.
Repentance & Confession – (Deuteronomy 9:18, 1 Samuel 7:6, 1 Kings 21:27; Ezra 10:6; Jonah 3:5; Acts 9:3-9) Repentance can be a form of mourning as well. In the Bible, people would fast to show their sincerity when repenting to God. Satan would have us to remain grief stricken over our sins, some occasion for fasting for repentance might be necessary if our sin is grieving us. Bear in mind though, Christ died as the atonement for our sin, no amount of fasting can equal that. So please do not confuse the act of fasting out of repentance with atonement for sins.
Protection and deliverance – (Ezra 8:21,23,31; Jeremiah 36:9; Esther 4:3) “And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled.” Ezra knew a situation was coming where they could be in grave danger, we see in verses 23 & 31 that God did indeed protect them. Obviously if we know we or a loved one is entering or has entered a dangerous place, this example shows us that it is appropriate to use fasting to speak to God regarding safety.
Guidance – Have you ever heard a voice in your head and thought “I wonder if that’s God speaking to me”? So often we are so busy about being busy that it’s impossible for us to hear God. Our mind makes suggestions that “make sense” and our heart tries to lead us with “feelings”. If you’d like to find God’s voice, try fasting. When done correctly, it can put you in a “fully relying on him” position. If you truly want His direction in your life, you’re going to have to put Him first. In 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 you’ll find King Jehoshaphat proclaiming a fast for his entire nation to seek what the Lord would have them do. God gave them guidance. Also in Acts 13:2 we find the leaders of the church of Antioch being given direction for leadership.
Healing – 2 Samuel 12:15-23, Psalm 35:13; King David saw fasting as a means of asking God for healing on behalf of others. This in no way means he is coaxing God to do his will but clearly David wanted to be certain God knew how desperate his request was.
Ordination of missionaries or church leaders – We find the calling of Paul and Barnabas as missionaries in the Acts 13 passage I mentioned above. Then, later in Acts 14:23 Paul and Barnabas fast over selecting elders for the newly planted churches. We should seek God’s will and blessing in regard to these positions.
Special Revelation – Lets take a look at Daniel in Daniel 9 and Jeremiah 29:10-13. Daniel got way more than he bargained for when he fasted asking God to restore Jerusalem. He was visited by Gabriel and given details of God’s plans.
See what became of Moses humbling himself before God with fasting in Exodus 34:28:
² And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
See also Daniel 10. These men were desperately seeking God and He did not disappoint. I doubt they had any idea what was in store when they began to seek the Lord through fasting and prayer.
In Relation to Food
This post series has been on the rather broad topic of “Food”. It would be easy to say that fasting relates to food because it is the abstinence of it. I have come to believe that this is only part of the relation. It is completely obvious to me that most of America has a very unhealthy relationship with food. I also believe that most of America has probably never Biblically fasted. Is there a relation here? I think it’s quite possible there is. If we were seeking God as we should be, I believe we’d be fasting more often. I think the physical effect could very well be that our perspective of food would change drastically.
I can’t tell you when or how you should fast. This needs to come from Almighty God. What I can tell you is that I am so thankful for these weeks of study and what has been revealed to me through them. You may be asking yourself if I’ve fasted at all during this time of study, I’ll answer simply, yes.
Maybe you’ve been convicted in the area of food and its role in your life. Maybe fasting has been on your mind a great deal. I highly recommend pulling out your Bible and asking God to teach you. I cannot begin to tell you the eye opening journey I’ve been on since beginning this series.
In Relation to Food: Intro
In Relation to Food: Part 1
In Relation to Food: Part 2
In Relation to Food: Part 3