With the rise in popularity of intermittent fasting, has the practice of fasting essentially become a worldly endeavor focused on improved health? In an attempt to answer this question, we will look closer at what Scripture has to say about fasting, what circumstances led God’s people into a time of fasting, and what these examples might mean for you and me today in our pursuit of becoming more like Jesus.
OnThe3rdDay
Day 1
Scriptures: Matthew 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3, Proverbs 11:2
If you were to do a quick Google search on the term fasting, you would find an endless scroll of content on the health benefits of intermittent fasting. These results include content ranging from “how to fast,” “how long to fast,” “what to do when you fast,” and countless diets that incorporate regular intermittent fasting. The content primarily focuses on technique and how to get results from practicing intermittent fasting. Now, from this content, there is certainly lots of great advice to be uncovered for how to live a healthier lifestyle, but what is lacking from the results is content on fasting from a Biblical perspective.
With this apparent lack of available content on fasting from a Biblical perspective, has the practice of fasting essentially become a worldly endeavor focused on improved health? And for you and I, as followers of Jesus, do we run the risk of falling into the traps of pride and vanity when we practice “intermittent fasting” apart from God purely for its health benefits?
Perhaps the words of Richard Foster on fasting can help us wrestle with these two questions. “The Spiritual Discipline of fasting teaches us not to repress desire, but to re-channel it properly. [When we fast] we do not produce the change; we receive it. This is why fasting must forever center on God. If we allow ourselves to take pride in accomplishing it, it serves as false religion.”
In contrast to intermittent fasting purely for its health benefits, Biblical fasting creates space to focus our attention on the presence of God.
Whether we fast for one meal, one day, or an extended period of time – fasting is an act of surrender sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we fast, we surrender our mind, body, and spirit to God, acknowledging the words of Jesus, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (See Matthew 4:4 ESV) Upon reflection of this verse, Dallas Willard once wrote, “Fasting confirms our utter dependence upon God by finding in him a source of sustenance beyond food.”
Is the practice of fasting a regular part of your spiritual rhythms? If fasting is a part of your rhythm, what circumstances or seasons of life have led you into a time of fasting?
Day 2
Scriptures: Matthew 6:16-18, Isaiah 58:5, Matthew 6:1
Yesterday, we explored the idea that Biblical fasting is an act of surrender in which we are reminded of our utter dependence on God for all we have.
It is this posture of surrender that will help us approach the practice of fasting – or really any spiritual discipline – with pure motives.
In what we now know as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns the religious people of His day (and you and I, by extension) who had turned fasting into a public show focused on bringing attention to themselves.
“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (See Matthew 6:16-18)
Now, it is unlikely that you and I will ever stand in a crowded marketplace with our faces intentionally disfigured in order to make people think we are super spiritual. But like the religious people of Jesus’ day, we often fall into the trap of turning our religious practices into an opportunity to bring attention to ourselves, taking the focus off of God.
When we practice any spiritual discipline, including fasting, it is essential to remember that we need to closely examine our motivations before entering into the practice. “God-centered fasting always has as its motive to create an opening for God’s revelation and mercy. It is not to coerce God or change his mind. Our doing something does not condition God’s response.”(Dr. Siang-Yang Tan & Dr. Douglas H. Gregg)
Fasting is not about bartering with God, nor is it about earning extra credit. We must resist the urge to make fasting transactional.
And that brings us back full circle to where we started – entering into the practice of fasting from a posture of surrender to the will of God.
Take a minute to wrestle with the following questions. Are we guilty of turning our religious practices into an opportunity to bring attention to ourselves? When we enter into the discipline of fasting (or any other spiritual discipline), have we mistakenly fallen into the trap of bartering with God? And what would it look like for us to enter into the practice of fasting from a posture of surrender to God?
Day 3
Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Peter 1:5-7
Earlier in this reading plan, we wrestled with the potential danger of practicing the discipline of fasting solely for the purpose of improved health. Entering into a time of fasting apart from God as our central focus, more often than not, leads to pride in our own accomplishments.
However, this is not to say that there aren’t health benefits that will naturally come when we incorporate fasting into the regular rhythm of our lives.
Throughout Scripture, we see that God cares deeply about our physical bodies. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV) And just a few chapters earlier, we read, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 NRSV)
Through the practice of fasting, we surrender our bodies before God, allowing Him to transform us in a way that only He can do. The fruit of this transformation is often expressed in the form of increased self-control, not just in the area of food but across many of the cravings we are tempted to give into.
Fasting disciplines the mind and, by extension, the body so that in times of feasting, we are able to remain within healthy boundaries, resisting the temptation to overindulge.
Dallas Willard once wrote, “fasting teaches temperance or self-control and therefore teaches moderation and restraint with regard to all our fundamental drives.”
Additionally, when regularly practicing the discipline of fasting, it is important to be careful of what I call the bounce. Our cravings for food, or whatever it is we are fasting from, have a way of multiplying quickly during a time of fasting. Once the fast is broken, they have a tendency to spike, causing us to overindulge in whatever it is we are fasting from.
As you go, perhaps you might consider the following prayer. “Lord, Jesus, I surrender my body to you. I acknowledge that I was bought with a price and that my body is not my own to do whatever I want with. I ask that you would lead and guide me into healthy rhythms of feasting and fasting in order that I might grow in self-control resisting the temptation to overindulge.”
Day 4
Scriptures: Esther 4:15-17, Esther 4:3, Jeremiah 36:9
Looking back at the first three days of this reading plan, we have looked closer at the words of Jesus and the Apostle Paul on the topic of fasting. Their words remind us of our utter dependence on God for everything and the opportunity fasting provides us to surrender our mind, body, and spirit to God.
Over the next few days, we will turn our attention to the Old Testament as we explore the circumstances that led God’s people into a time of prayer and fasting and what these examples might mean for you and me today. One such example is the story of Queen Esther.
Queen Esther understood that in times of extreme danger, the spiritual discipline of fasting allows us to seek God in a committed, undivided way. When we fast, we humble ourselves, breaking from our regular rhythms as we pursue the deliverance that only God can provide.
Esther 4:15-17 says, “Then Esther said in reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.”
Looking closer at Queen Esther’s words, “and if I perish, I perish,” we again see how fasting is an act of surrender that reminds us of our utter dependence on God for even our very lives.
By going to the king, Queen Esther risks her life for the sake of others – her people, the Jews. With the lives of Queen Esther and the Jews hanging in the balance due to Haman’s plot to kill all the Jews in the land, Queen Esther calls for the most extreme version of fasting – a three-day absolute fast without food or water.
At this point in the story of Queen Esther, we should pause to acknowledge that an absolute fast from food and water is the exception and not the rule. The human body is believed only to be able to survive for around three days without food and water.
After three days of prayer and fasting, she goes before the king and finds favor in his eyes. And Queen Esther and the Jews are spared from Haman’s plot.
So, what does the story of Queen Esther mean for us today? Perhaps you or someone you know are facing what feels like an impossible circumstance. For whom might God be calling you to pray and fast as a way of surrendering these circumstances and their outcome to Him?
Day 5
Scriptures: 1 Samuel 7:3-6, Judges 10:10, John 3:27-30
We all have patterns or rhythms that have become commonplace in our lives. Things that we do without even thinking about it. Patterns of sleeping, eating, work, and rest. When we practice the spiritual discipline of fasting, we create space in the presence of God to reflect upon these patterns in our lives. During this time of reflection, God has a way of shining His light in a fresh new way, allowing for a greater sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit stirs up in our hearts a willingness to hear what our ears have previously been deaf to, breaking open the door of reconciliation and healing.
“More than any other Discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. This is a wonderful benefit to the true disciple who longs to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. We cover up what is inside us with food and other good things, but in fasting these things surface.” (Richard Foster) As these things bubble up to the surface, the Holy Spirit reveals the deeper areas of the soul that are broken and in need of confession and transformation.
Scripture shows us a multitude of examples where God’s people are called to return to Him – confessing their sins during a time of prayer and fasting. The seventh chapter of 1 Samuel provides us with one example: “Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the Lord, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” So Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the Lord only. Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day, and said, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.” (1 Samuel 7:3-6 NRSV)
Looking closer at these verses, we see that God’s people fasted and prayed, opening their souls to a deeper understanding of their need for repentance and restoration. They confessed their sin, returned to the Lord, and put away their idols – choosing again to serve the Lord only.
Today, consider entering into a time of prayer and fasting, posturing yourself in the presence of God. Surrender your body and mind to Him. Ask Him to reveal to you if there is any unconfessed sin in your life that you need to repent from. Repentance reminds us of our need to decrease as Jesus increases in our lives.
Day 6
Scriptures: Daniel 9:3, Joel 2:12-14, Exodus 15:13, Daniel 9:1-6
A recent study estimated that “an average adult makes 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day.” At approximately seven hours of sleep a night, that is just shy of 35 decisions per minute. Every day. All day.
Clearly, some decisions can feel significant in the moment, like “What shoes should I wear to work?” or “What should I eat for lunch?” Still, other decisions like “Should I accept this job offer?” or “Is the person I am currently dating someone I should get married to?” have far more impact on the trajectory of our lives and the person we will become in the future.
Either way, God cares deeply about each decision we make. He desires for us to turn to Him in prayer, seeking guidance no matter how insignificant the decision might feel to us. Still, for those life-altering decisions that require far more time and consideration, He often will draw us into an intentional time of prayer and fasting – a time of waiting patiently in His presence until He reveals our next step forward.
Again and again, Scripture recounts stories of when God’s people seek out His wisdom in a posture of prayer and fasting. In the ninth chapter of Daniel, we see one such example.
“In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, by birth a Mede, who became king over the realm of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah, must be fulfilled for the devastation of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Then I turned to the Lord God, to seek an answer by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “Ah, Lord, great and awesome God, keeping covenant and steadfast love with those who love you and keep your commandments, we have sinned and done wrong, acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and ordinances. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.” (Daniel 9:1-6 NRSV)
Like Daniel, when you and I find ourselves in a season of discernment, unsure of which way to turn, we would do well to lean into the practice of prayer and fasting. As we do, God, in His perfect timing, will be faithful to lead and guide our next steps.
Day 7
Scriptures: Isaiah 58:6-7, Proverbs 11:25, 2 Corinthians 9:7
Adele Ahlberg Calhoun once wrote, “Fasting clears us out and opens us up to intentionally seeking God’s will and grace in a way that goes beyond normal habits of worship and prayer. While fasting, we are one-on-one with God, offering him the time and attentiveness we might otherwise be giving to eating.” One of the ways that God clears us out is by identifying the areas of excess in our lives that consume so much of our time and resources. These areas of excess add unnecessary complexity to our lives, often leading to increased fear and anxiety.
But complexity, fear, and anxiety do not have to be the dominant voice ringing in our ears. Instead, through the many seasons of life, the practice of fasting forms in us both an inward and outward life of simplicity. Here, at the intersection of fasting and simplicity, a life of generosity has the time, space, and resources to blossom. As generosity grows in our hearts, we are free to give out of the resources God has entrusted us with.
In a hustle and bustle culture, fasting slows us down long enough to see the needs of the poor and oppressed living in our communities. This kind of fasting opens our eyes to the words of the prophet Isaiah, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isaiah 58:6-7 ESV)
Looking closer at your own life, what areas of excess have become unnecessarily complex? How might God be leading you into a life of simplicity so that you might freely give the resources He has entrusted you with? And finally, is God leading you into the regular practice of fasting so that you might see and respond to the needs of the poor and oppressed in your community?