Fasting is one of the spiritual disciplines that it is good for us to exercise as Christians. It helps us strengthen our spirit and draw closer to God by offering us the opportunity to deny something to our body and to voluntarily choose to prioritize something spiritual: our relationship with God.
The basic meaning of the word fast is complete or partial abstention from food and/or drink for a period of time. It means that when we decide to fast for a specific time, it is understood that we will stop eating or drinking completely or partially.
What should be the motivation for fasting?
The main reason for fasting should be draw closer to God, show him our love, obedience and submission. We should not mark a fast day for selfish reasons or to get something that we want God to grant us in return.
We read in Zechariah 7:1-6:
In the fourth year of the reign of King Darius, on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chisleu, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias. The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regen Melech and their men to seek the favor of the Lord and to ask the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should we observe in the fifth month a day of mourning and mourning?” abstinence, as we have done all these years?” Then this word came to me from the Lord Almighty: “Tell all the people of the land, and also the priests: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months of the last seventy years, did you really fast? for me? And when you eat and drink, do you not do it for yourself?
(Zechariah 7:1-6)
We see how important it is that Let us examine our hearts and understand well what motivates us to fast. God knows our hearts, he knows if we do it for selfish reasons or if we really fast as an offering to him with the desire to experience his presence in a special way. Fasting should be an act of humility and sacrifice before God, a gesture that expresses how much we need him in our lives.
Discover 4 types of fasting mentioned in the Bible
The fast that pleases God
Isn’t fasting sharing your bread with the hungry and sheltering the poor homeless, clothing the naked and not neglecting your fellow men? If you proceed in this way, your light will dawn like the dawn, and your healing will come instantly; your righteousness will open the way for you, and the glory of the Lord will follow you. You will call, and the Lord will answer; you will ask for help, and he will say: “Here I am!”» If you throw off the yoke of oppression, the accusing finger and the malicious tongue, if you dedicate yourself to helping the hungry and satisfying the need of the helpless, then your light will shine in the darkness, and as noon shall be your night. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy you in parched lands, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters do not run out.
(Isaiah 58:7-11)
In this text from Isaiah we see more clearly what is the fast that pleases God. Stopping eating for the sake of stopping eating has no spiritual power or effect on us. Nor does it benefit us at all to stop eating or drinking and continue doing things that go against the heart of God.
In the first five verses of this chapter, God had told the people of Israel that although he saw good things in them, he was not at all happy with the way they proceeded on the fast day. It seems that they fasted to impress others, and their attitude during the fast reflected the quarrels between them.
Verses 6 through 11 detail the fast that pleases God. We can see that it is a fast that must be accompanied by acts of justice (breaking the chains of injustice, setting the oppressed free). It should also result in actions that show care and love for others (sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the homeless). What they would get by obeying and fasting with the right attitude would be the healing that God would give them. The glory of the Lord would be with them, they would enjoy his care, their health, and they would have many blessings. God would always guide them, his provision would be sufficient, and he would give them physical strength. Blessings inexhaustible!
Looking at the passage from the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus talks about fasting, we see again the importance of our attitude. Fasting should be for the purpose of pleasing and obeying God. We should not fast so that others will see us and admire us.
When you fast, do not make a sad face like the hypocrites do, who change their faces to show that they are fasting. I assure you that these have already obtained their full reward. But you, when you fast, perfume your head and wash your face so that it is not obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is in secret; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
(Matthew 6:16-18)
In these verses we see some interesting points:
- “When they fast”: This phrase shows that Jesus expected his followers, those who listened to his teachings, to fast. Fasting was part of his culture, he knew that they fast at least one day a year (the Day of Atonement) and he doesn’t tell them to stop doing it.
- Related to the previous point we see that it is preferable not to be physically noticeable when we fast. Jesus encourages them to get ready, to see themselves replenished, encouraged. Verse 17 says “…perfume your head and wash your face…”.
- Fasting must be secret, something between us and God: “…so that it is not evident to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father…”.
- God rewards us when we fast for him and the only reward we should care about is his. Therefore, as far as possible, he should be the only one to know that we are fasting.
Is it compulsory to fast?
The only fast mandated by God as law in the Old Testament is the fast on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29-31) combined on that occasion with the Sabbath. All the people had to fast a full day for purification from sins. On that day, the sacrifice of a male goat (chosen between two) was offered, which, in a symbolic way, carried the sins of the people.
We know that, thanks to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we have already received forgiveness for our sins. Jesus was the perfect and merciful Lamb through whom we are without blemish. We just have to accept the sacrifice of Jesus as valid for us acknowledging that we have sinned, that we are only forgiven and cleansed through him.
This is why fasting is no longer an imposition. If you are a child of God you will not fast because it is required of you. You will ask for divine direction in each of your situations and, as the Father speaks to your heart, you will decide whether or not you should fast. There is a very interesting account in the Bible, in Matthew 9:14-17. It is a question that the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus.
One day John’s disciples came to him and asked him, “How come we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t?” Jesus answered them, “Can the bridegroom’s guests mourn while he is with them? The day will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. Nobody mends an old dress with a piece of new cloth, because the patch will pucker the dress and the tear will be made worse. Nor is new wine poured into old wineskins. If you do so, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, the new wine is poured into new wineskins, and thus both are preserved.
(Matthew 9:14-17)
Interesting! Jesus had fasted 40 days and 40 nights before beginning his ministry (Matthew 4). However, he did not require his disciples to fast. This was done by the Pharisees and John the Baptist. Jesus explains that while he (the groom) was alive, it was not the time to fast or mourn. That time would come and then they would fast.
Jesus also explains the difference his coming and his life made. The old wineskins (the law) could not contain the new wine that represents the new covenant through the sacrifice of Jesus. He was bringing something new: forgiveness of sins and eternal life through grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). Fasting, and everything that was done by obligation under the law, becomes done out of love and thanks to the Father, showing our desire to enjoy his presence and closeness.
Do you want to get closer to God? Do you want to receive direction for a decision? Are you going through a challenging time in your life? It might be a good time to go on a fast. Ask God if that is his wish for you. Check with your doctor about the best way to do it. Do not forget that the Father longs for us to draw close to him and never rejects those who seek him.