Fasting

Recently I've been thinking more about the value of fasting and why it's important. It feels like something we regularly overlook as Christians, especially in terms of how and why we fast. The first time I even heard of fasting was when I was in middle school and the youth group fasted to raise awareness for the hungry...

That's not quite the biblical basis for fasting. 

Jesus taught in Matthew 6 that when (not if) we fast we should do so modestly, not by making a big deal about it or seeking praise for it, but by keeping it between us and God. Isaiah 58 talks about God's idea of fasting after the people had fasted in an ungodly manner by continuing to be cruel and selfish. God said, "Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"

God's idea of fasting was to stop using what we have for ourselves and use it for others instead. It's not just about abstaining from food, it's about giving that food to someone else. There's also an element of fasting that opens us up to what God has in mind. When the disciples were fasting and praying in Acts 13, God told them who to set apart (Paul and Barnabas) for His plans, and then they prayed and fasted when appointing more Christian leaders. Prayer and fasting go hand-in-hand for better understanding God's will. 

I've never really taken the time to dive into what the Bible says about fasting until recently. It's mentioned over and over again throughout Scripture. The Day of Atonement was a dedicated day of fasting where the high priest would make the annual sacrifice in the Holy of Holies for Israel's sins. Ezra fasted and mourned for Israel because of their sins. Moses fasted for 40 days and nights with God before writing the Ten Commandments. Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights before being tempted by the devil. Paul fasted for a few days after being confronted by Jesus and losing his sight. 

If we want to live the way God intends, fasting should be a regular part of our lives.

I'm not saying that we have to fast every other day or every week or anything, but we should regularly devote ourselves to prayer and fasting, denying our own needs and focusing on God, allowing Him to provide everything we need and seeking to glorify Him. 

Now, to be fair, you can fast from things other than food. The Bible's always (at least from what I can tell) referring to fasting from food, but the principle remains the same that you can fast by abstaining from _____ to devote yourself and your time to God and deny your own desires. There's nothing wrong with fasting from, for example, social media, politics, or other things that distract from God, but there's something special about devoting a day or several days to prayer and fasting, especially when it's regarding a physical need like food. That's what leads to godly change and powerful spiritual growth. 

In Mark 9, the disciples try to cast out a demon but are unable to, and Jesus explains this type required prayer and fasting to get rid of. There's more to fasting than just not eating! You grow closer to God in faith and in discipline, even to the point of performing miracles in Jesus's name that you could not otherwise do!

How many believers refuse to fast because they don't want to give up food? Or they feel like they can't? We're called to have self-control as believers, yet we don't practice it by means of controlling our eating habits and behaviors. I can't think of a better way to intentionally practice self-control than by fasting!

This has also led me to ponder the opposite of abstaining from food: eating too much of it.

Gluttony is considered one of the seven deadly sins, but I feel like it's never talked in churches. Yet, the Bible refers to it several times. Proverbs warns against and condemns gluttons in several places. Paul in Philippians 3 says enemies of Christ make their stomach their god. Over-indulgence of food and prioritizing it higher than God is sinful. Just as you cannot serve both God and money, you also can't serve both God and food. 

I've found that after fasting, I want to stop eating when my body is content and not over-eat just for the sake of consuming more food. "It tastes good" is not a reason to keep eating it, especially when you've already been filled up with all you need. Going beyond the food you need to consume the food you want is when you enter into the realm of gluttony.

Again, everywhere I've looked in Scripture refers to gluttony in terms of food consumption, at least from what I can tell. However, too much of any good thing can become a problem, even turn into idolatry! When you start taking in too much of something and it gets in the way of God's calling or prayer or other more important things, then it becomes an idol. I've had to watch myself on this one when it comes to video games because I'll hyperfocus on one for a while and I'll regularly play and think about whatever the current game is, and that's when it becomes a problem. When I catch myself, I have to step away from that game at least for a time to refocus myself on what's more important: God. In terms of food, if you're constantly thinking about what the next yummy meal you're going to have is, or eating more food just for the sake of eating more food that sounds good, that's gluttony. 

I think fasting helps us avoid falling into gluttony and other forms of idolatry. When we fast, we're putting our focus on the King of Kings, who is worthy of our attention and praise, instead of on what's in the world. We should all get into the practice of fasting from food (albeit except those who have legitimate health risks like they could die if they fast for a day), and consider what else we need to fast from in our lives. Some people need to fast from politics, some from social media, some from bars or other places where they're more likely to stumble into sin, some from video games or technology as a whole, and the list goes on. If starting out you need to fast from using your phone for a day to spend more time in prayer and reading Scripture, do it! If fasting from food and water for 40 days is scary, start with fasting for one day and see how it goes, or even just fasting from food and keep drinking water initially. The more regularly you fast, the more ready you'll be to fast in the future, and the more spiritual growth you'll experience. 

Don't just dismiss the fact that maybe you've never been taught about fasting before, or that your church has never fasted together. Be the change. Fellow believers, we should be fasting and devoting ourselves to prayer, I believe now more than ever as the day of Christ's return draws nearer. Galatians 6 says, "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Let's stand strong in doing what's right, and let's start devoting ourselves to God more in a way we've been neglecting for a long time.

Note: if you do devote yourself to fasting and prayer, good job! Keep up the good work, and I hope you still gained something from this, and didn't feel too alone in fasting before. Hopefully more of us will follow your lead and join you in regularly devoting ourselves to fasting too.