The Practical Missions Podcast

What Is Christian Fasting?

Contrast brings clarity – Christianity is not a test

One of the things that makes explaining the Biblical doctrine of fasting difficult is that we live in a context and a culture dominated by Islam, and Islamic fasting has nothing in common with Biblical fasting.

Islamic Fasting

Fasting is not only commanded but also one of the five fundamental pillars of Islam. In Islam, fasting is part of sharia and civil law in Muslim countries. Fasting is highly regulated and prescribed, telling you exactly what month, for how many days, and what time during those days you are to fast. It also tells you what is forbidden to consume during fasting hours. Finally, in Islam, everyone fasts simultaneously, making it a highly visible and communal event.

All of these things are antithetical to Biblical fasting.

Making things even more complicated is that many Christian churches have prescribed fast days. Most Western churches have 40 days of fasting during Lent, which ends with Easter Sunday, while the Coptic Church has 210 days of fasting in its church calendar. However, none of these fasts are commanded in the Bible; they come from tradition, not scripture.

Things to keep in mind

The first thing we notice about fasting in the Bible is that it is not a command; God never commands his people to fast, nor is it part of the law of Moses. God expects his people to fast, but does not command it as a law.

The second thing we notice is that fasting often occurs in the Bible. The prophet Samual called a national day of fasting and confessing sins (1 Samuel 7:5-6). After King David heard of King Saul’s death, he and his men fasted until evening (2 Samual 1:12). While in captivity, Queen Esther called a three-day fast from all food and water because the Babylonians planned to slaughter all the Jews.

The third thing we notice is that almost all the references to fasting in the Bible are narratives describing fasting, not prescriptions about how to fast. In the Bible, there are no prescribed days or times for fasting. There are three main passages that talk about what kind of fast is acceptable to the Lord (Isaiah 58:3-7; Joel 2:12-13; Matt 6:16-18).

There was only one period when God’s people practiced ritual fasting: the 70 years of captivity after the destruction of Jerusalem in 587. God’s people observed fasting three times each year to remember different aspects of the city’s destruction. And interestingly, God was not pleased with their fasts. God told them that he wanted their hearts to be tender towards Him rather than ritual fasting. You can read more about this in Zechariah, chapters 7-8.

What is Biblical Fasting

There is no one correct way to fast, according to the Bible. Daniel fasted for three weeks from delicacies, meat, and wine (Daniel 9:3). The prophet Isaiah tells us that true fasting is not about physically humbling ourselves but spiritually humbling ourselves before the Lord and doing good to the poor and oppressed (Isaiah 58:3-7).Our Lord Jesus taught us that if we fast to be seen by others, we are hypocrites and God will not accept our fasting (Mathew 6:16-18). When King David fasted, his body wasted away from not eating, and he became an object of scorn to his enemies (Psalm 109:24-25). The prophet Ezra fasted alone (Ezra 9:5). The prophet Joel called for the ministers, priests, elders, and all the people to fast, telling them to return to the Lord by rending their hearts and not their clothes, remembering the love and mercy of God (Joel 1:13-14).

Biblical fasting is dedicating a specific amount of time to concentrate your spiritual life before the Lord, usually asking for help or protection from God in times of great need, as an aid in repentance and prayer, or to seek God’s wisdom for issues in the church. Biblical fasting can take place by yourself or in a larger group. Sometimes, it is until sundown, like after a tragedy or during times of repentance. Sometimes, as with the prophet Daniel, it was for an extended period but only from certain foods.

Why is Biblical fasting like this?

Why is biblical fasting not a command but something practiced by God’s people throughout all time? There are three main objectives of biblical fasting. 1) We use it to weaken and subdue the flesh so that it may not act unrestrained toward all kinds of lusts. 2) We use it to be better prepared for prayers and holy meditations upon God. 3) We use it that it may be a testimony of our self-abasement before God when we wish to confess our guilt before him. It is not a command because abstaining from food and drink is not something God requires. Fasting is not a good work in itself that God requires of us, but rather it is commended to us as a tool and aid to help us in our self-control, prayers, and repenting.

A Word of Gospel Hope

Through our unity with Christ in his death on the cross, we have absolute assurance of complete forgiveness of all our sins and are now accepted and welcomed into the presence of God. This forgiveness and acceptance are not based on our merits but solely on what Christ has accomplished for us. Through our unity with the perfect life of Christ, God is pleased with us, and our right standing before Him is secured. As believers in the risen Lord Jesus, we do not fast to become more acceptable to God; we fast because we are accepted by him and want to further increase our joy in him by dying to our flesh and experiencing the bliss of having God as our highest treasure.

For Further Study

There are many different reasons why people fasted in the Bible.