Fasting is a spiritual discipline we do not do enough as a church in general. I know some may fast through the month of January and some may fast at intermittent times throughout the year. As for Northeast church, we are committing ourselves to fast every first Tuesday of the month. So, I want to take some time and answer some questions about fasting.
Should believers fast regularly?
My answer is yes. Why do I believe this? I believe this because God expects his church to fast regularly. In Matthew 6:16 & 17, as Jesus was teaching on fasting twice he said, “And when you fast…” Now I know some scholars do not think Jesus taught that his followers should fast regularly, but notice Jesus does not say ‘if you fast’, he says “when you fast”. The implication behind Jesus’ words “when you fast” is that he expects fasting to be done regularly by those who follow him.
What is fasting?
Essentially, fasting is an earnest and sincere desire to seek God, His guidance, and His direction. John Piper, in his book A Hunger for God said, “Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God.” In other words, fasting is what people do who are hungry for God. As E.M. Bounds rightly points out, every great movement of God can be traced back to prayer and fasting.
How does one fast?
Traditionally, fasting is voluntarily reducing or eliminating food intake for a specific purpose and time. However, fasting can also be voluntarily abstaining or giving up something else like coffee or television or Facebook or even types of food for a specific purpose and time. The prophet Daniel, for example, the two times he fasted did not fully abstain from food; when he fasted he abstained from consuming meat and wine; he only consumed vegetables and water. Also, the during the time of fasting one should spend time reading God’s Word and praying.
What purpose should one fast?
These days many fast for non-spiritual reasons like weight loss. While that is great, that is not the reason the Bible teaches we are too fast. We see many reasons for fasting in the Scriptures: fast to strengthen our prayer life (Ezra 8:23); to seek God’s guidance (Judges 20:26); to express grief (1 Samuel 31:13); to seek deliverance and protection (2 Chron. 30:3-4); to express repentance and return to God (1 Sam. 7:6); to humble oneself before God (1 Kings 21:27-29); to express concern for the work of God (Neh. 1:3-4); to minister to the needs of others (Isa. 58:3-7); to overcome temptation and dedicate yourself to God (Matt. 4:1-11); to express love and worship for God (Luke 2:37). All of these are great reasons why biblical fasting should be done.