Fasting is in the Bible, and God’s people would sometimes fast for spiritual purposes. Here are just a few instances:

Psalm 35:13 – “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.“

Daniel 9:3 – “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:“

Acts 14:23 – “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.”

Esther 4:1-3:

1 When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;

2 And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.

3 And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Esther 4:15-16:

15 Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,

16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

Even the heathen somehow knew about fasting:

Jonah 3:4-5, 10:

4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

It’s all over in the Bible actually.

In the following, Christ discusses it. I believe I always thought they were changing their face because of the hunger pangs, or at least the appearance of hunger pangs. I think it makes some sense, hunger a pretext for a “sad countenance”:

Matthew 6:16-18:

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.

And then it’s mentioned here regarding the demon coming out. I believe I never really understood this, which aligned with my not understanding fasting mentioned in Christ’s admonition above:

Mark 9:28-29:

28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?

29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

So, my struggle has always been, “How does me not eating have anything to do with the fervency of an issue, such as prayer. Can I not pray earnestly and still eat something during the day? How does that prove earnestness or otherwise with God?”

Well, one time recently while reading through the New Testament, I can across this:

Matthew 9:14-15:

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.

And there it was! Jesus actually describes generally what fasting is (paraphrased here):

I believe Jesus then is indicating that fasting then, generally, is a time of mourning.

Then, the Ninevites actions makes sense. So do the Esther instances (the first one even mentioned mourning with fasting). The distraught faces of the Pharisees during fasting makes better sense.

Now, do we need to fast?

(The following argument I learned from one or more sermons I had heard.)

Note here about praying:

Matthew 6:5-8:

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Jesus said “when you pray.” There’s an implicit statement in there that there’s no question prayer will be done by His people. I think most Christians would agree that Christians should pray.

Well, going back to verse 16 of Matthew 6 again, Jesus says “when you fast.” I believe we can draw the same inference from that — that there is an expectation by God that Christians should fast.

But, isn’t God all knowing? Why pray? Going back to Matthew 6, verse 7-8 now:

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

God knows what you need, yes, but there it is again, the implication that you still will pray.

Further, God says in Ezekiel 36:37:

“Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.“

He knows all things, and yet He will be enquired of.

So, why pray? God requires it, implies that it should happen, and I believe has prescribed it as a means by which He often accomplishes His will.

Here, God tells Elijah what He’s going to do:

1 Kings 18:1 – “And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.“

But then:

1 Kings 18:42-45:

42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.

45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

James 5:17-18:

17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

So, Elijah still prayed, even though God had already planned to bring about the rains. I believe this shows Elijah’s prayers were means for the manifestation of God’s will.

And I believe then, this follows through for fasting — it’s a means God has set up for the accomplishment of His will at times.

Back above in Mark, the demon would only come out with prayer and fasting? Why? It appears those two things were the required means for its accomplishment.

Did not God in His sovereign omniscience know in the end He was not going to destroy the Ninevites? But what was the means they went through for that? Prayer and fasting.

And so, to conclude, I believe fasting is:

• A time of mourning
• A required duty of Christians, at the right times, maybe especially when there’s a burden on the heart, for someone, for some situation, etc.
• Often tied to prayer
• A means whereby at times God manifests His will

Thank the Lord for the unspeakable gift of His blessed Son, the Lord Jesus, by Whom we have access to the Father, to even be able to pray and fast, and that He hears our prayers because of the Christ Jesus!

— David