Fasting | Spiritual Disciplines

“Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.” –Andrew Murray

A few months after our church began holding Sunday services, we decided to implement a weekly fast as a means of solidarity in the body outside the walls of the church. Every two weeks, someone shares what they would like the congregation to fast and pray over — whether opportunities for service, a missionary or organization, a passage of scripture, an upcoming decision, etc. — until the next fast focus is chosen, and we are free to decide when and for what length of time we will individually observe the fast.

At first, I was quite uneasy about the idea of carrying this out every week. When I said “we decided to implement a weekly fast”, perhaps I should have said “someone else decided and I grudgingly acquiesced. I had fasted only once before and, in my laziness and desire for comfort, preferred not to make a routine of it. However, the Bible says what it says, even when its commands don’t fit politely into my schedule:

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:16–18

Sermons tend to glaze over this part. This discipline is never glamorous, and it runs in complete opposition to our Uber Eats and same-day grocery delivery culture, in which ease, safety, and convenience are high values. In today’s context, such measures of discipline seem extreme unless they’re promoted in the heading of a Healthline article or on the cover of a dieting magazine. We can treat this section of the passage as if it proposes what was a great idea for the early church but is not prescriptive for modern times. Yet, Donald Whitney counts that fasting is mentioned on 77 occasions in the Bible, which sounds to me like enough times to be worth considering as a valuable discipline for the believer.

I’ll confess that I had no clue how much food controlled me until I learned to go without it. God distributes many good gifts (James 1:17), but as the result of the fall, his children are prone to distort them — whether food, sex, voice, talents, gender, etc. — in creative ways. When I became accustomed to more regular hunger, I realized simply how much time I spend every day fixated on what I will eat, what I should not eat, and how much I should exercise to compensate for what I have eaten. Think about your relationship with food and what ditch you might be at risk of falling into. Do you fall into gluttony by indulging in food and drink with no boundaries? Do you fall into legalism by practicing asceticism with excessive boundaries? Do you fall into indifference by forgetting to eat throughout the day and forgetting to thank God for bread on the table? Do you fall into compulsion by obsessively tallying every single calorie and step?

Our priorities are disordered and need to be checked over and over again. I have to ask myself, “Are my motives in eating or abstaining from food pure?” and “In hunger or in fullness, is God my ultimate source of strength?” Godliness is of much higher value than physical wellness. Paul writes that “while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8)

It can be a battle to maintain a healthy relationship with food and lately I have been convicted about what mine looks like. Food has been an idol in my life, but by the grace of God, I’ve been much less gripped by thoughts of what I will eat next and more by the sustenance found in God himself. Jesus says that “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4).

This discipline should not look the same for everyone, as we all have different convictions, struggles, and body types. If I were to fast for the same stretch of time that one of our church’s 200-pound, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practicing men is able, I may need to be hospitalized. Whether you fast through a meal, an entire day, or a few consecutive days, the principle of dependence on God is paramount. Some may not be able to fast due to a history of eating disorders or other bodily conditions and may opt to fast from water, screen time, shopping, hot showers, or sweets. Praise God that we have the liberty to act within the boundaries of our Spirit-led convictions.

Fasting should serve a specific purpose; It is much more than abstinence from food. When tempted to writhe in hunger pains and daydream about our next meal, we instead turn to God and remember the biblical reason for the fast. “I’m hungry today because I’m praying for ....”

I’ve been frustrated with myself for how poorly it can go on some days. We can carry it out “correctly” by not eating for the duration of the allotted time but still entirely miss the point. In our flesh, we will fail to focus on things of God in the heart of our hunger at times, but if nothing else, we get to be reminded that we are fragile creatures in need of both physical and spiritual sustenance. While we fumble through the rhythm of fasting, being made aware of our own weakness before God in the process is never a loss. Fasting fuels a hunger for Christ alone, placing our stomachs in the posture that our hearts should always remain in.

“Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God. Christian fasting is not only the spontaneous effect of superior satisfaction in God, it is also a chosen weapon against every force in the world that would take that satisfaction away.” – John Piper

We do not fast for supposed health benefits, to be seen by others, to be justified by God, or even because our friends are doing it with us. We fast to express that we are willing to give ourselves up for our Creator and that there is nothing that we desire more than Him. He will sustain us.

“And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” - Matthew 9:15

The church of Christ, his bride, longs for his return with great anticipation. While we wait, we starve the body and feed the soul.