As Was His Custom: Fasting
“Fasting is one of the most essential and powerful of all the practices of Jesus and, arguably, the single most neglected in the modern Western church.” - John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way
While we don’t hear much about fasting in our modern faith circles, the power of this singular spiritual discipline is wholly worth pursuing. In my own faith journey, I’ve reaped the profound benefits of fasting and prayer, particularly when seeking direction, to hear more clearly from the voice of God, and to experience a breakthrough in an area of struggle. While I find such a powerful and extensive topic intimidating to write about, I’m eager to illuminate Jesus’ example and teaching in this custom while emboldening each of us to follow Jesus and experience more of Him through this practice.
Biblical Examples of Fasting
Fasting is most simply defined as a withholding of food for the purpose of dedicated prayer. Oxford Dictionary defines it as to “abstain from all or some kinds of food or drink, especially as a religious observance.”
Throughout scripture, God’s people (in both the old and new covenants) have practiced and benefited from the spiritual act of fasting:
Moses fasted forty days and forty nights immediately preceding God’s writing of the Ten Commandments on stones (Exodus 24)
Jehosophat proclaimed a fast throughout Judah during a time of war, and the Lord delivered them from their enemies (2 Chron. 20)
Ezra proclaims a fast among his group of exiles returning to Jerusalem – to humble themselves – seeking God for a safe journey, and “He listened to (their) entreaty.” (Ezra 8)
Esther calls Mordecai and other exiled Jews to fast for three days and nights in a time of crisis as she prepares to boldly step out to save her people, and she is victorious (Esther 4)
Upon hearing of the destruction of Jerusalem, Nehemiah fasts and prays in repentance for his nation (Nehemiah 1)
Daniel partook of a partial fast for three weeks before receiving a powerful vision from God (Daniel 10)
In the book of Joel, God invites His people to return to him with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning in a time of repentance (Joel 1-2)
Anna, a prophetess, gave her life to worshiping through fasting and prayer in the temple (Luke 2)
Saul’s first act upon encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus was to fast for three days (Acts 9)
In the church at Antioch, fasting and prayer preceded the Spirit’s direction to send out Barnabus and Saul for apostolic work among the church (Acts 13)
Prayer and fasting was integral in Paul and Barnabus’ work of establishing church elders within new churches (Acts 14)
Jesus (Yeshua) And His Practice of Fasting
Jesus also practiced the custom of fasting. There is only one clearly outlined example of Jesus fasting, and beyond that, only a few times He taught us about the practice; yet in these few passages we learn so much of the core elements of this one simple spiritual discipline that carries such powerful potential in the Spirit.
The example of Jesus fasting in the gospels is found in both Matthew 4 and Luke 4 at the launch of his earthly ministry, just after he was baptized by John. It was then that Jesus was “led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days.”[1] During this time in the wilderness, while being tempted by the devil, Jesus fasted.
Jesus’ forty-day fast in the wilderness aligned with a season of both temptation and ministry preparation. Being both “full of the Holy Spirit” and “led by the Spirit,” Jesus denied Himself food for this time that He might be fully focused on the things of the Spirit. During his time of temptation in the wilderness, Jesus set aside his physical need of hunger that he might endure and overcome, laying the foundation for an earthly ministry” in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14).
What Jesus Taught about Fasting
Through both his example and his teaching, Jesus shows us what fasting is – and some simple yet profound truths about its place in the life of a believer.
Fasting is an Expected Practice of Believers.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:16-18
In Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6 regarding fasting, he states more than once, “And when you fast…” As he taught, it was not a question of whether His followers would fast, but rather when. While it is perhaps not the most common or well-understood of spiritual practices, Jesus modeled and taught of its vital importance to our life in him as a practice to align our will with his. If it was a practice that Jesus both found and taught to be beneficial and essential, this compels me to incorporate it as a spiritual practice into my own faith journey so that I may experience further what the Spirit has for me.
2. Fasting Brings About Spiritual Fruit/Reward.
“And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:18b
Fasting, when practiced in humility and authenticity, is rewarded by our Father. In essence, Jesus is saying God will “give back” to us through this act of worship. Our spiritual lives (and the lives of those for whom we pray) will richly benefit from this act of “setting aside” of self to seek Him more fully.
3. Fasting Helps us Overcome Spiritual Strongholds.
“Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:19-21 (NKJV)
Jesus taught us that spiritual strongholds are real, but there is greater power in the Spirit through Him. Fasting is a spiritual practice that further empowers our prayers and our faith to see mountains move and strongholds fall in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
4. Fasting is Only Impactful when Practiced as a Private Act of Humility and Faith
As seen in Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6, those who fast to receive the praise and recognition of others have deflated the practice of its spiritual power and reward. The fast that holds weight in God’s eyes is the one practiced in secret, a private act of worship between you and God. Even in the midst of a corporate or group fast, it is in this private space that your motive can remain true - to truly seek Him alone. Just as in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18, any spiritual practice that exalts our own ego stands in the way of any spiritual benefit. It is the state of our hearts before God that makes all the difference.
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:14b
5. Fasting is Not a Means of Manipulating or Coercing God to Do What We Want
It is tempting, in our desperation for a certain outcome within painful spaces of our lives, to expect in prayer and fasting a particular end, thinking that we may in some way bend God’s will to obtain what we want (or think we need). And yet, throughout scripture, examples of the powerful breakthrough or impact that comes from prayer and fasting are not that which can be coerced by a human act; rather it is the fruit of a life and will surrendered, humbled, and desperate for a move of God that only He can do, and only in His way.
Just as with prayer (see more on prayer here), fasting (in conjunction with prayer) as a spiritual practice is, ultimately, an act of surrender and worship to an omniscient, omnipotent, and loving God to whom we entrust the details of our lives. It is a means of releasing control of our way; not allowing ourselves to be filled with anything less than His best.
In Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney shares,
“Fasting hoists the sails of the soul in hopes of experiencing the gracious wind of God’s Spirit. But fasting also adds a unique dimension to your spiritual life and helps you grow in Christlikeness in ways that are unavailable through any other means. If this were not so, and if the blessings of fasting could be experienced by other means, Jesus would not have taught and modeled fasting.”[2]
Perhaps fasting is best expressed as a way to empty oneself in order that we may be filled more fully with God’s Spirit.
How Can We Follow Jesus In This Way?
Start Small
In the early church, it was common for believers to fast two days per week. While notable, much freedom is given to us in our practice of this and other disciplines, so perhaps the place to start is simply somewhere. It could be as simple and small as foregoing a meal once per week to spend in prayer as an offering of worship. Any step towards God in this discipline, when engaged with a heart of humility and faith, will bear fruit.
Use Your Physical Hunger To Call Out Your Hunger For God
I love how John Mark Comer states this truth: “In fasting, you are literally praying with all your body, offering all that you are to God in worship. As you yield your body to God, you are breaking the power of the flesh to control you and opening up the power of the Spirit in its place. And you are amplifying your prayers —increasing your capacity to both hear and be heard by God.”[3]
Use the Practice of Fasting as an Act of Consecration
Consecration simply means to “make or declare sacred.” Offer your time of fasting to God as an act of worship and faith; and give Him full reign to give you His best as you dedicate yourself to Him in this way.
“We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” 2 Cor 6:3-10
So whether you are led to fast for spiritual breakthrough; for clarity and direction; for healing; for others; for our broken world: offer your fast to the Lord in an act of worship and faith, fully believing that God will meet you, hear you, see you, and respond with His Spirit in power in and through your life.
**To learn more about the spiritual practice of fasting, consider the following resources:
● Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer
● God’s Chosen Fast by Arthur Wallis
● Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard Foster
● Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney
[1] Luke 4:1
[2] Whitney, Donald S., Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, p. 83.
[3] Comer, John Mark. “Practicing the Way.” p. 185.
