FASTING

Some people fast to burn calories. Others fast to break chains.

Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Andrew Murray put it like this, “Prayer is the one hand with which we grasp the Invisible; fasting the other, with which we let loose and cast away the visible.” Kingdom-seekers are looking for the irreducible minimum. Lesser things are dropped for the sake of the essential and eternal. Fasting helps express, strengthen, and bolster the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, including ourselves, to see His Kingdom expanded.

Some people fast to burn calories. Others fast to break chains. “Fasting is not confined to abstinence from eating and drinking. The purpose of such abstinence for a longer or shorter period of time is to loosen to some degree the ties which bind us to the world of material things and our surroundings as a whole, in order that we may concentrate all our spiritual powers upon the unseen and eternal things,” said Ole Hallesby. Those early Spirit-filled Christians experienced such an acute hunger for God that they felt compelled to fast. By and large, today’s poverty-stricken churches have laid fasting aside entirely.

Christian fasting is a discipline that alters your diet for a biblical purpose and is combined with prayer. Jesus expected His followers would engage in fasting: “then shall they fast” (Matthew 9:15). The early church emphasized this prayer-filled discipline.

Historically, we know faithful Christians fasted routinely in the fourth century. Epiphanius wrote this: “Who does not know that the fast of the fourth and sixth days of the week (Wednesday and Friday) are observed by Christians throughout the world?” Back in those days, the practice of fasting was considered a normal part of Christian devotion and discipline. But their fasting was not merely some external regulation. It served as a means and an expression of intensified praying. In the time of the Reformation, fasting was front-and-center in the hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.

We should be alarmed at how our culture has shaped Christian practice here in the West. We should look back to the inception of Christianity—back to the Acts of the Apostles—and align our practice of spiritual disciplines to the early church. “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, ‘Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them’” (Acts13:2). Their intensified praying with fasting arrested heaven’s attention. The early church heard the Spirit telling them to send Barnabas and Saul on a mission endeavor. And it happened in the context of prayer and fasting.

Types of Fasts

1. The Normal Fast is going without food for a certain period of time, drinking only liquid (water and/or juice).
2. The Absolute Fast is abstinence from food or water. This fast should be short.
3. The Partial Fast means omitting certain foods on a schedule of limited eating; e.g., only one meal a day, only vegetables, etc.
4. The Wesley Fast is eating only bread (whole grains) and water. Early Christians and early Methodists fasted twice a week as a matter of discipline.
5. The Emergency Fast is born of desperation. The fasts under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:4; 9:1) and at Nineveh (Jonah 3:5) were called in times of crisis.
6. The Supernatural Fast is a God-ordained fast for a specified season, as in the case of Moses. He neither ate nor drank for forty days (Exodus 34:27–28).
7. The Abstinence Fast is the giving up selected temporal distractions in order to gain a greater focus on God.
8. The Spontaneous Fast happens when sudden tragedy or some failure occurs. You may lose all hunger for food of any kind. Abstaining from food in these times is easy because you are so preoccupied with the pressing burden that you have no desire for food. Eating does not even enter your thinking.

God’s Chosen Fasts

Fasting subjects the physical to the spiritual. Humans have bodies, but men and women are spiritual beings as well. And fasting is a means to realign our priorities. It serves to disentangle ourselves from our immediate environment for a season in order to devote our attention to God alone.

Arthur Wallis wrote the classic book on fasting titled God’s Chosen Fast. It is based on one of the most thorough and helpful text on fasting found in Isaiah 58:4–8: …

“Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? [emphasis mine] Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.”

Eight Fasts in Scripture

There are at least eight types of fasts outlined in Scripture.

1. The Apostle’s Fast is to break addiction to sin—“loose the bonds”
   • “This kind” of deliverance only happens with prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21).
2. The Ezra Fast is to solve problems—“undo heavy burdens”
   • “So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us” (Ezra 8:23; 10:1–15).
3. The Samuel Fast expresses a burden for evangelism and revival—“oppressed go free”
   • “They gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and they fasted on that day” (1 Samuel 7:6).
4. The Elijah Fast is to solve emotional and mental problems—“break every yoke”
   • Elijah sat down in the wilderness and asked God to take his life. An angel touched him and told him to get up and eat. After which Elijah “went in the strength of that meat forty days” (1 Kings 19:4–8).
5. The Saint Paul Fast is for making life-changing decisions—wisdom and direction
   • “He was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink” (Acts 9:9).
6. The Daniel Fast is for physical health or healing—“healing shall spring forth”
   • “Prove thy servants . . . ten days . . . give us pulse [vegetables] to eat, and water to drink” (Daniel 1:12).
7. The John the Baptist Fast is for the purpose of testimony—“your righteousness shall go before you”
   • “He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink” (Luke 1:15).
8. The Esther Fast is for protection from evil—God’s protection all around
   • “Gather together all the Jews . . . fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise” (Esther 4:16).

For any who would disparage fasting, it should be noted that over one hundred references to fasting are recorded in the Bible. Fasting is just as normal and biblical as attending church. Group fasting occurred over and over (Judges 20:26; 1 Samuel 7:6; 31:13; 2 Samuel 1:12; Ezra 8:23; Acts 13:2–3). Since Bible times, circumstances have provoked leaders to call for collective fasting. Both religious and political leaders have issued calls for national humiliation and repentance. Throughout Scripture, individuals fasted and prayed (2 Samuel 12:16; 1 Kings 21:27; Nehemiah 1:4; Matthew 4:2). All over the world, sincere believers are fasting individually and corporately.

Eternal Focus

Anything that resizes the happenings of life so you can see what’s really important is a good thing, and that’s precisely what fasting does. One of my professors in Bible college engaged in a forty-day fast. Afterward he said, “Now I’m seeing everything in the light of eternity.” WOW . . . talk about clear vision. A fresh perspective is one of the most valuable outcomes of fasting. It helps us to reprioritize what’s really important. Jonathan Edwards said, “Lord, stamp eternity on my eyeballs.” With the eyes of the soul we must look beyond what the human eye can see.

Wesley Duewel said, “Fasting helps unclutter and unburden your mind from life’s activities, problems, responsibilities, and associations. It permits the wind of the Spirit to blow away your mental and spiritual fog, freeing you and, as it were, cleansing you from much of the external world. Then it is easier to be truly alone with God, face-to-face in communion and intercession.”

Time is fleeting, but eternity is forever. Treasure in heaven is much more important than treasure on earth. As the hymn says, “The things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” Charles Spurgeon testified of the benefits of church-wide fasting: “Our seasons of fasting and prayer at the Tabernacle have been high days indeed; never has the Heaven-gate stood wider; never have our hearts been nearer the central glory.”

In my own experience it seems I am often preoccupied with temporal things, but I would much rather be taken up with eternal things. Fasting is a means to re-center our souls in God. Hallesby addresses this: “Our temptations have acquired, and are maintaining, a great deal of power over us because we have not sought the divine nearness and holiness which fasting affords, and which would enable us to deal radically differently with our temptations.” Strengthening the inner man is the best defense against the defects inherent in our outer man. We must take deliberate measures to develop resilience, “Building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost” (Jude 1:20).

Listen once more to Duewel: “Fasting helps unclutter and unburden your mind from life’s activities, problems, responsibilities, and associations. It permits the wind of the Spirit to blow away your mental and spiritual fog, freeing you and, as it were, cleansing you from much of the external world. Then it is easier to be truly alone with God, face-to-face in communion and intercession.” Oh to live in the grip of eternity!

Birthplace of Miracles

A despairing father brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus. He appealed to Christ for mercy and deliverance for his son. At length, Christ rebuked and cast out the evil spirit. Afterward, the disciples asked why they were unsuccessful in their attempts to remove the demon from the boy. Jesus emphatically stated, “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29).

This father was absolutely helpless when he approached Christ that day. We are invited to come “boldly unto the throne of grace . . . to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

According to Jesus, there are situations where entrenched evil can only be eliminated by prayer and fasting. Obviously, the disciples did not fast and pray about this. Evidently, someone had prayed and fasted. It seems likely that both the father and Christ had fasted prior to the boy’s deliverance. According to Jesus, some things will never happen apart from the implementation of fasting along with prayer. This level of prayer is beyond asking, seeking, and knocking.

The kings and prophets of Israel pleaded for their people before God (Exodus 32:11–14; 2 Kings 19:14–19; 1 Chronicles 21:16–17). Paul called on the Ephesians to pray for the family of faith with all kinds of prayer (Ephesians 6:18). Paul reminded Timothy to urge believers to pray for kings and all in authority (1 Timothy 2:1). And the power of prayer is clearly seen through such prayers. People have been healed. Lives have been transformed. And nations have changed course.

Hannah Hurnard referred to intercessors as “God’s transmitters” as their strivings in prayers release spiritual power. Sibbes commented, “What prayer cannot do, when the people of God have their hearts quickened, and raised to pray? Prayer can open heaven. Prayer can open the prison, and strike the fetters.”²

Ole Hallesby said, “Prayer has been ordained only for the helpless.” Hannah was helpless when she prayed for a child, and she received the baby Samuel (1 Samuel 1:9–11, 20). Jonah was helpless when he cried out from the belly of the great fish, and the Lord delivered him (Jonah 2:1–9). Hezekiah was dying and helpless, so he turned to the wall and cried out to God. Then God raised him up (2 Kings 20:1–7). Samson was blind and helpless. But he prayed for God’s power to return to him, and he slew more in his dying than in his living (Judges 16:25–30). The lepers were helpless, but they came to Jesus and He healed all ten (Luke 17:11–14).

Feeling our weakness makes room for God, but feeling discouraged makes room for the enemy. Helplessness should never keep you from praying. Rather, it should cause you to pray. Helplessness and distress provide the occasion to lift prayers to heaven. If we were not helpless and distressed, we would very seldom open our heart’s door to Jesus.

The Bible is full of examples of fasting, and history is replete with instances of powerful breakthroughs that came about as a result of prayer and fasting. Jesus expects us to fast. He gave Himself to a forty-day fast after His baptism (Matthew 3:16–4:2). The early Christians put great emphasis on fasting prayer. The Moravians, Hussites, Waldensians, Huguenots, and the Scottish Covenanters practiced this discipline. John Knox, Thomas Cranmer, Jason Ridley, and Hugh Latimer were all known for regular fasting. Christ says there are some things we will not get unless we pray and fast. We must continue in prayer if we are to get an outpouring of the Spirit…

*This article is part of the chapter on fasting from our new book NEXT LEVEL PRAYING which will be available soon.

**Recently I had the privilege of speaking at Temple Baptist in Anderson, SC. Pastor Hurte has chosen THIS KIND for the church theme in 2025. A year-long emphasis for on fasting and prayer! So thankful for hungering shepherds leading their flocks to pray, fast, and believe!

Harold Vaughan