We are a gluttonous society. Everything is so centered on food, we have become food idolaters. It is also impressive how pervasive it is and we do not even realize it. Anything to do with our bodies we put too much focus on it. The flesh has definitely taken precedence over the spirit. Ironically, one of the practices of early Christians was the spiritual discipline of fasting. This discipline has long been forgotten now and we have created ways to justify our lack of fasting by saying things like “the Lord knows our heart”, “we do not really need to fast today”, “fasting will not twist the hand of God on your matter”, etc. these are all poor excuses to a discipline that is from God. Jesus expected his disciples to fast when he would no longer be on the earth (Luke 5:35). In the Old Testament, fasting was done privately and corporately. It was not a discipline that was only specific to God’s people, in fact Gentiles nations also fasted. In the book of Jonah we see an example of the Ninevites fasting and putting on sackcloth on themselves when they received the word of God prophesied to them by Jonah (Jonah 3:7). As we learn in the following chapter, God relented the judgement he had set on the Ninevites because they humbled themselves before Him and fasted. Today, the equivalent of corporate fasting we have in the Christian world is Lent. It is a time when the church comes together to humble herself and fast in preparation of the celebration of the Lord’s death and resurrection. Sadly, this practice is not followed by many Christians today. Once again, excuses and personal opinions have taken precedence over a time that was designed to prepare our hearts for a wonderful celebration of what the Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross. As we embark on this time of Lent, I am reminded of this neglected spiritual discipline and would like to encourage you to be different and to get on it by looking at biblical examples of fasting.
Fasting can be done for several purposes good or bad. In Acts 23, we see some men in a city who fasted with no end date in view simply because they planned on murdering Paul. That is an example of fasting for evil. The bible calls us to fast for good reasons only. One of the main reasons of fating is that it draws us closer to God. It shows our total dependence on God as we fast and it also shows that we look to Him to sustain us as we put aside food. When Jesus was in the desert, he fasted for forty days and forty nights and one of his popular responses to Satan after this episode was that “man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Jesus showed us what it means to consecrate yourself to the Lord and to put Him first. Another example that shows dependence on God, consecration and love to Him is found in the life of Ana the prophet who was also a widow, she stayed in the temple fasting and praying, never leaving the place. This is total devotion and worship. I have noticed that whenever there were major events that were supposed to happen, people fasted. For example, Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights before he could receive the Ten Commandments from God (Exodus 34:28). It seems fasting prepared him for that encounter with the Lord. Ezra fasted to ask God’s protection on his journey to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of the Lord from the exile land of Babylon. The people of Israel fasted to seek God’s guidance when they were fighting against their brothers the Benjamites because of the evil that the Benjamites had done (Judges 20). Moreover, when Daniel wanted to get answers he fasted and the Lord responded to his request (Daniel 9:3). Or take the early church apostles, as they were fasting and worshipping the Lord, the Holy Spirit told them to set aside Paul and Barnabas for a mission (Acts 13:2). Furthermore, fasting also occurred in the Old Testament as an act of repentance and forgiveness before the Lord (1 Samuel 7:6), this was often done corporately; the people were coming as one man before the Lord and turn away from their sins. Indeed, fasting was also done in order to seek the Lord’s salvation when surrounded by enemies (2 Chronicles 20:2). Finally, fasting was done to express grief. We see this in the people of Jabesh who fasted as they mourned the death of Saul and his son Jonathan for seven days (1 Samuel 31:13). Similarly, David and his men fasted when they heard about the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:12).
Isaiah 58 is probably the chapter in the bible that talks exclusively about fasting, the kind of fasting that is acceptable to the Lord. Such a chapter is helpful for us to not use fasting as a discipline only but as a spiritual act of worship honouring to the Lord. Jesus spoke about not making fasting into a legalistic discipline so that men will see you, instead, he encouraged us to fast secretly so that our heavenly Father who sees in secret will reward us accordingly (Matthew 6:16-18). In Isaiah 58, we see that fasting should be used to care for the poor and needy, the oppressed should be granted freedom, justice should be enacted, brothers and sisters should be cared for and not ignored, basically, the goodness of God must be seen when you fast. A good fast is not done for selfish reasons, it is done for the Lord, to seek Him and to obey Him in all His ways. Even as you fast for a petition or guidance, you should seek to honour the Lord through that fast by putting yourself second.
Well, I don’t think there is a better time to encourage you to fast than now as we have entered this period of Lent. I believe coming before the Lord as one man is something the church today lacks. Fasting corporately is one way to attempt to do that. You might not know where to start on this but I believe the book on Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian life by Donald Whitney is an excellent resource to start from. Remember, fasting is a spiritual discipline which means it is a discipline that builds your spirit man. Fasting allows you to literally kill the flesh so you can be focused on God. One of the main benefits of fasting is that it draws you to God, indeed you learn to be sustained by Him alone and not by your flesh. I pray that more than just being another discipline, you will see fasting as an opportunity to grow in your love for the Lord. It might be hard at first but it is worth it and you can start small. The world has found many health benefits associated with fasting but fasting for the purposes of knowing God has eternal benefits your soul will thank you for. Will you fast?
A Word Aptly Spoken 