A spiritual discipline that often goes hand in hand with prayer is fasting. One thing you will not find in Scripture is a command to fast (previous error corrected here). However, what you will find are multiple examples of fasting, and also an expectation that we will indeed fast from time to time.
There are more references in Scripture to fasting than to baptism. Admittedly, baptism is a command and fasting is not, but we should be aware of the weight given to fasting in Scripture.
We find there are a variety of reasons why people in the Scripture fasted.
First, we see people fasting because they were sad, mourning or grieving over something. The men who buried Saul and his three sons fasted for seven days (1 Sam. 31:13). The Jews fasted after the Persian king was tricked into issuing a decree that all the Jews should be killed (Esther 4:3). Nehemiah fasted and prayed for days as he cried over the wall of Jerusalem being torn down (Neh. 1:4). And there are numerous references to David tearing his clothes and fasting in times of grief.
Second, we see people fasting out of a desire to repent-to turn away from their sin and turn back to God. The entire nation of Israel fasted and repented of sin (1 Sam. 7:5-6). King Ahab humbled himself in repentance by fasting in 1 Kings, and in Jonah we find a story about the Ninevites demonstrating their repentance with fasting. In Nehemiah 9, the people confessed their sins before God with fasting and the wearing of sackcloth.
Third, we see people fasting when they fervently needed an answer to prayer. In Judges 20, there was a war between Israel and Benjamin. The Israelites suffered great losses after two days of fighting, and the remaining soldiers retreated and spent the rest of that day fasting and making offerings to the Lord. They wanted to know from the Lord if they should continue the war. The Lord answered, and they went on to win the war. In 2 Samuel 12, David found out from Nathan that the child David had with Bathsheba was going to die. David fasted and prayed all night, on the ground, for an answer from the Lord. In this case, the Lord still allowed the child to die as a result of David’s sin. Matthew 17 relates a story about the disciples being unable to cast out a demon. Jesus answers that “this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Fourth, we see people fasting to express their worship of God-just to honor Him. Daniel is a great example of this. Mary and Joseph met Anna in the Temple, of whom the Scripture says “she never left the Temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayer” (Luke 2:37). After the resurrection of Jesus, the Christians at Antioch were worshiping by “ministering to the Lord and fasting” (Acts 13:2). It was in this meeting that Paul and Barnabas were first called by the Holy Spirit to become missionaries.
So again, when you go through the Bible, you won’t find a commandment to fast. What you will find are numerous examples of the people of God fasting. You’ll find that they fasted sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for a day, sometimes for several days. In the case of Jesus, you find Him fasting 40 days and nights. There is never an explanation as to why they chose a certain period of time, but you will find that time associated with prayer in addition to fasting. As with prayer, the key is not how long or how often in a legalistic manner, but what was in the heart.
Here’s what Jesus had to say about fasting in Matthew 6:16: “And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as they hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”
Notice that Jesus does not say “if” you fast, but “when.” This may be splitting hairs, but there seems to be an expectation that his audience members do fast. Notice he also makes it a point that fasting should not be done for attention. If that is the point of our fast, then that is also the reward in and of itself. That means any “reward” from God, such as an answer to prayer, or forgiveness of sin, or receipt of our worship will be missing because of our motive and method.
Zechariah 7:4-5 speaks to this when it says “Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me saying, ‘Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?’”
Notice Jesus also does not go into how long or how often a fast should be. Just like any other spiritual discipline, fasting can become something legalistic. When we start focusing on how often and all the other little specifics about fasting, we can turn it into something God will not bless. Here’s some final thoughts.
- Fasting is not so much about food as it is about focus.
- Fasting is not so much about saying no to the body as it is about saying yes to the Spirit.
- Fasting should be an outward but private response to an inward hungering for God.
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