Ep 008: Why do Christians fast? How to start the spiritual discipline of fasting
Christian fasting is a big deal in many churches at the beginning of the year. Some people fast with their church for 21 days, while others fast as a personal spiritual discipline.
But for those who have never fasted before, it can be a bit intimidating. Are we supposed to fast as Christians? Do we have to do it? How do Christians start fasting?
This episode unpacks fasting as a Christian spiritual discipline. What does the Bible tell us about it? And how can you kickstart your own fasting journey if you're up for it?
If these questions have got you curious, then you're in the right place! Also, be sure to check out the blog posts below for more context.
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Ep 08: Why do Christians fast? How to start the spiritual discipline of fasting
Stephanie Hodges: It's very common in the beginning of the year to hear Christians talk about fasting and maybe they're going on a fast with their church for 21 days, or it's something that they do personally.
But a lot of people are still unsure about fasting as a Christian spiritual discipline, because they've never done it before and they haven't really been taught about it. And so is it something that we should do? Is it something that we have to do?
And then there's also the fact that there's a lot of talk in popular culture about intermittent fasting for weight loss and physical health benefits. Which is a benefit of fasting, but it's not the main purpose when we're fasting as a spiritual discipline. Well, this episode, we're going to break it all down.
What does it mean as a spiritual discipline? What does the Bible say about it and how can you start fasting? If that's something that you're interested in doing.
Welcome to the Wholly Well Journey podcast. I'm your host, Stephanie Hodges. Join us for weekly faith based conversations on holistic health to uncover practical tips for how to thrive and apply biblical wisdom to our busy modern lives. From fitness to food to fasting, we're here to discover what it means to have a healthy spirit, soul, and body.
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Stephanie Hodges: so in this episode, as we talk about fasting, I want to first say that we have a lot of resources on the Daniel fast journey website, which is Daniel fast journey.com.
And there are some specifically that we're going to list below, including 52, or actually over 52 scriptures on fasting in the Bible. We have a post that has all of those listed. We also have posts about different types of fasting, common types of fast. We see in the Bible and how to get started on the Daniel fast and lots of resources on the Daniel fast. Uh, so be sure you check out those links for some more context to what we're talking about in the scriptures that we mentioned today. But first of all, I want to talk about why do people start fasting? And there's three main reasons that I hear people come to fasting. The first is because their church is fast and corporately. And that was true for me.
That was why I started fasting in the first place, because in January, Our pastors and leaders were calling the whole church to fast together. And there's definitely a biblical precedent for this. We see in the old Testament and in the new Testament, like in the book of acts, the disciples were fasting together before making key decisions or before going out in ministry. And so the second reason is, and it also is tied to the first it's because it's in the Bible.
And so if you're learning to fast, along with your church, surely your pastor is telling you and pointing you to some of the scriptures that are really helpful for understanding fasting in a biblical context. But some people just go about reading in their Bible and they realize that fasting has mentioned actually quite a bit in the scriptures.
And one of the most well-known passages is in Matthew chapter six, when Jesus is teaching about giving, praying, and fasting.
And he talks about these things in a very parallel fashion and mentioned when you fast, not if you fast. And I recently spoke at a church and a lady told me afterwards that she had actually heard from God in her quiet time about fasting. That God just told her and prompted her. You need to fast. And it wasn't something that anybody else told her to do.
She just heard directly from the Lord about it. And so then she went into just investigating more. What does the Bible say about this? How should I go about this and kind of did that on her own. But I would say the third reason why many people start fasting is because they hear stories about someone else who has done it, or that person invites them to do it or encourages them to do it.
And if you start reading through church history and you look into many of the revivals and the great moves of God that have happened, in the past, you'll often see these heroes of the faith praying and fasting before they go into ministry or as a supplement and a support to their ministry as part of their personal spiritual practice and discipline. Like when really well-known is John Wesley who founded Methodism in the beginning, it said that he wouldn't ordain people as pastors, unless they agreed to fast twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays.
And so that's still sometimes known as the Wesleyan fast to fast those two days a week. But what else do we see in the Bible? So let's turn to specifically what Jesus taught about fasting and how he fasted. So after Jesus was baptized. Three of the gospels. Tell the story of him being led by the spirit, into the wilderness to fast for 40 days and 40 nights.
And then after that, he was tempted by the devil. And so you may have read this before it's in Matthew and Luke more extensively. And then there's a brief mention in mark.
And then as I mentioned, we also see this in Matthew chapter six, verses 16 through 18. And he says, whenever you fast do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do for, they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. I truly, I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your father who is in secret. And your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Then the third passage is when Jesus talks about fasting, when the bridegroom is gone.
And again, this is found in three gospels in Matthew, mark, and Luke, and it's when the disciples of John and the Pharisees come to him and they say, Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast. And Jesus said to them while the bridegroom is with them. And he's referring to himself.
Of course, as the bridegroom, he says the attendance of the bridegroom cannot fast. Can they. So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. And then it says, but the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.
And you can read that in Luke chapter five, verses 33 through 35. And so what do these examples tell us what do they show us as reasons for why we might fast? Because in the old Testament, we see a lot of times that fasting was a response to repentance or to morning. And there was also the day of atonement that was designated as a day for afflicting oneself.
And that included fasting. But in the new Testament. And as we look at the words of Jesus, we see things that are very in line with the reasons you'll hear people fasting for today. And a lot of times people want to fast because they want breakthrough. They want direction.
They want to feel closeness to God. And I feel that we see these examples in the scriptures that I just mentioned. And the first one is simply obedience because maybe you're reading in the Bible and you're seeing that Jesus is saying when you fast, not, if you fast, he's saying that when the bridegroom is gone, then his disciples are going to fast.
And so maybe you just decide to do it. Or there could be times that the spirit is leading you to fast. And one example for that is, you know, when we were pretty new into fasting, my husband and I, we were mainly just fasting once a year, whenever the church, called for a corporate fast. But then we were in a situation where his job was really extremely stressful for our family.
We had two little kids and he was traveling all the time and it wasn't really a great work situation in a healthy environment. And so we said, you know what, let's go ahead and fast about this. And so we fasted for about a week. And then we felt a sense of peace. We felt really great about it. But then about three weeks later, an old colleague of his reached out and proposed a new job for him. And so sometimes when we fast and we're led by the spirit to fast about a certain situation, we don't always see results immediately. But in that case, that was a pretty quick response and a pretty quick turnaround. So then the second reason we see in this is that when Jesus went out to fast for 40 days, That was right after he was baptized, but it was before he started his public ministry. And so sometimes you'll hear the term of a fast of consecration. It's a consecration and a , setting yourself apart as you prepare for something big in your life. So some people will fast before they go on a mission trip or before they preach or before they have important meetings or before they're entering. , significant season of their life.
That can be a reason for fasting as a consecration of dedicating that next season to the Lord.
And here's a third one. It's about having an intimate relationship with the father. And a lot of times I hear about people fasting because they're saying I just don't feel any passion in my relationship with the Lord right now.
I feel distant. Uh, I need to refocus and I need to reignite that relationship. And so I think that's what Jesus was talking about in chapter six, when he's talking to these Pharisees who will do a lot of things for show, but he says your fasting, isn't just a religious ritual for show. It's something that you do in the secret place with your father. To really know the Lord better to know his well. And to spend more time with him as we're shutting out the things of the world.
And that's what we do when we fast, we temporarily say no to earthly pleasure to food, to other items that will distract us from focusing on the main thing, which is the Lord, and really focusing on the kingdom of heaven.
And here's a fourth one. It's simply discipline discipline for our spirit, soul, and body.
And when we say the word spiritual disciplines, discipline actually comes from the same root word as disciple and disciple means learner. So through these disciplines, We're intentionally learning and intentionally keeping ourselves on track and keeping ourselves accountable. And then a fifth reason is for breakthrough. And many people need breakthrough in their lives.
And there could be things that you just feel like you can't move past. Maybe you need a healing, maybe you need forgiveness, maybe there's habits or things that you want to break off of your life.
And there's something else that Jesus said in the book of Matthew and the book of mark and not every translation includes this particular verse. But it comes after Jesus comes down. And a father comes to him and ask him to heal his son. And Jesus makes a statement Oh faithless and perverse generation.
How long shall I be with you? How long should I bear with you? Bring him here to me and Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him and the child was cured from that hour. And so then the disciples asked Jesus privately, why couldn't we cast it out? And Jesus tells them because of your unbelief for assuredly.
I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain move from here to there and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. And so again, not every translation contains that verse and it's in Matthew and in mark, as that story is told. But so many people have had this experience in their own lives, that there have been places where they are stuck and fasting is the key to add intensity to their prayers. And something else for us to keep in mind is that some of these spiritual practices that we do, there is an element of mystery to them.
There should be an element of awe and wonder in our spirit. As we put ourselves in really a position of humility when we fast and in obedience to God. We are humbling ourselves and we are surrendering our lives to him. And a big part of fasting is about letting go of control. And that can be very challenging to our flesh. And it's also going to be contested by the enemy. But at the end of the day, we can trust that God will protect us.
He will oversee us as we enter into these times of fasting and these times of really seeking him. But in the process, there may be some threshing out of things in our own lives. And we might get clarity about things that we need to let go of and things that we need to repent of and things that we need to do differently. And so even from a physical standpoint, so many people who aren't fasting for biblical reasons will say they have a ton of clarity. Mental clarity and energy when they fast because of what it's cleaning out in the body and how it's allowing the mind to function.
And so that's something that if you stick with it and you get into your fast and you get past that initial phase that might have some uncomfortable side effects. You'll find yourself with a renewed sense of energy and clarity and just feeling much better from a physical and mental standpoint. So let's talk next about the length of time of fasting that we see in the Bible and there's different lengths.
And I'm just going to mention a few, because the point of this is to say that the Bible doesn't give us a prescription or a protocol for fasting that says. You should fast exactly this amount of time at this frequency and fast these things. So we see many different examples of fasting. And in judges 2026. They called the Israeli army up to Bethel.
And they fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. So that's like a one day. It was just until the evening time. Then in first, Samuel 31 13, this is after king Saul and his son Jonathan had died. They took their bones and buried them and they fasted seven days.
So that was seven days in morning. Then in the book of Daniel, we see two partial fast, and a partial fast would mean you're not giving up all food, just certain foods. And Daniel one 12 says, please test your servants for 10 days. Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. And then in Daniel, chapter 10 verses two and three, it says at that time I Daniel mourn for three weeks, I ate no choice food, no meat or wine touched my lips.
And I use no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. So the Daniel fast has become very popular in our modern culture. And you'll often see it done for either 10 days or 21 days, because it's kind of a taking together of those two passages where you're doing a partial fast, where you're abstaining from certain foods.
And then there's another form of partial fasting. You would say that would reflect intermittent fasting. We're eating only certain times of day. And when you look into the scientific research about fasting, That you know, so many people do it for health reasons, for weight loss, for improving their insulin sensitivity and their metabolic health.
And it even has some benefits for longevity. Those are typically intermittent fast, where you have periods of time, where you eat and then periods of time where you don't eat or you fast. And so just a longer version of that would be your typical biblical fast, which is water only fasting often known as a complete fast.
We do also see a few rare cases in the Bible of supernatural fast, where people went without food and water for a period of time.
This is what we see in the book of Esther, that there were three days that she called all the Jews to not eat or drink for three days. And we also see when Moses went up onto the mountain and received the 10 commandments. He didn't eat or drink for 40 days.
And that was only possible because he was in the very supernatural presence of God that wouldn't be possible and normal human circumstances.
With all of these types of fasting, please do be sure that you talked to your doctor and that's especially important if you have any metabolic health issues. if you're diabetic, if you take prescription medications and then there's other cases where fasting is not advised at all, like if you're pregnant or nursing or you have a history of disordered eating. And so it's always better to be safe than sorry, because you have to remember that our current modern diet is much different than the diet they had in ancient times.
And we have so many processed foods. so much sugar and things in our diet that when you just immediately take that away, It can really be disruptive to your body. . So you need to make sure that it's the right thing for you, that you're doing it in the right way.
And that you also prepare yourself. So I just want to recap again, really quickly. We talked about different types of fasting. There's partial fasting, where you abstain from certain food items. Or, and that can be really extensive or you may be starting out and you only want to abstain from a few things. There's also partial fasting.
That's time restricted eating, where you only eat maybe two meals a day or one meal a day, or you only eat within a certain window of time. And then another one I like to mention is liquid fasting. A lot of people like to do liquid fasting, where they might be just consuming fresh juices. Broths, maybe liquid soups. And I would just caution you with that to make sure that you're not getting too much sugar and especially if you're doing juices and things like that, because that can really cause your insulin and blood sugar to be going up and down and spiking and crashing.
And that can actually be much harder in some ways than just going on a water fast. So just do your due diligence with that and make sure that you are having only a moderate sugar intake during that time. And whatever fast you choose. I really encourage you. There's no condemnation for how you practice your fast, because sometimes you might come across someone who will tell you. You know that the only way to fast is water only fasting.
And that's the true biblical definition of fasting. Well, what's true is that the biblical definition of fasting is to cover the mouth it's to abstain from food for a period of time. And so while it's a good thing to do, like say a social media fast or a spending fast for your finances and. All of those practices are very healthy and very good. When we're talking about biblical fasting, we are talking about giving up food in some form in some fashion. But the thing is sometimes you have to start with just practicing and gaining some experience for yourself. And once you do that, you're going to understand fasting better.
You're going to understand why we do it. And then that will also lead you to experiment maybe with different ways of how to fast. So when it comes to fasting, it can be easy to fall into a bit of a legalistic mindset about it or for it to become just kind of a routine thing that we do at the beginning of the year.
And it's barely different than a diet. Like what really distinguishes it as a spiritual discipline is a focus on God. First it's seeking the Lord. It's humbling ourselves before the Lord. It's the position of our heart and our posture. And so whenever I go to fast, there are certain scriptures that I like to read.
And one of them is Isaiah chapter 58. And it talks about the type of fast that the Lord has chosen. It's not just for show it's really to set the captives free. And that's God's desire for you as you fast. There might be some weight loss that happens. There may be some breakthroughs that happen. There may be some answered prayer, but at the end of the day, it's about aligning your heart with his heart. It's about that internal transformation and that sense of peace that comes just simply from being in his presence. Despite what might happen or not happen or what you may feel or how things may turn out for you. The reward really is just in the process of fasting.
And that's what I hear from people time. And again, I can't tell you how many times that they'll say I facet. I felt so close to the Lord when I was fasting. And so again, maybe we don't know all of, exactly why that is at this point. But you can trust and rest assured that fasting is well worth it.
So, how do we make sure that we stay in the right heart about fasting and that we don't get too legalistic about it? The big check is to see what is the fruit of your fasting. And it's not just about fasting. It can be about any type of church activity or practice. And I want to read you this quick story that Jesus tells from Luke chapter 18. And this is verses nine through 14. And the Bible says to some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt.
He also told this parable. Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other, a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed God, I thank you that I'm not like the other mint, swindlers, evil doers adulterers or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and pay ties of all that I acquire. But the tax collector stood at a distance unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven.
Instead he beat his breast and said, God have mercy on me, a sinner. And then Jesus says, I tell you this man, rather than the Pharisee went home justified for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. But the one who humbles himself will be exalted. And so this is truly the key it's to stay in a posture of humility, to not feel that because of your works or because of your discipline or because of your willpower, that this is somehow making you more holy or more righteous, or you're earning anything with God. Because we don't have to earn our way with him.
Our salvation is a free gift. It's not by works. But what fasting will do is it will transform you. It will transform you from the inside out and it affects your body. It affects your soul. It affects your spirit. In a really unique and really remarkable way. So I do encourage you to try fasting, and this is how you start. For quick steps.
First, learn more read scriptures, like the blog post that we're going to link in the show notes and look at other resources about fasting. Just educate yourself about the process and especially turning to God's word, to understand what the Bible says about fasting. Then the second is to pray and ask God for direction. And just go to him, let him be the one who helps you to direct your fast, because there's a lot of programs out there.
There's a lot of advice out there. But this is really about a personal practice between you and him. The third is to prepare your body. Because like I said before, our diet is extremely different and it will be a shock to your system to abruptly go into a fast.
So spend some time, spend a couple of weeks. If you can even preparing your body to fast.
And so some ways to prepare your body are to make sure you're resting. Make sure you're getting enough sleep every night. Make sure you're drinking plenty of water every day, because that flushes everything through and helps your body process. As you start to detox. And then there are certain things that you really want to cut out or cut down.
And if you can taper gradually, Then you experienced fewer negative side effects and a big one is caffeine too. Eliminate caffeine over time. And the more gradually, the more you drink caffeine, the more gradually you probably want to do this. The next is sugar to cut out all your sugar. And then also your processed carbs and any packaged foods. And then of course, things like fried foods and fast foods, if you can reduce and eliminate those in the time, leading up to your fast, it will give your body a chance to process those things out without you necessarily experienced so many have side effects.
Like. Fatigue and headache and mood swings and things that come when you abruptly cut them off, especially with the caffeine and the sugar. And then at the same time, especially if you're doing a Daniel fast or liquid fast, you want to start to incorporate more of those foods that you'll be consuming when you fast.
And that means for the Daniel fast, much more vegetables and beans and legumes because your body needs to adjust to that fiber. And then you also want to be preparing your soul, preparing your spirit, praying in the time, leading up to your fast and continuing to be sensitive to what God is saying to you. And then finally, don't be afraid to start small if you're brand new to fasting. You know, because you want to treat this as a regular discipline.
It's not this one time all or nothing that you have to get it exactly. Right. And it has to be really extreme. Think about it as a marathon. If you were training for a marathon, you wouldn't immediately go out and run 26 miles, you would run one mile. You know, otherwise you get injured, you collapse, you get burnout, and I've see that happen with people with fasting a lot as well as they want to dive right into a 21 day fast. But I would really encourage you if you've never fasted before. Try fasting for a day. And then three days and then five days. And this is something that really, again, it's up to you personally, to figure that out.
And that can be difficult because a lot of times we like it to just be really clearly laid out for us. Like what's the plan? What's the process.
But fasting isn't about following a plan. It's about getting closer to a person. Getting closer to Jesus. Drawing closer to the Lord. And so if you had to our website, we also have a page that has stories. It has testimonies. And we also have a fasting community that fast together regularly. So if you'd like that extra support and you'd like some more resources. I really encourage you to check that out. And just trust and know that
although it can be very scary to think about giving up certain food items or food altogether. Just know that the reward. Is that great. And so I encourage you to take a step, whatever that step may be to just try fasting, just give it a try. And then we would love to hear from you. How does it go share your testimonies with us? Put your own fasting testimony on that stories page.
And I pray right now that God was speak to you about this, that he would give you guidance and direction. I pray that you would have a sense of peace about it, not have anxiety or obligation, but just knowing that these practices are for our benefit there. Become a delight to us.
The more that we do them. And that God has great things in store for you. He is well-pleased with you and he loves you. And I pray all this over you in Jesus' name.
Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Wholly Well Journey podcast. Please be sure to subscribe and you can also head over to holywelljourney. com to check out the show notes and the whole podcast library. That's also where you'll find information about our health and wellness coaching, which you can participate in online from wherever you are in the world.
Just a reminder and disclaimer that this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for medical advice or professional counseling. Please be sure to consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet or exercise plan or starting to fast. If you're interested in more information about fasting and spiritual disciplines, check out danielfastjourney.
com. Thanks for joining us on this journey to becoming wholly well.