Why would we fast?

“Fasting is the most feared and misunderstood of all the Spiritual Disciplines.” So says Donald Whitney in his book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.  That certainly describes my personal reaction to fasting for many years, and yet now the Lord is clearly calling me to experience the blessing of fasting. That has come to me (and to you, if you are part of the PCC church body) through the VitalChurch Ministry Report that recommends that we seek to become a more Christ-centered church by, among other things, entering into a season of prayer and fasting. So I’ve been exploring the subject of fasting, as I’ve written briefly about in two previous blog post (here and here). Here in this post I want to explore the subject of fasting further, especially the question of why we would fast, or the purpose of fasting. Again, I’ve benefited from my own reading on the subject in the writings of Donald Whitney in the book noted above. Here are some highlights from that book I’d like to share with you:

“Christian fasting is a believer’s voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes.” Whitney notes that fasting is for believers in Christ, meaning that it must be rooted in a relationship with Christ and practiced with the desire to become more like Christ. It is voluntary in the sense that it shouldn’t be coerced or we shouldn’t practice it out of guilt or obligation. And it is for spiritual purposes, meaning that it is more than just a crash diet for the body.

Whitney notes that the Bible distinguishes between several kinds of fasts. A normal fast involves abstaining from all food, but not from water. This is what we see Jesus doing at the beginning of his public ministry, as noted in Matthew 4:2 and Luke 4:2. A partial fast is a limitation of the diet, usually by eating much smaller portions of food than usual for a certain time and/or eating only a few simple foods. Examples of a partial fast are modeled to us by Daniel (Daniel 1:12) and John the Baptist (Matthew 3:4). An absolute fast is the avoidance of all food and liquid, even water, for a brief period of time. Examples of an absolute fast are seen in Ezra 10:6, Esther 4:16, and Acts 9:9. The Bible also describes a supernatural fast in which God grants the miraculous ability to go without food and water for an extended period of time, as he did with Moses (Deuteronomy 9:9) and Elijah (1 Kings 19:8). Whitney notes that these supernatural fasts required God’s supernatural intervention into the bodily processes and are not repeatable apart from the Lord’s specific calling and miraculous provision. Whitney concludes by noting that the most common fast among Christians today would probably fall under the category of normal (abstaining from food but drinking water) on an occasional basis.

Why would we fast? Whitney notes that without a spiritual purpose, fasting can be a miserable, self-centered experience about willpower and endurance. The most important point that Whitney seeks to make in his discussion of fasting is that it must be done for a spiritual purpose. He describes it like this: “As you are fasting and your head aches or your stomach growls and you think, I’m hungry! your next thought is likely to be something like, Oh, right – I’m hungry because I’m fasting today. Then your next thought should be, And I’m fasting for this purpose:____________.”

There are many purposes set forth for fasting in the Bible and Whitney seeks to condense them into ten major categories. I’m not going to go through all ten of these here, but I do want to highlight two purposes that stand out to me right now as I consider what we’re facing in our church transition at PCC:

Fasting to strengthen prayer – Whitney notes a number of biblical reports of the people of God utilizing fasting when they have felt a special urgency about the concerns they are lifting up in prayer to God. “When we sense the need to strengthen our prayers, God says in Scripture to apply the force of fasting.” Whitney is careful to note that the Bible does not teach that fasting is a kind of spiritual hunger strike that compels God to do our bidding. “Fasting does not change God’s hearing so much as it changes our praying.” Certainly this purpose for fasting has direct application to us as we pray about the issues identified for us in the VitalChurch Ministry Report and seek God’s transforming work in our church.

Fasting to seek God’s guidance – Whitney gives biblical examples of the people of God fasting as they seek to more clearly discern the will of God. He notes that fasting, rightly practiced, can make us more receptive to hearing from God who loves to guide us. Again, I see direct application for us as we seek God’s direction for the future of PCC and for His guidance in the coming pastoral search.

Whitney discusses other spiritual purposes for fasting, such as expressing repentance, seeking deliverance or protection, expressing concern for the work of God, overcoming temptation and dedicating oneself to God, humbling oneself, and expressing love and worship to God.  But, as I think about where we are in this ‘season’ of church life at PCC, the spiritual purposes of strengthening prayer and seeking God’s guidance seem to me to be particularly significant and applicable. So I will conclude with a challenge: Will you join me in some form of regular fasting during this season of transition as we pray for our church and seek God’s guidance for the future? How you fast is totally between you and the Lord. It could be a normal fast (abstaining from eating food while still drinking water) or a partial fast (eating smaller amounts of food or only certain limited types of food). It could be something you practice for a day every month or every week. Let the Lord guide you as you prayerfully consider whether and how you should fast.