In Matthew 6 Jesus makes the statement, "when you fast ..." This is an implicit command. Jesus didn't say you need to fast, but what He did do was assume that Christ followers would fast. In Mark 2 Jesus is asked why the disciples of the Pharisee's and John the Baptist fast but His disciples do not. He responds that when He is taken from them they will fast. So it is clear that fasting is a discipline that Christ followers should be engaged in. However, there is no step by step process given in Scripture that tells us how to do it. There is not really one concise portion of Scripture that tells us the purpose for fasting.
The purpose of this blog is to share with you what I have learned about the purpose and practice of fasting through study of the Scripture, experience, and the teaching of others that I trust.
What's the purpose of fasting?
Benefits of fasting include:
1) Renewing your fire, passion, and zeal for God when you feel blah about the things of God!
2) Shaking loose the desires of the flesh so that you can clearly see what you want as a new creation in Jesus and what you think you want because you are being deceived by your old desires!
3) Freedom from active sins where we have the clear command of God and yet we keep breaking His commands. (worry, lust, pride, etc.)
Freedom from active sins:
There are 2 major categories of sin. There are sins of commission and sins of omission. Sins of omission are when we neglect to do things that we know that God wants us to do (James 4:17). Sins of commission are when we violate the commands of God. Jesus taught us not to worry. Jesus taught us not to lust. Jesus us taught us not to allow our anger to continue. Doing these things are sins of commission.
Generally speaking if you are omitting actions that you should be doing it is right to add disciplines to you life to help with this. One can practice the good they know they ought to do by tithing, going to church, giving to the poor, reading the Bible, etc.
Sins of commission are best dealt with by taking things away; not by adding more to your plate. This makes fasting an incredible discipline to help combat sins of commission. The reasons why are tied to the next benefit, clarifying the desires of the flesh and Spirit.
Clarifying the desires of the flesh and the Spirit:
We are all born with the desires of the flesh. It is natural for us to lust for power, pleasure, and stuff. It is natural to worry. It is natural to defend what is ours. It is natural to hold a grudge. The thing that makes walking with Jesus difficult is it is so un-natural. It is ... super natural.
For this reason God has given us His Spirit for those who have become Christ followers. By His Spirit He has given us a new set of desires (will or want to's). Before we were Christ followers we had no desire for the things of God. Our natural desires (flesh, old man, sinful nature) directed our every thought and action.
The difficulty with all of this is that when the Holy Spirit came with a new set of desires the old desires did not go away. The old set of desires are still very alive within us. These two sets of desires are at war within us (Romans 7:23).
Most of the time we never question what we want to do. When we want to do something we just do it. I want to go to sleep, I want to make more money, I want to eat, I want to watch T.V. We just do whatever we want to do most of the time. The problem is that sometimes the flesh is sending the desires through you and sometimes the Spirit is sending the desires. We have great difficulty distinguishing between the two. We usually never even question it. We believe that what we want is who we are. That is not true though!
Satan wants you to believe that you are who you are when you are at your worst. God knows different and wants to teach us that we are who He says we are and who we one day will become.
Fasting teaches us that every time we are hungry (have desire) we do not have to immediately obey whatever that desire may be. It teaches us that we can say like Jesus, "My food is to do the will of my Father". We can realize the statement Jesus made that "He is the bread of life". Saying no to our physical desire to eat teaches us that other desires that seem so natural to us can be re-examined in light of God's Spirit.
It is a discipline that clarifies our desires like nothing else I have ever practiced!
Renewing your fire, passion, and zeal for the things of God:
Americans and most Christians could well be described as lazy, apathetic, unconcerned, floating through life, unmoved, and blah.
Proverbs 27:7 Says, "He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet."
When we are full of food we have no desire even for what might taste sweet. When we are hungry there is a great desire even for what otherwise might be bitter. Our desires are connected strongly to fullness and emptiness. When we fast and empty ourselves of food physically it taps into not only our physical desire for food but all of our desires.
In the same way that getting on your knees when you pray affects your prayer time and singing, clapping your hands, raising your hands, affect your worship; fasting affects you at the heart level with all of your desires.
I have never come out of a time of prayer and fasting without being restored and excited even if I was discouraged and blah before!
How to practice the discipline of fasting:
- Don't start on a 40 day fast if you have never fasted for a meal:) It is better to start with 1 meal and then move up to 2 meals, then one day, etc.
- Fasting and prayer are almost always mentioned together in Scripture. Use the growling of your belly to be a reminder to pray.
- It is helpful to pray about 1 or 2 things that you would like to see God do instead of a huge list of things. You lose focus and energy when you first begin to fast and the point should be to focus your desire and your request. Narrow your focus by narrowing your list:)
- Be open to learning what God wants to teach you in your time with God while fasting.
In Jesus Name
Jarrett Jamieson
