What is Biblical Fasting?

In my post last month, “Thoughts on Lent,” I shared how I learned the origins of Lent and how to view it through the lens of Scripture. In the process of my research on Lent, I discovered what is true biblical fasting for the first time.

Fasting is arguably the most ignored of the spiritual disciplines we see in God’s Word. As believers, we more readily apply ourselves to prayer, the study of the Bible, and even meditation on it. However, fasting is often viewed with hesitation or apprehension. It can seem daunting, unattainable, and even impractical to some.

While we find no direct commandment to fast in Scripture, we do see plenty of evidence that fasting is a discipline that is meant for all believers for our good and the glory of God.

What is biblical fasting?

In the Bible, fasting is always an abstention from food for a particular period of time with a spiritual purpose. This is important. When we fast, there must be a biblical purpose. As Donald Whitney said, “Without a purpose, fasting can be a miserable, self-centered experience about willpower and endurance.” ​This type of fasting is not biblical because it essentially seeks to highlight one’s self through acts of self-righteous suffering. When we fast according to God’s Word, He is the sole and primary focus.

Does biblical fasting only involve food?

This is a fair question as many people today legitimately have medical reasons why fasting from food would not be the best idea. While fasting in the Bible is always related to food, we can, and should, exercise prudence and sound thinking as we approach fasting.

Diabetics, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, those struggling with eating disorders, and those who must regularly take important medications with food are just a few examples of people who should not consider fasting from food, especially not for an entire day or more.

While God does call us to live by faith, that does not mean we should act without common sense. 
 
In these and other cases, fasting from something other than food for a set period of time for the same spiritual purpose as fasting from food is understandable. However, there are three important principles we must remember as we consider how we will and should fast. ​

1. Fasting from food is the biblical example and ought not to be passed over hastily for fear of discomfort. Most of us could handle fasting for at least one meal or even for an entire day. We often put unnecessary pressure on ourselves, as if we think that God expects us to fast for 40 days and 40 nights like His Son,  Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11). Nevertheless, we should apply ourselves to this spiritual discipline in ways that stretch us as we are able. 
   
   
2. We participate in a food fast because food is necessary and valuable to us. It isn’t just something we enjoy or like to do. Without continued sustenance, we would die. So it is with God. We fast from food to remind us how much more necessary God is to our life, to remember that He is the Provider of all we need and have, and to worship Him in humility and dependence. Therefore, if you cannot abstain from food, when selecting what will take the place of food in your fast, consider something of similar value and importance.
   
   A word of caution—reflect on whether what you are fasting from is really simply giving up something that has become an idol in your life. Giving up something that has usurped the place reserved for God alone is not fasting. It is obedience.
   
   
3. Biblical fasting requires a plan of action. This isn’t just about depriving yourself of food or something else. In order to make the most of fasting, we need to have a definitive plan for how we will spend the time in prayer and meditation on God’s character and His Word. “Without a purpose and plan,” writes David Mathis, “it’s not Christian fasting; it’s just going hungry.”

Christ’s example of fasting:

If we want to learn how to fast biblically, we can do no better than looking to the example that Jesus gives us. It is from Him that our questions on fasting are answered. 
 

• Jesus tells us “when” not “if.” 
  Matthew 6:16-18 “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.”
  
  Twice in this passage, Jesus instructs His followers by saying “when you fast.” This is not a command, but it is still very telling about how Jesus viewed this spiritual discipline. He expects that they will at some point fast, therefore He gives them special instruction on how to do it.
  
  
• Jesus concentrates on the “why” not the “way.”
  While He does give us some directions on how we ought to fast, those instructions are minimal and focused on the heart's motivations, not on an external list of to-dos. If you’re like me then you love checklists and find great satisfaction in being able to strike items off when completed. Jesus knows our hearts are bent this way—toward surface adherence to the rules. This is why He hones in on why we should fast and not on a particular method of how. The heart is what truly matters. If we fast without engaging our hearts, it is all for nothing.
  
  ​This truth is made abundantly clear in Christ’s words in Matthew 9 where disciples of John the Baptist have come to Jesus to question why His own disciples did not fast. Pay close attention to His response: “And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.'” ​Matthew 9:15

Jesus’ words reveal to us the “why” of fasting. He essentially tells John’s disciples that it is pointless to fast because the Messiah has come. Because He is present with them, they are able to feast rather than fast. In other words, the Bread of Life is with them. There is no reason to fast when He is near. However, when He returns to Heaven, Christ says that His disciples will fast because He is gone.
 
This shows us that fasting is rooted in a hunger for the presence of God. We ought to long for Him the way a starving man yearns to be fed. Fasting aids us in remembering this. As Jesus points out, we do not mourn when the bridegroom is with us but rather once he is gone. Similarly, when we fast we are mourning the loss of Christ’s physical presence, the existence of sin (especially our own), and looking forward with joy and hope to the feast that awaits us in glory—the feast of His eternal physical presence. 
 
Additionally, fasting is also about feasting on God here and now, too. When we strip away the temporal things that often distract us, we can more wholly focus on God. We take time to see Him as we rightly should and as our sole purpose for existing—for now and eternity. 
 
We often live so unaware of God’s power and His presence. However, He never does that with us. He is at all times thinking of, planning for, and loving us.

• He daily provides our needs.
• He showers us with kindness.
• He draws us to Himself.
• He gives us His Spirit to aid us.

There is not a moment of any day that He is not watching over us and pouring out His grace upon us.

All of our needs are met in Him!

Fasting is more than just a denial of self or deprivation of food. For the believer, at the center of any fast is a feast. When we fast, we are focusing on God as our true sustenance and the satisfier of our souls. We marvel at His goodness and provision. And we also mourn. We mourn the absence of His physical presence. We mourn the sin that has separated us from Him. Mostly, we joyously anticipate the feast we will one day savor in Heaven when we can enjoy His uninterrupted presence forever. 
 
To many it may seem illogical to say that fasting is feasting, but for the Christian that is exactly what it is. We were made to feast on God. In the here and now, fasting reminds us that He alone is our source of life. And one day we will never have a need to fast again. The mourning will end and we will truly feast at His table as we never have before. ​

“O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You;
my flesh faints for You,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary,
beholding Your power and glory.
Because Your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise You.
So I will bless You as long as I live;
in Your name, I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food.”
​Psalm 63:1-5

What has been your fasting experience?