Fasting is one of those practices that most (if not all) Christians should do, but rarely do they do it.
Fasting is the perfect way to humble yourself before the Lord, and it also has a plethora of health benefits. It also is well represented concept in the Bible.
First, let’s look at some Bible verses regarding fasting:
”16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”
Matthew 6:16-18, KJV
In this chapter of the Bible, Jesus is teaching the disciples some of the core principles regarding how they should perform their Christian walk. It is still relevant today.
First of all, notice how the teaching begins with a ”when ye fast” rather than ”if ye fast”. It is reasonable to assume Jesus expected his disciples to fast, but only after his resurrection:
”14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.”
Matthew 9:14-15, KJV
It was also mentioned by Jesus that when one fasts, they should not appear unto men to fast, but instead perform their fasting in secret, so that our Heavenly Father can bless the fasting person openly.
The teaching is similar to doing alms; it is better to do it in secret.
Perhaps the most famous cases of fasting are the 40-days fast of both Jesus and Moses, followed up by the 3-week Daniel fast.
Here’s the Bible verse concerning Moses’ fast:
”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.”
Exodus 34:28, KJV
Now, it is rather obvious that fasting for 40 days without drinking or eating is abnormal, and as such, it should be avoided by most everybody.
It is also understood that Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil:
”1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.”
Matthew 4:1-2, KJV
Considering it is Jesus the Bible is talking about, we can only assume he also fasted 40 days without drinking or eating.
It is unlikely a person would survive such an ordeal unless they were prompted by the spirit to do so. And as such, it is not recommended to attempt such a fast.
However, Daniel fast is certainly doable.
Daniel fast is considered to be a strict vegan diet, where one prohibits oneself from eating animal products, leavened bread, any processed foods, alcohol or even caffeine for a certain period of days (Daniel himself fasted for 3 weeks, which is equal to 21 days).
Why should you consider fasting?
It is well established and backed up by science that fasting has many health benefits.
Fasting may provide several health benefits, including weight loss, blood sugar control, and protection against medical conditions such as cancer.
Fasting helps our bodies fight inflammation. Fasting has also been found to boost our brain function and prevent neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
However, it must be said that all these are possible outcomes of fasting, but not necessarily applicable to every individual.
Either way, science seems to back up the idea of (somewhat regular) fasting.
As for Christians, fasting should primarily be done for two reasons: humbling ourselves before the Lord, and for spiritual warfare.
We are called to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord:
”Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
James 4:10, KJV
And fasting just so happens to be one of the most effective ways of humbling ourselves:
”13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.”
Psalm 35:13, KJV
Then we have an example of spiritual warfare in the Bible:
”14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
Matthew 17:14-21, KJV
Jesus was able to cast out the devil, but his disciples were not able to do it.
It was then mentioned that this (some) kind of devils only go out by prayer and fasting. Devils can also be understood as unclean spirits (instead of the Holy Spirit).
It is also curious, but this verse (Matthew 17:21) does not exist in many version of the Bible, including the New International Version (NIV). It is as if the devil doesn’t want the information about fasting to become widespread.
We face the same problem when reading Mark:
”And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
Mark 9:29, KJV
In the NIV, only prayer is mentioned. This should give the reader some thought regarding which version of the Bible they should be reading.
But let’s move on with the topic at hand.
There are many examples in the Bible regarding fasting, but we do not need to go through all of them to understand that fasting is a biblical practice, and every Christian should at least consider doing it.
How To Fast
Fasting should always be accompanied with prayer. Pray and ask God for guidance regarding your fast.
That being said, here are some general rules about fasting:
Fasting generally is done for 24-72 hours (or 1 to 3 days) at a time.
You want to establish for how long you’re going to fast, and what kind of fast you are going to do before you begin.
There are four main types of fasting:
Dry fast – in this type of fasting, the one fasting is not allowed to drink or eat for a period of time (usually 24-72 hours).
Water fast – as the name suggests, you are only allowed to drink water during this type of fast. Water fast generally lasts anywhere from one to seven days (or longer).
Liquid fast – like water fast, except other liquids are also allowed.
Daniel fast – Daniel fast (as was already discussed earlier) is a vegan fast where one sticks to a strict vegan diet for a period of time. This type of fast is sometimes also called ”fruit fast”, because it is common to resort to eating fruits during the Daniel fast. This type of fasting can last anywhere from 1 to 21 days.
These are the main types of fasting, but I wanted to also include a different type of fast; and that would be social media / Internet fast.
These days it is considered normal to spend much of our time in front of screens. As many of us already know, it isn’t exactly the best for our mental or physical health.
Sometimes it isn’t just that our bodies need a break; our brains need a break as well.
And so here I am going to suggest that you consider at least a social media fast, if not entire Internet fast for one to three days, and see how you feel during and after doing so.
With all that being said, we’re done.
I hope you have gained some kind of insight into what fasting is and how to do it yourself.
Happy fasting!
