Fasting is mentioned many times in the Word of God, in both the Old and New Testaments. It is often connected intimately with prayer, especially in the New Testament, where prayer is a special privilege of every believer. Should fasting have a place in the lives of believers today? Is it something that should be done routinely, or only on certain occasions? Does fasting associated with prayer make that prayer more acceptable in the sight of God? If we fast, how long should we do so?
The first mention of fasting in the Bible is found in Judges 20:2626Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. (Judges 20:26), where Israel wept and fasted in the Lord’s presence after being twice defeated by the tribe of Benjamin. Again, in the time of Samuel, when Israel was afraid of the Philistines (1 Sam. 7:6), they fasted before the Lord and confessed their sins. On another occasion, when Saul and Jonathan were killed on Mt. Gilboa, those who buried them fasted seven days. David and his men also fasted and mourned when they heard the sad news. Later, Esther fasted before she went in to King Ahasuerus to plead for her people. It is significant that there was no commandment in the law to do such a thing. Rather, they felt that in their effort to humble themselves in the Lord’s presence, fasting was appropriate to the occasion. Even though prayer is not specifically mentioned, each occasion was marked by sorrow, humiliation in God’s presence, a sense of utter dependence on Him, and a felt need of the Lord’s help.
We see all of this carried out by our blessed Lord in His pathway down here, as He walked in perfect dependence before His Father. We find Him fasting for forty days and nights before being tempted of the devil. Likewise, He could point out that when He was taken from them, His people would fast (Matt. 9:1515And 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 9:15)).
Wrong Reasons
On the other hand, fasting was sometimes done for the wrong reasons, and this could not have God’s approval. When she wished to have Naboth executed, Jezebel gave orders that a fast be proclaimed, while at the same time ordering that false witnesses be arranged to accuse him of blasphemy so that he might be stoned to death (1 Kings 21:910). Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord could say to some in Israel, “Ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness,” and ask, “Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?” (Isa. 58:45). Likewise, the Lord Jesus rebuked those who made a public show of wearing a sad countenance and disfiguring their faces while fasting, calling them hypocrites. Thus we see that fasting is an outward act that depends for its value on an inward state of soul that answers to God and to the significance of such fasting.
In this same connection, we know that fasting was carried to an extreme in the early church, after the apostles had been called home. Paul could warn Timothy that in the latter times some would depart from the faith, “giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Tim. 4:1). One of these doctrines of demons would be “commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving” (1 Tim. 4:3). We know that such legalized fasting began as a custom, but then eventually became a command that was enforced in many cases by law. Up to and even after the reformation, people were executed for disobeying the laws about fasting.
Fasting of the Lord’s Disciples
Despite these abuses of the practice, the positive references to fasting should exercise us. When the disciples asked the Lord Jesus why they were unable to cast the demon out of the lunatic boy, He told them, “This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:2121Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. (Matthew 17:21)). After the church was formed, fasting was evidently done by those in responsibility and leadership in the assembly at Antioch, and when they felt led to send out Barnabas and Saul for the work of the Lord, they fasted and prayed before doing so. Fasting was also done by Paul and Barnabas when they used their apostolic authority to ordain elders in the various assemblies (Acts 14:2323And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. (Acts 14:23)). Also, Paul could speak about a husband and wife separating for a time in order to give themselves to “fasting and prayer” (1 Cor. 7:5). Thus it seems clear that fasting definitely has God’s approval in this dispensation of His grace, and it was practiced in the days of the apostles.
Right Reasons
In light of the various Scriptures we have considered, I would suggest the following thoughts about fasting. First, as has been mentioned earlier, fasting is an outward act that is of no value in the sight of God unless accompanied by an inward state of soul that answers to the act. Fasting as a matter of routine or on command has no Scriptural backing. We cannot have unjudged sin on our conscience or be indifferent to God’s claims, and then perform an outward act in order to get His ear.
Second, fasting is almost always connected with prayer. This is important, for fasting speaks of our abstinence from all human means of help, while prayer expresses our dependence upon God. The purest form of fasting is not so much a conscious act, but the result of the spiritual nature being so occupied with heavenly subjects that the desire for food is unheeded for the moment. If our hearts are burdened about a matter in the sight of God, then our natural desires will give way to our concern about the situation before us, and we will not feel the same desire for food.
Third, while fasting is connected with food and thus is something with which we can all identify, I would suggest that the principle is not limited to food. This is shown clearly in 1 Corinthians 7:5, already referred to, where the normal enjoyment of the relationship of husband and wife is also set aside for a time of prayer. For some it may be some other natural desire or need, not wrong in itself, but which gives place to a special burden that transcends that need. As an example of this, we find our blessed Master more than once spending time at night in prayer to His Father, when no doubt sleep would have been very welcome to His weary body.
Fourth, let us remember that fasting must be done privately and out of the public eye to be acceptable to God. Doubtless those in Antioch who fasted did so collectively, and thus knew about one another’s actions, but it does not seem that the whole assembly was involved. Rather, those who had a burden on their hearts were before the Lord and fasted. If the matter becomes a public thing, some may take part in it without being really exercised and burdened in the Lord’s presence. Also, there is the real danger of pride getting in the way, and as we have seen, the Lord Jesus condemned this in the strongest terms.
In view of all these considerations, we can see that fasting is definitely not forbidden today, but is rather encouraged by the examples we have looked at in the Word of God. We also see that there cannot be a rule for fasting. To make it a rule and to seek to enforce it only spoils it in the sight of God. Neither in the Old nor in the New Testament was it a direct command, but rather that which was felt to be suited to particular situations and encouraged by God under those circumstances. For us to fast must be a personal exercise in the Lord’s presence, and this includes the timing of fasting as well as the length of time that one fasts.
Finally, let us point out that prayer in its essence is the privilege of having common interests with God. If we felt situations more as He feels them, surely our hearts would be more burdened before Him, and fasting would be more common among believers. If our thoughts were more in tune with God’s thoughts, surely we would more frequently deny ourselves those natural things, which we all need, while we were taken up with His interests. Mephibosheth “neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes” (2 Sam. 19:24) until David returned again in peace. No one told him to do this, but David’s interests were his interests, and he felt it that his king was rejected and absent. May the absence of our Lord Jesus — the absence of our Bridegroom — be more real to us, and may His interests so occupy our hearts down here that we are ready to forget our natural desires to be occupied with Him!