How Do I Fast?
What are the steps to fasting? Why do Christians fast? What should I give up?
What is fasting?
Fasting is a practice where you give something up that's good to receive something better. There is a spiritual purpose attached to it. That spiritual purpose can connect you in a new way with God, lean inward into your own heart or needs, or focus outward on a concern in the world.
Why do Christians fast?
Fasting leads us to lean into the emptiness and hunger that we feel in this world, and that emptiness leads us back to our need for God and our desires for His redemption in our life and world. So when you fast, your mind tells you that you are hungry and that you need something, which leads you to realize that you need God and need his redemption.
Humanity is made to feast. So in Genesis, in the Garden of Eden, and Revelation, at the end of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, we're feasting. But in between, we find ourselves in seasons of emptiness, so fasting reminds us of our need for God.
What are some examples of fasting that are found in the Bible?
Interestingly, fasting in scripture is how frequent and expected it is. In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches When you fast. And that is right there with giving and prayer in the central section of the Sermon on the Mount. It isn't seen as optional by Jesus but as expected. Don Whitney, in his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, shares some of the types and scopes of fasting you see in scripture:
Types of Fasts
Scopes of Fast
Private: Not noticed by anyone (Matthew 6)
Congregational: Undertaken by the community (Joel 2; Acts 13)
Regular: On specific days, such as the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16)
Occasional: Special occasions or seasons as the need arise (Esther 4)
Does it have to be a fast from food, or can you fast from other things?
The point of fasting is about leaning into this sense of longing and emptiness. It's not about the technicalities or rules, so I would say to look too fast from something that creates that.
However, when we see fasting scripture, it is always attached to food. I think that's tied to our need for food, how it connects us to the regular rhythms of life, and how much is revealed about our character when we are hungry. David Mathis said in Habits of Grace, "We fast from what we can see and taste because we have tasted in seeing the goodness of the invisible God, and are desperately hungry for more of him."
Therefore, unless a healthcare professional has advised you not to fast, I encourage you to begin with food. If you are not advised to fast from a meal, consider giving up particular food or drinks, such as sugar, meat, alcohol, or caffeine.
If not food, you might have luxuries in your life, such as social media, television, dessert, or the internet- that could be given up. The thing that you're thinking, "Well, I don't know if I could give that up for a day or more days," that might be the area that God's calling you to direct your attention towards him.
What should you do during your fast?
First and foremost, do not despair and only think about your hunger; That's the main thing Jesus said not to do! Also, it doesn't mean you get to work through lunch and be more productive.
The spiritual purpose is that that time would not be self-centered but that it would be directed back to God. So instead of filling your body with food, or your time with social media, you're filling it up with Godly thoughts. You're filling it up with prayer or worship, with extra time reading scripture.
How do you avoid fasting becoming ritualistic or legalistic?
Allowing fasting to become legalistic is a challenge that we see with all spiritual disciplines that our habits quickly become the measuring stick of our godliness and our relationship with God. We use them and feel that since I've read my Bible today, prayed, and fasted, and then God will be good with us.
There must be a shift away from doing all these things to get to God instead of seeing them as a way to respond to God with whom we're already in a relationship. God loves you now, and when he looks down at you, he smiles because he cares about you.
We do spiritual disciplines as a response to God's affection for us. We don't fast to gain a relationship with God. We fast to respond to our relationship with God. We don't fast to twist God's arm to hear our prayers in a new way. We're doing this as a response to our relationship with Him, and He has told us to do this. We're responding in obedience and love not to earn anything but to respond.
How do I avoid using fasting for our gain? For example, when I think about giving up sugar, I think about how my pants could fit better.
Now, you might still lose weight! But that isn't our goal, but merely a bonus.
Our attention on it has to remain fixed on Christ. When we give things up, we are becoming more like Christ. Jesus fasted for 40 days and then called us to fast. And when we do, we're emptying ourselves to be like the one who emptied Himself for our sake. We focus our thoughts on what Christ did and what the gospel is doing amid our hearts, which may not have a direct, immediate result.
And let me be clear on that- the act of giving up something good to receive something better is a spiritual better. We do not believe in the prosperity gospel where our faith demands God's blessings; people who feel that God will do this if I do this. The rewards that Jesus talks about in the gospels and how fasting is talking about are God's activity in our hearts and the world around us. It's spiritual, holistic, eternal, and Kingdom-centered. Experiencing Christ is the reward.
Fasting is historically connected with the Lenten season. What is Lent?
The church goes through different seasons throughout the year, and you likely know two of the main ones: Advent, which is the weeks leading up to Christmas, and Lent, which are the 40 days that lead up to Easter. Lent is the 40 day period that leads from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday in the Christian calendar. And it's a specific time that Christians focus on the cross and the resurrection of Christ and often fast to do so.
Three Steps for a First Time Fast
1. Pray
Spend time in prayer to consider what you might give up. Ask yourself: What is it in your life that without it would cause you to feel a sense of lack or longing? What would point you towards a feeling of emptiness that leads you to hunger and thirst for God?
2. Start Small
For a full fast, perhaps start with one meal weekly, a specific item, or even only for a short period.
3. Have Grace For Yourself
This process isn't about checking boxes or keeping a perfect fasting score. This isn't about making sure that we can earn our way up to God's affection. This is a way to respond and experience His love.
The Fulani Project
If you call Christ Church your church home, we encourage you to check out our To the Nations focus that will run through Lent. Fasting is going to be a considerable portion of this focus.
To the Nations is Christ Church's new yearly initiative to engage one specific population with the gospel that is either unreached or facing significant persecution. We will be working with International Leadership Institute on a particular project to reach the Fulani people group of West and Central Africa.
One of the ways that we're doing that is through fasting, so we're calling our congregation to fast through the season of Lent—on Fridays, fasting from a meal specifically, but also through the season of Lent, giving up one specific item. And then, when you give up that meal and item, we're asking for you to take the money that you would have spent on those things over the eight weeks and 40 days and donate that towards the project. So if you give up coffee and get a $5 drink every day at Starbucks, at the end of the week, we want you to make a $25 donation towards this Fulani project.
And that way, your prayers, and your giving will be in line with God's purposes in the world. And so you will have something direct to fast and pray towards while you're doing it. So would love for you to participate and would love for you to be a part of what God's doing among the nations.
TL;DR
Fasting is a practice where you give something up that's good to receive something better.
Fasting leads us to lean into the emptiness and hunger that we feel in this world, and that emptiness leads us back to our need for God and our desires for His redemption in our life and world.
Steps to fasting:
Pray
Start Slow
Have grace for yourself
Related Reading
Why Should I Read the Bible by Bro. Chris Carter
How to Read Difficult Scripture by Brad Bogue
Four Reminders to Finding Courage by Bro. Chris Carter
About Christ Church Memphis
Christ Church Memphis is church in East Memphis, Tennessee. For more than 65 years, Christ Church has served the Memphis community. Every weekend, there are multiple worship opportunities including traditional, contemporary and blended services.