To Fast or Not to Fast, That is the Question

I'm gunna break from the Names of God series for a post, just to talk about something that needs discussing. The topic: fasting.

In the Church, especially in the Protestant Bible Belt of the southeastern United States (where I reside), spiritual disciplines get a lot of attention. By spiritual disciplines, I mean actions we do that bring us closer to God. Reading your Bible is one that gets an incredible amount of exposure; memorizing Scripture also gets a lot of attention. Prayer has a spotlight on it; giving money to God gets preached all over the world every weekend. None of that is bad; in fact, I'd argue that all four are crucial to the Christian journey, and if you are not practicing those disciplines, you should be. Yet, how often do you hear about someone fasting? Why does fasting get left out? Is it less spiritual or necessary to the pilgrimage of the Christ follower? Prayer was almost always accompanied by fasting in the New Testament. The early Church fasted all the time. Therefore, I'd argue its importance. Let's look at a passage and see what the Bible says on fasting.


"And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." -Matthew 7:16-18, ESV

This passage is tucked into Jesus's famous "Sermon on the Mount," right between the Lord's Prayer and the passage that talks about how you can't serve money and God. How is this little section on fasting so overlooked if it sits between two of the most famous passages in the Gospels?

This little section is titled in most Bibles as "How to Fast." Handy, right? So, how do we fast? Primarily, with humility and sincerity. Jesus says here not how long you should fast, or what you should fast from (which doesn't have to be food; it can honestly be almost anything). Instead, He is far more focused on your heart. Are you making a show of your fasting? Are you fasting to look "holy?" If so, quit fasting. Now.

However, if you have wondered whether or not to fast (especially at this time of year, since we are currently in Lent, the Catholic practice of fasting 40 days before Easter), I would encourage you to search your heart. Why would you be fasting? If the goal is to grow in your relationship with God, or hear Him speak on something in your life, etc., I'd say go for it. If you can keep the focus on Him and not on you, you're golden. Which, honestly, can go for anything; if you read your Bible, pray or give money to make yourself look good, stop. God doesn't want those prayers or that money. He has no interest in your selfish desires, much less using Him to reach them.

Where is your focus? Are you doing everything for God's glory, or for your own?