Fasting

All NKJV unless otherwise specified

Oxford Dictionary Definitions

Fast

• verb abstain from food or drink, especially as a religious observance.

Types of Fasts

Fasting is the act of abstaining from food or drink, or both food and drink together. There are many different types of fasts that

a person can choose to go on, for example:

Water only – abstain from all food for a period of time, and take in only water. An example of this can be seen in the

New Testament when Jesus fasted: Luke 4 v2 “2being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate

nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.”

Juice only – abstain from all food for a period of time and take only water and juice (fruit or veg juice). This is a

derivative of the water fast.

Daniel Fast – abstain from all meat/dairy products, can eat any fruit or vegetable. This can be seen in Daniel 1v12

NIV “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.”

Total Fast – abstaining from everything – abstaining from all food and drink (incl. water). An example of this was a

fast done by Moses in the Old Testament: Exodus 34v28 “28So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty

nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten

Commandments.”

6 to 6 Fast – abstaining from food from 6am to 6pm

A Fast of your choice – abstaining from certain food types as per your choice.

The essence of a fast is a sacrifice. It is something that you choose to give up on. Some people have also gone on a TV Fast,

giving up watching TV for a period of time. Whilst this does not fall technically within the definition of a fast, the concept is

clear. It is a sacrifice of our wills (putting our desires under).

The length of time that you fast is not prescriptive. We are not under the law. Fast as long as you have determined in your

heart to fast. Bear in mind that the longer you fast, and the greater you sacrifice, the greater the results.

Rationale for Fasting (Why Fast?)

The best way to explain this topic is to get into the Word itself, which gives us context…..

Lets look at some biblical reasons why people fasted.

1) Inquiring of the Lord – Judges 20 v26-28 26Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the

house of God and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings

and peace offerings before the LORD. 27So the children of Israel inquired of the LORD (the ark of the covenant of God was

there in those days, 28and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet

again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for

tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”

2) Repentance – 1 Samuel 7 v4-6 4So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the LORD

only. 5And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.” 6So they gathered together at

Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the LORD. And they fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against

the LORD.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.

3) Mourning – 2 Samuel 1v12 12And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son,

for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

4) Petitioning God (praying for God to change His mind) – 2 Samuel 12 v15-16 “15Then Nathan departed to his house.

And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. 16David therefore pleaded with God for the

child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.” In this instance God did not change His mind on the

matter. An example of where God did change His mind about a judgment can be seen with Ahab in 2 Samuel v27-29 27So it

was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth,

and went about mourning. 28And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29“See how Ahab has humbled

himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. In the days of his

son I will bring the calamity on his house.”

5) Used together with prayer – Ezra 8 v21-23 “21Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might

humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. 22For I

was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we

had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath

are against all those who forsake Him.” 23So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.”

6) Intercession (praying on behalf of someone else / standing in the gap for them) – Nehemiah 1 “1The words of

Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, 2that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who

had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity

in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned

with fire.” 4So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and

praying before the God of heaven. 5And I said: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your

covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, 6“please let Your ear be attentive and Your

eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of

Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s

house and I have sinned. 7“We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor

the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8“Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your

servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; 9‘but if you return to Me, and keep My

commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from

there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ 10“Now these are Your servants and Your

people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. 11“O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be

attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant

prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer.” - Because of this

intercessory prayer, the captivity of the Jews was ended and they were led back to the promised land. That is the power of

prayer and fasting.

7) Fasting leads to a deeper Anointing of the Holy Spirit to do the work of God – Acts 13 v1-4 “1Now in the church that

was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen

who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said,

“Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3Then, having fasted and prayed, and

laid hands on them, they sent them away. 4So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there

they sailed to Cyprus.”

8) Fasting is powerful when used in demonic deliverance – Matthew 17 v19-21 19Then the disciples came to Jesus

privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to

you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and

nothing will be impossible for you. 21“However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

9) Fasting can be done corporately (many fast together) – 2 Chronicles 20 v3 3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to

seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

We are required to Fast

Joel 2 v12 12“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”

Matthew 6 v16-17 16“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.

“When you fast”, not “If you fast”.

There is a reward for fasting, the bible states so in Matthew 6v18.

There is a wrong way to fast…..

In Matthew 16v16 above, Jesus tells of the wrong way to fast. This can also be seen in Zechariah:

Zechariah 7 v4-7 4Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, 5“Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you

fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me? 6‘When

you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? 7‘Should you not have obeyed the words which the

LORD proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the

South and the Lowland were inhabited?’ ”

Fasting is a submission and sacrifice to the Lord. We can see from the above that the hearts of the people (and priests)

were not right with God during the times they fasted.

It is better to be obedient to the Lord, than to be disobedient and fast.

The Lord’s Acceptable Fast

Isaiah 58 v6-9(b) 6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,

To undo the heavy burdens,

To let the oppressed go free,

And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;

When you see the naked, that you cover him,

And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning,

Your healing shall spring forth speedily,

And your righteousness shall go before you;

The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;

You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

Final thoughts…….

Fasting is the quickest way to crucify your flesh. When we fast we deny ourselves that which our flesh desires. In the process

of submission, we bring our fleshly desires under control and the spiritual man gains dominance. Tremendous power is made

available in the spirit when fasting, and our spiritual growth is accelerated. Honour God in your fast, and He will answer you.