FAQ on Fasting

Did Jesus ever mention fasting (Mark 8:29)?

I was studying the gospel of Mark. After the transfiguration Jesus returns to where the rest of the disciples are and finds a hubbub. The disciples were unable to heal a boy who was thrashed about by a demon. The father begged Jesus to drive out the demon. After Jesus did that the disciples asked why they weren't able to do it. His answer was, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."

Why has the call to fasting disappeared?

I can remember when prayer and fasting would be announced from the pulpit for the church body to participate in because of some special event, perhaps an upcoming revival. I can also recall different leaders mentioning their fasting for some reason.

That has changed. Sometimes, very rare, I might hear a minister say we should fast or should consider fasting. Nothing beyond that. Fasting in the Christian world has gone the path of sacrifice in the political world. Politicians avoid the word sacrifice as the church avoids fasting.

Beyond this odd reticence, the word, when used, is sloppily used. I've heard Christian leaders talk about fasting from TV, from overeating, from eating out, from spending too much money. I understand the intent, but something very powerful is being missed if that is what we mean by fasting.

I do not know why occasional calls to fasting have disappeared, but I suspect that it is no more than considered an old custom, out-of-date, and terribly inconvenient.

Is there a difference between fasting from a need versus a want?

The Bible uses fasting in one sense, i.e., purposely not eating in order to devote extra time for the Lord. Technically the Lord only commanded one fast day, though tradition encouraged more. The main different in fasting from food versus fasting from TV, overeating, eating out, etc. is quite different, as different as lightning is from lightning-bug.

When my son was a young one, we used different disciplines. One was to remove a favorite toy or past time. It took very little time for us to toss that idea out. Why? When we took one pleasure away, he simply substituted a different one. In contrast, when a need is removed, it is felt and felt immediately. For instance, "No supper tonight." Ahh, that is felt and felt for a long time. What does anyone substitute for a need? There is nothing.

When fasting from food, we have ready and powerful reminders that we are to pray and spend more time with God. What are those? Hunger pains, dizziness, weakness, etc. Though it is possible to give up anything in order to spend time with the Lord, what is the reminder to spend that time? If we give up TV but substitute reading, we might get caught up in a book and forget all about praying. Try forgetting a growling stomach. Lots of luck.

Why fast at all?

The Lord only commanded it for one day; the Bible gives far more commands for feasting and socializing than abstinence and starkness. So why do it?

The reply I have to that I borrowed from someone else--to practice. Our culture is, to apply Tennyson, "over-blessed." It is SO easy to gratify our desires for pleasure. If I have a desire, any desire, I can find a means of satisfying in rather short order. The problem with that is that we get spoiled. We develop expectations. We foster a "I-have-my-rights" attitude even with the Lord.

True discipline always involves the removal of pleasure. Sports fitness is rife with this concept. If a person wants to train himself for anything, he has to deny himself pleasure. Fasting is a easy, inexpensive way to train oneself to say no to his desires. If we don't learn to say no and only say yes, should we really be surprised that we find ourselves sinning without even knowing why? Is this really so hard to figure out? If we have trained ourselves to say yes, then we will find it hard to say no. Fasting is a way to practice saying no.

Do I need to fast?

There is no New Testament command to do so. The answer to that might come down to asking other questions: "Do I have trouble saying no to my desires ... Is my prayer life shallow or weak ... Do I want to spend more time developing my spiritual life but don't have the time?" Those questions and others like them are suggestions that fasting may not be a bad idea. Let's say you take 30 minutes to eat a meal. Okay, so once a week you skip one meal and devote that time to prayer and mediation. That is two hours of concentrated, focused prayer and meditation each month. Two full hours of focus! How many do you have now? (Please do not think that time is a measure of spiritually in and of itself. But if two hours are focused in faith in prayer and thinking on the thoughts of the Lord, that would be significant.)

Can I fast from wants instead of food?

Sure, but it will take extra discipline. If a pleasure is denied, then replacing it with another pleasure does not free up time for the Lord. Let's not fool ourselves. The purpose of fasting was to spend more time with the Lord. Fasting from a pleasure can be devoted to the Lord; it will take more effort to remember to do it.

Some people have no choice but to fast from a pleasure. Diabetics take a risk playing with their diet. So, fast from a pleasure if you see the purpose for it and want that purpose for yourself.

Conclusion

Fasting in the Biblical sense is a type of personal sacrifice. When we give up something and give it to the Lord in faith and because we want to please him, he will bless us with spiritual growth and maturity. Of course, fasting isn't necessary or commanded for that, but ... two hours a month sure sounds like it could make a difference in my life. Well, pray about it. If you believe that the discipline of saying no on a scheduled basis to devote time to the Lord will benefit your spiritual life, then give it a test. There is no downside to the test, but there is upside.