Fasting, the religious act of going without food for a period of time, is a largely misunderstood area of Biblical teaching. While everyone has a pretty good idea of what fasting is, thoughts and ideas become a bit more muddled when it comes to the purpose of fasting. Different people have different ideas and fast for different purposes. While there is room for interpretation and for many ideas, it is best if we truly understand what we’re doing, so that we don’t waste our time fasting for the wrong reason.
There is also an area of secular fasting, which is done for health reasons. Some doctors and nutritionists say that short-term fasting is good for cleansing the body, especially the GI system. That’s not what we’re talking about here. While I’m sure there are health benefits from fasting, including losing weight, that’s not the purpose of a spiritual fast.
The concept of fasting is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, although it is not a major theme. Many people think the Bible talks a lot about “prayer and fasting” as if prayer must include fasting to work. In reality, the Bible mentions fasting less than a quarter of the times it mentions prayer, so prayer doesn’t require fasting, although fasting does require prayer.
Types of Spiritual Fasts
The basic idea of fasting is denying yourself of something, usually food, for a spiritual benefit. Nevertheless, not all fasts are created equal. Different people have different ideas about how to fast or how they are personally going to fast. There’s no right or wrong, although there are a lot of people who think there is. These people will tell you that their method of fasting is the only right one and all other methods are wrong, even though there is no biblical basis for what they are saying.
There is no formula for fasting, where we could say that a certain type of fast should be used in certain circumstances. Nor can we find that different types of fasts produce different results. It is up to the individual, as led by the Holy Spirit, to determine what sort of fast they are going to do, as well as why they are setting aside a time to fast.
Total Fast
The most complete type of fast is a total fast. This means no eating or drinking of anything, for a particular period of time. There are only two people mentioned in the Bible who did a total fast, Moses and Jesus. Moses fasted for 40 days and nights, when he was on the mountain, receiving the Law from God (Exodus 24:18). Jesus fasted for the same period of time, when the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness, just after John the Baptist baptized Him (Matthew 4:1-2).
What’s interesting about these two instances of fasting is that the human body can’t live more than five days without water, considering the circumstances they were in, that time would be more like three days. Yet in both of these cases, they survived fasting much longer than that, without drinking any water at all. Apparently, there is something about being that closely in God’s presence, that His presence sustains our bodies, allowing us to fast in a way that would not be possible without Him.
This is not to say that a 40-day total fast is recommended for most believers. Such a fast should only be undertaken when clearly directed by the Lord. The health dangers in undertaking such a fast, without the support of the Holy Spirit are severe.
But there’s no reason why we couldn’t undertake a short total fast, if that’s what we feel that God is leading us to do. A three-day total fast, for example, isn’t dangerous, but can bring great personal benefit.
Partial Fast
Most fasts can be considered to be partial fasts. This means that during the fasting period, the individual fasting allows themselves certain things to eat or drink. We can find almost unlimited variations of partial fasts that people are doing or have done in the past. Some such examples are:
- No food or water during daylight hours; but you can eat and drink at night. This is the type of fast that Muslims undertake for the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar.
- No food at any time, but liquids can be drunk. Usually this means clear liquids, like water, apple juice or broth.
- Selecting certain types of food that one will not eat, such as giving up sugar, meat or starches. Sometimes, someone might be called by God to this sort of fast to deal with health issues.
This is the area where people argue the most, with some saying that one type of partial fast is better than another. In truth, the form of partial fast doesn’t matter anywhere near as much as one’s ability to stick to what they have chosen to do. God will accept any sort of partial fast, done with the right heart.
Please note that acidic liquids, such as coffee, orange juice or soda, should be avoided during a fast, as there will not be food in the stomach to absorb the acid.
Daniel’s Fast
The “Daniel’s Fast” is a type of partial fast, as was practiced by the prophet Daniel, in the book by the prophet’s name. There are actually two times in the book, where we can see that Daniel fasted. Both are similar, although their purpose was different.
Test your servants (himself, Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego) for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see. – Daniel 1:12-13
In those days I, Daniel, was morning for three weeks. 3 I ate no delicacies, not meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. – Daniel 10:2-3
Our first example occurred during Daniel’s early days in Babylon, when he was under training to serve in the king’s court. He and the other youths with him were assigned a portion of food from the king’s own table. But apparently because he didn’t want to defile himself by eating food offered to idols, Daniel asked the eunuch who was in charge of them to allow this experiment. At the end of the test, their appearance was better than those of the youths who ate at the king’s table, and they were allowed to continue on this diet/fast.
The second example is the one that is used for describing Daniel’s fast. Not all that surprisingly, it is very much like the fast that Daniel undertook as a youth, eliminating “choice foods” from his diet. This was done as an act of self-sacrifice, as he was seeking an answer from God. God did, in fact, provide that answer. Whether or not Daniel’s fast had anything to do with God answering is up for discussion.
Some theologians have speculated that Daniel ate nothing but pulse during this fast, essentially a grain dish, something similar to grits or Cream of Wheat. Regardless of whether that was true or not, it is clear that Daniel chose to separate himself from the choice of foods and wines that went with his lofty position in the government, in order to hear from God.
Liquid’s Only Fast
A “liquids only” fast is another type of partial fast, as mentioned above. We have much more need of drinking, especially drinking water, than we do of eating. While we can only live a matter of days without water, we can easily live a month or more without food. Deciding to go on a liquid only fast therefore can be healthier for one’s body, than trying to go on a total fast, especially when the individual isn’t sure if God has called them to undertake a total fast.
For most people, the concept of this sort of fast is to only drink a short list of different types of drinks. Alcoholic beverages are normally left off the list, as well as milk shakes, coffee and soft drinks. However, there are those who extend that list to anything that can be converted to liquid form. If they could turn a steak into liquid, they’d drink it, saying that they were maintaining their fast.
In such a case, the true issue isn’t what they are drinking or not drinking; but rather, what their heart attitude is. If they are actually making themselves liquified steak to drink, it would appear that they are fasting in name only; with a heart that is more concerned in eating, than fasting. They may fool other people with that attitude; but they certainly won’t fool God.
Fasting Something Other than Food
While most fasting is fasting food, there is no actual requirement that food is what is given up. God may call someone to give up something other than food, such as social media, the news or television. In these cases, it is likely that God is trying to bring about a change in that person’s life, such as eliminating their fixation with social media and how that is affecting them spiritually.
The Roman Catholic custom of giving up something during lent comes from this idea of fasting something other than food. In their case it is a test of their self-discipline and willingness to sacrifice something for the Lord. In some countries, self-sacrifice has become a major part of Catholicism, coming from a belief that self-sacrifice is a necessary component of salvation, rather than accepting that the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ on the cross was enough.
The Right and Wrong About Why We Fast
There are many people who have the idea that fasting is undertaken to get God to change His mind and/or do something they want Him to. Yet there is nothing written in scripture to back up this point of view. None of the people who fasted in the Bible did so to get God to do something, including Daniel. Seeking an answer from God is not metaphorically twisting God’s arm, to get God to do what one wants.
Yet fasting does bring about some very serious change… a change in us. When we choose to fast, we put down our body, our carnal desires and our fleshly nature. This helps us to draw closer to God, where we will hear what He is trying to say to us. Just as Daniel heard God during his fast, we are much more likely to hear from God when we fast.
Putting down our flesh does more than just help us to draw closer to God though; it helps us to become more Christ-like. Jesus fasted regularly, probably to maintain His own relationship with His Father. Even so, He was man and was tempted in all things, just as we are. Since He didn’t sin, that meant that He had to constantly put His own flesh and carnal nature down, in order to protect Himself from falling into sin.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. – Hebrews 4:15
Please note that I am not putting the Lord down in any way by saying this. Rather, I’m showing just how Godly He was. Jesus didn’t get any free passes on sin because of who He was. Nor was it any easier for Him to stay out of sin than it is for us. If it had been, this verse couldn’t say that He was tempted in all ways as we are.” Yet He overcame sin, by overcoming the very same things that we have to overcome.
How Long Should We Fast?
There is no set time for a fast in the Bible. The two total fasts I mentioned above, for Moses and Jesus, were both 40 days; but that doesn’t mean that we are all called by God to fast for the same amount of time. On the other hand, the partial fast that Daniel did was for only 21 days.
In Daniel’s case, he received an angelic visitation at the end of his 21-day fast. Does that mean he decided to fast for 21 days or that he stopped fasting when he received an answer? We don’t really know, as the Bible doesn’t tell us. Either possibility is just as realistic.
One interesting thing about Daniel’s fast is that when the angel appeared, he told Daniel that he had needed to battle his way there to being Daniel his answer and at the end, he was able to bring the answer only because the archangel Michael took up the battle for him.
Then he (the angel)1 said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia (a demonic principality)1 withstood me twenty-one days, and behold Michael, one of the chief princes (an archangel)1 came to me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. – Daniel 10:12-13
There’s something else important here in this verse. The angels said, “you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God.” How did Daniel humble himself? By fasting. Through fasting, Daniel put himself down, so that God could be lifted up in his life.
We really don’t get a sense of how long to fast from these examples, as none of them show a definitive reason for why the believer fasted for that amount of time. Therefore, we can rightly conclude that there is no set time for a fast. Rather, the individual must establish the amount of time they are going to take for their fast, as guided by the Holy Spirit.
If you’re new to fasting, it’s not a good idea to try starting out with a three-week fast or a 40 day one. Rather, start out slowly, fasting a meal or a day. Work your way up, following the leading of the Holy Spirit. Your body and your mind need to get used to the idea of fasting and how to deal with it.
Somehow, it seems that there are always people who will invite you out to eat or bring you something special to eat at the office, right when you are fasting. They may never ask you any other time; but because you are on a fast, here they come. Take this as a test from the enemy, who is trying to get you to fail. Decide now, before you start, that you love the Lord more than whatever they are offering. That way, when they offer it, your mind is already made up.
Should you fail, and we pretty much all do at some time, just pick yourself up, repent before the Lord and start over. It’s up to you whether you start the clock over or just continue from where you are. God isn’t going to berate you for your failure; He’s going to applaud you for trying.
At the same time, God will expect that you learn from those mistakes, allowing you to do better the next time around. God desires to see us grow, in all areas of our spiritual lives. That means overcoming things that we couldn’t overcome before. Maybe that chocolate chip cookie or donut is a huge hurdle to overcome the first time you attempt to fast; but it shouldn’t stay that big. The more you fast, the less of a temptation they should be.
What to Do While Fasting
Fasting has a definite connection with prayer. Not only do we see Daniel praying while he fasted, but we also see the same thing in the life of Jesus. There were times when He would separate Himself from his disciples for a time of prayer and fasting, usually up on a mountain top. Perhaps that was the only place where He could go, where His disciples would leave Him alone.
While Jesus really didn’t talk all that much about fasting; He did give one very important piece of instruction, apparently to come against what had become a custom amongst the Pharisees. That was to make it obvious to others that one was fasting, in order to impress them.
Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. – Matthew 6:16-18
This goes against what we read in Daniel, where he didn’t anoint himself while he was fasting. But that really doesn’t matter, as Daniel died several hundred years before Jesus said this. The point he’s making doesn’t apply to Daniel, but to the people of His day, and of our day as well. That is, when we are fasting, we shouldn’t make a public spectacle of it.
This does not mean, however, that we have to be totally secretive about it, as some have supposed. If someone asks you out to eat, you can say “no, I’m fasting,” just as long as you don’t make a big deal about it. Likewise, if the church calls a fast and the pastor asks for a show of hands from those who are going to commit to the fast, you don’t have to hide your hand, so that nobody will know.
Actually, it can be helpful to have one or two close people who are aware that you are fasting, as that gives you someone to be accountable to. Even if they never say anything to you about the fast, the fact that your spouse or a friend knows that you are fasting will help you hold to the fast, simply because you won’t want to look bad before them.
The other important thing to do while fasting is to pray. If the purpose of fasting is to get closer to God, then it only makes sense that we take the time to communicate with Him. Otherwise, we’re just going through a religious act, without any real consequences.
Prayer is our primary means of drawing close to God the Father, although it is not the only tool we have. We can also draw closer to Him through worship, study of the Bible and receiving teaching about Him. That’s not to say that all teaching that goes on in a church will draw us closer to Him, as not all of it is centered on Him. Political messages that are disguised as sermons are not Christ centered; nor are social activism disguised as sermons. True Christ-centered preaching and teaching must talk about who Christ is, who He is in us, and how we manifest Christ-likeness in our own lives.