FASTING

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF FASTING?

2 Chronicles 20:3 . . . Jehoshaphat was alarmed by this news and sought the Lord for guidance. He also gave orders that everyone throughout Judah should observe a fast.

Fasting helps us become more focused on the Lord so we can better receive his guidance.

Joel 1:14 . . . Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting. Bring the leaders and all the people into the Temple of the Lord your God, and cry out to him there.

Fasting helps us focus corporately and individually on repentance.

Ezra 8:21, 23 . . . I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. . .So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.

Fasting helps remind us to seek God’s protection.

Esther 4:16 . . . “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. . .And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I am willing to die.”

Fasting helps us to seek courage.

1 Chronicles 10:12 . . . Their warriors went out and brought the bodies of Saul and his three sons back to Jabesh. Then they buried their remains beneath the oak tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.

Fasting can reinforce our grief.

WHEN IS IT APPROPRIATE TO FAST?

2 Samuel 3:35 . . . David had refused to eat anything the day of the funeral.

It is appropriate to fast in times of mourning.

2 Samuel 1:12 . . . They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s army and the nation of Israel, because so many had died that day.

It is appropriate to fast in times of crisis.

Ezra 10:6 . . . He did not eat any food or drink. He was still in mourning because of the unfaithfulness of the returned exiles.

Deuteronomy 9:18-19 . . . Then for forty days and nights I lay prostrate before the Lord, neither eating bread nor drinking water. I did this because you had sinned by doing what the Lord hated, thus making him very angry. How I feared for you, for the Lord was ready to destroy you. But again he listened to me.

It is appropriate to fast in times of intercession for others’ sins.

Acts 14:23 . . . Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church and prayed for them with fasting, turning them over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had come to trust.

It is appropriate to fast in times of dedication.

2 Samuel 12:16 . . . David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground.

It is appropriate to fast in times of life-threatening illness.

Jonah 3:5 . . . The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they decided to go without food and wear sackcloth to show their sorrow.

It is appropriate to fast in times of repentance.

WHAT ARE SOME GUIDELINES FOR FASTING? HOW SHOULD I FAST?

Isaiah 58:3-7 . . . “We have fasted before you!” they say. “Why aren’t you impressed? We have done much penance, and you don’t even notice it!”

“I will tell you why! It’s because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting. You keep right on oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? . . . Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord?”

The importance of fasting is not the act or ritual, but our motives before God. It is not what we do but why we do it.

Matthew 6:16-18 . . . When you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, who try to look pale and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I assure you, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will suspect you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in secret. And your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

Fasting, like prayer, is not a public performance but a private relationship with God.

Daniel 9:3 . . . I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I wore rough sackcloth and sprinkled myself with ashes.

Fasting and prayer are a spiritual duet.

Acts 13:2-3 . . . One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work I have for them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.

Fasting, prayer, and worship are a spiritual trio.

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