The Bible and the Fast

The question has often been asked of me, "What is fasting?"  Donald Whitney defines fasting as a “Christian’s voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes” (Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 160).  Richard Foster further defines it as “the voluntary denial of a normal function for the sake of intense spiritual activity” (Practical Christianity, 300).

These two definitions grasp the idea of biblical fasting well, but it is also important to know that the Bible describes a plethora of different types of fasting.  These are outlined in the following:

1.      A Normal Fast – Abstaining from all foods, but not from water (Matthew 4:2, Luke 4:2).

2.      A Partial Fast – A limitation of the diet but not abstention from all food (Daniel 1:12, Matthew 3:4).

3.      An Absolute Fast – The avoidance of all food and liquid (Ezra 10:6, Esther 4:16, Acts 9:9).

4.      A Supernatural Fast – An absolute fast taken at great lengths (Deuteronomy 9:9, 1 Kings 19:8).

5.      A Private Fast – A common fast that is unnoticed by others (Matthew 6:16-18).

6.      A Congregational Fast – A fast for a group of people (Joel 2:15-16, Acts 13:2).

7.      A National Fast – A fast for a nation (2 Chronicles 20:3, Nehemiah 9:1, Esther 4:16, Jonah 3:5-8).

8.      A Regular Fast – A regularly scheduled time of fasting (Leviticus 16:29-31, Zechariah 8:19, Luke 18:12).

9.      An Occasional Fast – A fast for special occasions (Matthew 9:15).

While the definition and different types of fasting are important, of significant importance is the thought that Jesus expected His followers to fast.  He said, “And when you fast…But when you fast…” (Matthew 6:16-17).  “By giving us instructions on what to do and what not to do when we fast, Jesus assumes that we will fast” (Whitney, 163).

So when you fast, know that you are substituting the physical for the spiritual, laying down the pleasures of this world for the glories of the next!

List taken from Donald Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life