What is the purpose of fasting? - Spiritual Disciplines - TouchPoints

Esther 4:13-17Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.” So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

Acts 13:2One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.”

Fasting signifies that God is our top priority and hunger for God is more important to us than our hunger for food. Thus, fasting is often coupled with prayer and seeking God’s guidance.

Daniel 1:8-16Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.” Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.

Daniel 10:2-3When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.

Fasting can be a significant means to keep us from being swallowed up by our culture. Daniel was one of the young Jewish men who was deported to Babylon in the first exile when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah (around 605 BC). Being taken directly into the king’s court, Daniel undertook several spiritual disciplines in order to maintain his godly identity and commitment in that pagan culture. His choice concerning food was one of the most significant ways by which he avoided being fully absorbed into the culture. A partial fast reminds us of our spiritual commitments while allowing us to remain fully engaged in our ordinary routine. A normal fast can often be more disruptive to daily life—and that is a good thing at times. But at other times we may sense the need to support our prayers or spiritual activities with fasting, yet feel the need to sustain our food intake. In such times, we may give up significant items, as Daniel gave up rich foods like meat and wine.

Psalm 42:2I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?

Luke 4:1-2, 14Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. . . . Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region.

Fasting feeds the soul by revealing our continual hunger and thirst for God. It is a significant means for developing spiritual power and a more immediate sense of God’s presence. Some have said that fasting is praying with the body. Fasting is abstaining from things that are good in order to give greater attention to spiritual concerns. It is one of the most frequently illustrated spiritual exercises in Scripture, occurring in a great variety of situations.

Joel 2:12That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”

Fasting is associated with humbling ourselves in God’s presence.