Fasting, is it a command?

 Is Fasting a Command?

What is Fasting? Fasting means putting God first

Fasting means self-denial {abstaining from } by going without food for a period of time.

Fasting was commanded under the Law of Moses in connection with the day of atonement. But the new covenant has no such requirements.  Despite the tradition of fasting in the Bible, and Jesus' references to it, the New Testament teachings do not require fasting, and neither Jesus nor His disciples made fasting obligatory.

Reasons for fasting are found in the Bible.

·        Sorrow for and confession of sin (Lev 16:29-34; Num 29:7-11; Deut 9:18; Dan 9:3,4).

·        To seek God’s guidance (e.g., see Judges 20:26)

·        To seek deliverance or protection (e.g., see 2 Chronicles 20:3 – 4)

·        To express repentance and a return to God (e.g., see 1 Samuel 7:6)

·        To humble oneself before God (e.g., see 1 Kings 21:27 – 29)

·        . To express concern for the work of God (e.g., see Nehemiah 1:3 – 4)

·        To minister to the needs of others (e.g., see Isaiah 58:3 – 7)

·        Lamentation and grief (Judg. 20:26; 2 Sam 1:12; Esther 4:3; 9:31).

·        To overcome temptation and dedicate yourself to God (e.g., see Matthew 4:1 – 11

·        To express love and worship for God (e.g., see Luke 2:37)

·        Earnestness of the prayer request (Acts 10:30).

·        To strengthen prayer (e.g., see Ezra 8:23)

Scriptures with examples:

Matthew 6: 17–18 Jesus said: But you when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

Note: Jesus’ statement when you fast Matt. 6:16 indicates that fasting is normal and acceptable in the Christian life.

 He assumes His followers will fast on certain occasions, but He does not give a command or specify a particular time, place, or method.

Because the validity of the Day of Atonement ceased when Jesus made the once-for-all sacrifice on the cross (Heb. 10:10), the single prescribed occasion for fasting has ceased to exist

Jesus’ disciples did not fast while He was with them because fasting is associated primarily with mourning or other times of consuming spiritual need or anxiety.

When the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus why His disciples did not fast as they and the Pharisees did, Jesus replied, “The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn if the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Matt. 9:14–15).

Acts 10:30, Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,”

Acts 14:23, “So when they had appointed elders in every church and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”

1 Corinthians 7:5, in speaking about marriages, “Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”

2 Corinthians 6:5, Paul speaking about all that he had gone through, mentions “in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fasting;”

Mark 9:29, an important verse about having great faith says, “So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.

Distress and Grief

Loss of appetite is a natural reaction in times of distress, grief, and mourning, and fasting was considered appropriate at these times.

When God caused the first child born to Bathsheba by David to be taken ill, David fasted while he pleaded for the infant’s life (2 Sam. 12:16).

He also fasted when Abner died (2 Sam. 3:35).

David even fasted on behalf of his enemies. “When they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer kept returning to my bosom” (Ps. 35:13).

Repentance and Atonement

When Jonah predicted the downfall of Nineveh, The Ninevites fasted as a sign of repentance in hopes God would spare their city (Jonah 3:3-9).

 The Day of Atonement was an annual obligatory day of rest and fasting for the Israelites (Numbers 29:7).

When the Israelites had sinned, they often humbled themselves and fasted in hopes of regaining God's favor (Judges 20:26, 1 Samuel 7:6).

Overwhelming danger often prompted fasting. King Jehoshaphat proclaimed a national fast in Judah when they were threatened with attack from the Moabites and Ammonites (2 Chron. 20:3). From a human standpoint, they could not possibly win, and they cried out to God for help, forsaking food as they did so.

 Queen Esther, her servants, and all the Jews in the capital city of Susa fasted for three full days before she went before the king to plead for the Jews to be spared from Haman’s wicked scheme against her people (Esther 4:16).

As the exiles were about to leave Babylon for the adventurous return to Jerusalem, Ezra declared a fast, “that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions” (Ezra 8:21) 21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions

Penitence was often accompanied by fasting.

David fasted after his double sin of committing adultery with Bathsheba and then having her husband Uriah sent to the front of the battle to be killed.

Daniel fasted as he prayed for God to forgive the sins of his people.

When Elijah confronted Ahab with God’s judgment for his great wickedness, the king “tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently” (1 Kings 21:27). Because of Ahab’s sincerity, the Lord postponed the judgment (v. 29).

 Centuries later, after the exiles had returned safely to Jerusalem, the Israelites were convicted of their intermarrying with unbelieving Gentiles. As Ezra confessed that sin on behalf of his people, “he did not eat bread, nor drink water, for he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles” (Ezra 10:6).

Fasting was sometimes associated with the receiving or proclaiming of a special revelation from God.

As Daniel contemplated Jeremiah’s prediction of the seventy-year desolation of Jerusalem, he gave his “attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes” (Dan. 9:2–3).

Spiritual Preparation

Fasting is self-sacrifice that makes one humble and more accepting of God's will. Moses fasted for forty days in preparation for receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28).

Daniel fasted for three weeks before receiving his vision (Daniel 10:2-6). Elijah fasted forty days before speaking with God (1 Kings 19:8).

Jesus fasted for forty days in preparation for His temptation by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13), before He then began His preaching ministry. Intensity and zeal over proclaiming God’s Word can so consume the mind and heart that food has no appeal and no place.

Before appointing elders

Both before and after the Holy Spirit directed the church at Antioch to set apart Barnabas and Saul for special ministry, the people were praying and fasting (Acts 13:2–3). As those two men of God ministered God’s Word they prayed and fasted as they appointed elders in the churches they founded (14:23).

What you can accomplish with fasting and prayer

Genuine fasting is simply a part of concentrated, intense prayer and concern for the Lord, His will, and His work. Jesus’ point is that the Father never fails to notice fasting that is heartfelt and genuine, and that He never fails to reward it. Your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

It is up to each person to use his or her discretion as to when to fast and for how long.

 Fasting can be used to refocus oneself upon spiritual things and meditation on God.

Fasting can be used to help practice self-control and keep oneself from dependence upon physical things and reestablish ourselves as dependent only upon God. Fasting can be used as an earnest appeal to God.

Fasting and prayer are powerful components to cast out demons and get deliverance from stubborn situations.

Fasting was removed from the scripture

The following is missing from the NIV and other Bible.

·        Matthew 17.21 (Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting, KJV)

·        “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29).

The Devil himself removed “and fasting” from that old hand-copied manuscript in St. Catherine’s Monastery.

The Devil knows that fasting and prayer can be used to overcome him.

That is why the Devil does not want you to fast and pray. And that’s one of the reasons “and fasting” is removed from all modern Bibles. The Devil took it out!

Dr. John R. Rice said fasting means putting God first...How could a Christian ever know that God is first in his life if he never fasts and prays?...

·        One can run a race better if he has not eaten beforehand.

·        Public speakers and singers do not eat in the evening until after their public appearances.

·        Then why cannot a Christian pray better when all his energies are given to that one thing?

When Should You Fast?

In Isaiah 58, God explains some of the reasons for biblical fasting, and others are modeled throughout the Bible, as well. Some of these include:

·        When you are seeking the direction of the Lord

·        When you haven’t received an answer to your prayer

·        For deliverance (breaking the yoke of bondage)

·        On behalf of a friend who is under a heavy burden (to receive insight into their situation or for their deliverance from oppression)

Rewards of prayer

Fasting Subdues Your Flesh: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” –Matthew 26:41 (NIV)

If you need to hear divine direction from the Lord, fasting subdues your flesh and opens your spiritual ears to receive it.

It paves the way for you to hear what God has been saying to you all along.

Whatever the purpose, fasting isn’t just about abstaining from food—it is the act of separating the flesh and letting your spirit cling exclusively to God.

It is the deliberate pushing of everything aside—subduing the flesh—and giving Him your full attention. This allows your spirit man to dominate, and your spiritual ears will be wide open.

Fasting Brings Revelation

“Then [when you have fasted] your light will break out like the dawn, and you will be healed quickly.” –Isaiah 58:8 (CEB)

When you fast, you will begin to receive things from the light of His Word because fasting brings revelation. God will give you revelation, new insight, and understanding—all of which will strengthen your faith to receive from Him.

Fasting helps you to tune in to the spirit realm where healing and all your inheritance already belong to you. Spiritual fasting will shut down the influences of the five physical senses, so you can walk in the spirit. Your healing, your victory, your strength, your faith, and the Fasting Leads to Deliverance

power of God is all in the spirit.

“Is this not the fast I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness….”—Isaiah 58:6 KJV

We have been delivered from the power of darkness through the sacrifice of Jesus. The price has been paid.

The Holy Spirit who lives inside you knows how to pray in order to bring deliverance. Fasting simply brings the spirit man, which is in union with the Holy Spirit, into ascendance over the flesh. It also limits the influence of the physical appetites, so you can more effectively hear from and respond to the Holy Spirit.

The power of prayer and fasting

Prayer and fasting become the sacrifice of praise that confounds and disturbs the evil one to no end. Scripture says, and now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, for I will offer in his tent sacrifices of praise with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD (Psalm 27:6).

It is the instinct of the Church that prayer is good, but that prayer with sacrifice (fasting is sacrificial) wins through, especially in that most difficult work of expelling demons and repelling the enemy

 

 

SOURCE CITED

https://blog.kcm.org/3-rewards-fasting/

https://www.gty.org/library/bibleqnas-library/QA0151/is-fasting-a-command

https://westpalmbeachchurchofchrist.com/topical/diff_quest/commanded_to_fast.html

John R. Rice, D.D., Prayer, Asking and Receiving, pp. 217-218.