In two previous posts I talked about what Biblical Fasting is and also a Spiritual Fasting How To. In this post, I'd like to discuss a few types of fasting that might be helpful in your own period of fasting. 

Types of Biblical Fasting

As previously discussed, Biblical fasting is really removing obstacles in order to humble ourselves before God. Typically, Biblical fasting involves abstaining from food for a period of time. There are a few types of food related fasts: 

• Fasting from all food/drink (with the exception of water) for a 24 hour period. Pretty obviously here, you abstain from 
  

  Biblical Fasting typically involves no food of any kind. This guy has it right!

  food/drink for one full day. This can also be extended to last for any period of time that you would like. 
• Partaking in a Daniel Fast. In Daniel 10, we read of a fast that includes eating no 'choice foods', no meat, and no wine. Basically, a Daniel Fast includes eating only fruits, vegetables, and grains…that is things that are grown from seed, as is commonly believed to be the original language of the Bible. 
• Fasting from certain foods. People may choose to do this because of a certain affliction from those foods. Maybe you eat too much chocolate and it has serious effect on your life and walk with God. Be a good idea to embark upon a fast for purposes of realigning yourself with God. This is the principle behind Lent. 

In addition to food related fasts, you may choose to fast from television, media, news, books, internet, social media, or a host of other items. Basically, anything that detracts from your walk with God can be fasted from. 

Have you tried any type of Biblical fasting mentioned here? How about any fasts that I have missed? Love to have your voice. 

In a previous post, I talked a bit about Biblical Fasting, which covered basic definitions and what biblical fasting really is. This post is really a nuts and bolts, no nonsense approach on how to fast for spiritual purposes.

First, I think fasting is one of those things that cannot be approached lightly. After all, the real goal of fasting is humbling yourself before God in order to reconnect with him and his purposes. If we approach fasting with a wrong attitude, it doesn't accomplish this goal. So, we must first enter into a period of fasting with a humble heart and mind. Awhile back, I thought about fasting for a day and thought that I would do it the next day. The next day came, I woke up and just wasn't feeling it. My heart and mind were not in the right place. So, I didn't do it, instead I did it the day after that, after spending the first day getting my heart and mind in the right place. Is this always a good thing? Maybe not, but I can tell you that the goals of fasting would not have been met if I had done it on the first day.

Second, fasting must be approached and entered into with a great deal of communication with God. If our goal is humility and one-ness with God, then we must have good dialogue. During the fast, it is important to regularly, if not constantly, to talk with God. Tell him what you're thinking and feeling. Tell him your worries. Tell him how much you love him. Tell him how thankful you are for him. Tell him how mad at him you are. It is okay, he can take it.

Finally, carry on your life as normal. This one is tough sometimes. Part of our human nature is to tell others about what is going on with us. We want to tell people that we are doing this great thing for God. We're tempted to let the world in our little secret with God. In Matthew 6:16-18, we find Jesus addressing this issue. He gives us warning to not look like those who alter their appearance so that everyone may see, but to go about our business as usual, keeping your fasting between you and God.

Biblical fasting can seen as something that only super spiritual people do and seem sort of mysterious. It is my hope and prayer that you'll engage in some sort of fasting, wether it is an all day, all week, or simply a modified fast. There is rich blessing in abstaining from food to commune with God.

What is Biblical Fasting?

At the core, Biblical fasting is about humbling ourselves, submitting ourselves, and admitting that we are 

powerless without God’s intervention in our lives. The principal of Biblical fasting is found throughout the entirety of Scripture, mentioned in a number of different situations. My proposition is that really all of those reasons for fasting come down to one thing: seeking the face of God by bowing at the foot of the Cross. If you have been around Church for very long, you’ve undoubtedly encountered well intentioned folks who mention Biblical fasting as a way to GET something from God. Seeking answers in your life? Fast. Seeking more of something in your life? Fast. The reality is that we need to fast because we already have so much from God. How quickly we forget the blessings that God has bestowed upon us! We easily become like the Israelites, who for forty years wandered in the wilderness, led by God. Moses provides them with a stern reminder:

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. – Deuteronomy 8:2-5

We find in Matthew 4:4 Jesus quoting this passage.  In this passage, Jesus had been led into the wilderness by the Spirit of God, to be tempted by Satan. Here, we find Satan telling Jesus to command stones to turn into bread. Jesus, having been fasting for forty days, was undoubtedly hungry! In fact, the Bible goes so far as to tell us so in Matthew 4:1. If you’ve ever gone extended periods of time without any sort of food, you know what that is like! For most of us in the Western World, we rarely go a day without eating something. In fact, many of the most popular diets have us consuming some sort of meal every three to four hours. This alone tells me that our priorities have become out of alignment.

Again, we join Jesus for a private moment with His Disciples. This instance seems to me to be sort of like a side conversation in a larger story. Sort of like a sideline discussion at the Super Bowl; a coach talking with his players. Join the discussion here in John 4:

Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” “My food,” said Jesus “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” – John 4:31-35

Biblical Fasting: It is not just about food

Central to our discussion on fasting is the idea of food and sustenance. Here, Jesus gives the Disciples (and us) an important lesson on what priority food should really be. Jesus had just had one of the most important discussions in the entirety of the Gospels, breeching enemy lines by speaking with a Samaritan, much less a woman. And the Disciples are worried that Jesus hasn’t had any bread. The Samaritan Woman went back to her town, telling everyone about the Man she met at the well and then all those people believed in Jesus as the Savior. Enter the Disciples, asking Jesus about food. The response Jesus gave seems fitting here: “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” They do appear to be pretty clueless at this moment. It is as if Jesus is saying, “Look up! Look at all the people! If you can’t see that these people are more important than some bread and water, then you have missed the boat! Engage in the harvest of people, join God in his mission and you’ll never hunger!” 

So then, how should we practice Biblical fasting? Fasting really is pretty easy. Stop eating. Give up food for a period of time so that you can remember who really sustains you. Submit yourself to God, humbly asking to simply see his face. Kneel before the foot of the Cross, bringing your life in submission to the meaning and mission of the Cross, bathing in the blood of Jesus.

Probably a more important question is why we should practice biblical fasting. We should fast primarily because we have become separated from God. By that I mean that our hearts, minds, attitudes, ambitions, and entitlements have become misaligned with God’s purposes. We need to join Jesus in his feast, to do the will of Him who sent us and finish His work. We need to enter into Biblical fasting with the mindset of not what we can petition God for, but to humble ourselves and remind ourselves of what our purposes are. Fasting, at its simplest form, really is abstaining from food for a period of time, engaging in prayer, and feasting on communion with God.

While it has seemingly little to do with fasting, one of the most poignant reminders of why we do basically everything in the Christian life is found in Matthew 6:33:

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Basically, before we do anything at all, fasting or otherwise, we need to first and foremost seek His Kingdom and Righteousness. We tend to read this passage and focus on the second half of the verse. We are so focused on getting to the goal, to receiving the prize, that we really forget the how. Seek first his kingdom and righteousness. Really, we should stop there. Our entire reason for living, doing, breathing is really found in this section. We are to seek first, foremost, primarily, only, his kingdom and righteousness…the rest is up to him. He will sustain us; he will provide for us, he will make sure we aren’t hungry. Now, to be clear, it may not be feasts of lobster tail and filet mignon, but we will not die of starvation! We may not live in a mansion, but we will have shelter. We may not have a Mercedes Benz in the driveway that carries us to work, but we still have two feet. This verse is one of the most perverted in all of Scripture. We get it twisted by thinking that if we cling to God, do the things that he says, and basically “be good people”, that God will give us some earthly riches. Not always true!

To bring this all together let me give you the “Tony’s Notes” on Fasting. Fasting is abstaining from food in order to humble ourselves before God. We fast because we quickly forget that nothing but the hand of God can sustain us. We fast in order to remind ourselves of this and reaffirm to God our commitments to him alone. I’m not trying to oversimplify fasting into a sentence, but simply trying to convey that fasting is not as complicated as we have made it out to be.

On a side note: There are many different ways to fast with different reasons for each. Over the course of the next few days, I’ll be discussing different aspects of fasting, both from a spiritual and physical standpoint. If there is something in particular that you would like to discuss, please feel free to reach out and let me know!

To See my related posts on Biblical Fasting, see these related posts:

Types of Biblical Fasting

A Spiritual Fasting How To