Fasting is to willingly deprive oneself of food, in an effort to deepen one’s relationship with God. Why would someone do this? How does fasting work?
Fasting demonstrates fervency in prayer. In Daniel 6:18, King Darius had been tricked into throwing Daniel into the lions’ den. He prayed that God would save Daniel. “The king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.” Darius was in great distress. He really wanted God to protect Daniel. Would it have been consistent with his mindset to go back to the palace and have a big party as usual? Certainly not! The king demonstrated his desire for God’s help by refusing food and fun.
There are similar examples throughout the Bible. In 2 Samuel 1:12, David led the people in a mournful fast in the wake of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. In 2 Chron. 20:3-4, King Jehoshaphat and the people prayed and fasted out of fear of an approaching army. In Ezra 8:21-23, Ezra and the pilgrims prayed and fasted for God’s protection as they began a thousand mile walk from captivity to Judea. In Esther 4:16, Mordecai invited all the Jews to pray and fast before Esther dared enter the king’s presence, in an effort to save the Jewish people. In 1 Cor. 7:5, Paul suggests married couples might observe an agreed-upon time apart that they can better focus on God.
Fasting demonstrates great repentance. In Joel 2:12-13, God urged His people, “Return to me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping, and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments.” Fasting was indicative of genuine sorrow for sin. The Jewish Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:31) was a national fast in recognition of sin—it’s often simply called “the Fast” (Acts 27:9). In 1 Samuel 7:1-6, Samuel led the people in a fast in admission of their great sin and prayer for deliverance. In 2 Samuel 12:16-23, David fasted while his son was struck with sickness on account of David’s sin. In 1 Kings 21:27-29, King Ahab (of all people!) found time for repentance. He “tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted and … went about dejectedly.” And God responded favorably! In Jonah 3:5-9, the king led the people of Nineveh in emergency repentance with fasting. In Daniel 9:3, Daniel fasted and prayed when he realized that the time of the captivity could be drawing to a close. In Nehemiah 9:1, a national revival was accompanied with fasting.
Fasting prepares people for great spiritual endeavors. Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days at the start of His ministry (Matt. 4:1-2). Nehemiah fasted before approaching the king with a request to travel to Jerusalem (Neh. 1:4) that God would bless his leadership efforts. The brethren at Antioch fasted before sending out Barnabas and Saul for the work of evangelism (Acts 13:3). The churches prayed before appointing elders (Acts 14:23).
Should you fast? Certainly there are other ways to express repentance and fervency. But I think we can all agree the Bible sees value in fasting! If one of these occasions (or one similar) is upon you, and you wish to deny your body and focus on the spirit that you might ask blessings of God, consider a fast.
On the other hand, fasting probably won’t bring about a better attitude; it seems that in most cases above, fasting is a natural response of a heart already moved to great anguish or already searching for deeper godliness. Thus, a rote fast such as fish on every Friday, or a compulsory fast such as the season of Lent, is likely unhelpful and insincere. Fasting is an outward demonstration of an inward, spiritual concern; it would be difficult to use fasting to artificially cause inward spiritual concern. Forcing myself to go hungry in search of enlightenment has “the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but [is] of no value against fleshly indulgence” (Col. 2:21-23). And fasting certainly will not cancel a sinful life if my heart is unwilling to repent (read Isaiah 58:1-7).
Mostly, as Christians, we have much to rejoice in! The presence of our Savior allows us to exult in all circumstances (Luke 5:33-35). But as we’ve seen above, there are still times when private (Matt. 6:16-18) or congregational fasting is appropriate.