Fasting

Like simplicity, the purpose of fasting is to eliminate distractions and help us focus more intently on the Lord. In one respect fasting is simplicity in a concentrated dose. We deny ourselves food, drink, or a particular activity for a specified time in order to center on the Lord.

The Bible provides no specific instructions on how long a fast may be. One may fast from food for a meal, a day, a few days or longer. Sometimes a fast is limited to depriving one self from “choice foods, meat, and wine” as in Daniel’s case in Daniel 10:2. Daniel also indicates that he refrained from using “lotions” during his three-week fast. His purpose in fasting was mourning, humbling himself before God and prayer (Daniel 10:2 & 12).

One may fast or refrain from an activity for a time in order to focus on God. Paul advises married couples, “Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” (1 Corinthians 7:5 NLT)

I personally have engaged in complete food and drink fasts (except water), fasts from sweets, wine, watching television, etc. The Bible indicates that fasting serves to help us focus on God and removing distractions. Like the other relational graces, fasting is not an end in itself, but assists us in drawing near to God.

The practice of fasting in the Bible seems to always accompany other relational graces like prayer, solitude, repentance, confession of sin, or reading the Word (2 Samuel 12:23; 2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21-23; Acts 13:2). As an act of self-denial, fasting expresses one’s humility and contrite spirit. “‘Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’” (Joel 2:12)
 
Sometimes an extenuating circumstance compels us to fast. 2 Chronicles 20 offers a nail-biting example of this. A vast army of Moabites and Ammonites had mustered and was marching against Judah. When Judah’s King Jehoshaphat received word of their plan he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah. The purpose of their fast was to seek help from the Lord and humble themselves before him admitting their helplessness and great need of him. In this amazing account, the army of Judah went to meet the armies of their enemies by singing the praises of God. God fought for them and defeated their enemies without Judah lifting a hand!

Another example in which a serious situation prompted fasting occurred in Esther 4:6. On this occasion, Esther’s uncle pleaded with Esther to approach the King and ask him to reverse an evil plan that had been set in motion to annihilate her people, the Jews. Even though Esther was the queen in Persia, the law there forbade her from approaching the king with her request without his first summoning her. She asked her people to fast for her (Esther 4:16). The implication is that they fasted in order to appeal to God on her behalf. And when Esther approached the king after the three days of fasting, he welcomed her and granted her request.

There have been times in my life in which a dire situation has prompted me to fast. At other times, I’ve fasted to seek God’s direction in an important decision. When Linda and I were following God’s leading to become overseas missionaries, we fasted and prayed about which mission agency and country to go to. God clearly answered our prayers and blessed us with a fruitful ministry in Austria with Greater Europe Mission.
A similar situation to ours occurred in the church in Antioch in Acts 13:1-3:

“In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”

We don’t know what had prompted the church leadership to fast, but they had coupled their fasting with worship. As they worshiped and fasted, God revealed to them his plan for the expansion of the church in the regions beyond Antioch. Furthermore, he singled out Paul and Barnabas to complete this work. Notice that this team of leaders fasted and prayed again before commissioning Paul and Barnabas and sending them off.

Fasting, like the other relational graces, can be counterfeited and reduced to meaningless religious acts. In 1 Kings 21:9 and 12, Queen Jezebel declares a fast as a ruse to murder an innocent man. And in Isaiah 58:3-6 (NLT), the Lord exposes the hollowness of the purely external practice of fasting:

“‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.
      ‘Why aren’t you impressed?
   We have been very hard on ourselves,
      and you don’t even notice it!’
   ‘I will tell you why!’ I respond.
      ‘It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.
   Even while you fast,
      you keep oppressing your workers.
 What good is fasting
      when you keep on fighting and quarreling?
   This kind of fasting
      will never get you anywhere with me.
 You humble yourselves
      by going through the motions of penance,
   bowing your heads
      like reeds bending in the wind.
   You dress in burlap
      and cover yourselves with ashes.
   Is this what you call fasting?
      Do you really think this will please the LORD?’
 ’No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
   Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
      lighten the burden of those who work for you.
   Let the oppressed go free,
      and remove the chains that bind people.’”

Throughout the centuries, many have also distorted fasting by using it as a device for punishing themselves. Their motivation is to hurt themselves physically as an attempt to atone for their sin or attain holiness. Such perversions of fasting or other self-debasing practices deny the all sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. Only Jesus can make us holy. We cannot pay for our sins, nor does God desire that we even try! On this subject Paul reminds us:

“You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.” (Colossians 2:20-23 NLT)

Jesus also had the following to say about the genuineness of our fasting:
 
“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16-18 NLT)

Don’t miss the awful irony in the above examples! Fasting—this relational grace designed to help us focus on God through self-denial, humility and removal of distractions can be misused and abused into something ugly, proud and self-centered. Be assured that our motives matter! We cannot fool God. Nothing is hidden from his sight. We don’t fast to impress him, twist his arm or to flaunt our religiosity before others!

Employed rightly, God uses fasting in our lives to bring about some amazing results. A number of years ago, the church we were attending in Anchorage, Alaska was bursting at the seams. We had already added five services to accommodate the numbers of people who were coming and God kept on sending us more! We desperately needed a larger facility.
 
About that time, a defunct seafood processing plant was to go up for auction. This facility was large enough to accommodate our rapid growth. Initially, our elders dismissed the possibility of purchasing it based on humanly insurmountable obstacles. But when God knocked down three of those obstacles in a space of two weeks, he got our attention. So the elders called the church family to a corporate fast to seek God’s direction. As a result we applied as one of the bidders for the property.

Three bidders had registered prior to the auction day. But at the auction, one bidder never showed up and lost his option to bid on the property. The other bidder had deep pockets and we knew we didn’t stand a chance bidding against him. But when he found out we were a church and what our vision was for the facility, he withdrew his bid saying he wanted us to have it! God’s handiwork was all over the purchase of that facility and he used prayer and fasting to draw us to himself and demonstrate to us how sovereign and powerful he is!

In America today we are not accustomed to denying ourselves anything we desire—even things we cannot afford. As a result, fasting—in which we deny ourselves the temporary enjoyment of a food, drink or other pleasure—may seem archaic and irrelevant. But that very fact should shock us into realizing how desperately we need to engage in a relational grace like fasting. For humbling ourselves and declaring to God our need for him is and always will be keenly relevant.

Jesus says to all of us who would be his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) Fasting provides us with an intentional opportunity to deny ourselves and follow him. Not a perverted self-abasement, but drawing near to him humbly and joyfully as our Provider, Lord and Sustainer.

© Rob Fischer 2008