Mark 2:20 “But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”
This section also falls under the heading of that which God counsels us, because it is not considered sinful to the saint that chooses not to follow God’s counsel in this area. One aspect of presenting our bodies to the Lord is in the area of fasting. We all know that our Lord Jesus fasted for forty days prior to the launch of His earthly ministry (Matthew 4:2). Obviously the Lord does not expect all of His disciples to go on forty day fasts, although some have, nevertheless in the above quoted passage of scripture He did say that as His disciples, we would fast after He was raised from the dead. And so although the Lord does not command us to fast and there is no transgression incurred if the saint chooses not to fast, nevertheless it is clearly evident that He expects that as His disciples, we will fast from time to time.
Matthew 6:17-18 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, (18) so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
As we have already said, clearly the Lord Jesus expects His saints to fast from time to time, for He even gave us instructions as to how we are to conduct ourselves when we fast. In the above quoted passage of scripture He stated that we are not to appear to men to be fasting, but rather that it should be done as an act between ourselves and God alone. And so the Lord would not have given us this instruction if it wasn’t His will that we should fast.
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.”
We know that fasting was an integral part of the believer’s lives in the early church, for the book of Acts mentions the saints fasting on numerous occasions, and the apostle Paul also refers to fasting in a number of his letters to the church. For example, in the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul stated that he and his entire ministry team always prayed and fasted before appointing elders in any of the churches that they had planted.
1 Corinthians 7:5 “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.”
Someone said that fasting is really only for those who are called to the ministry and not for the saints. That narrative is not correct however, for in the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit even teaches married couples how they are to conduct themselves when they fast, for He counsels them to abstain from intimacy during their time of fasting. And so the Lord would not give the church this type of counsel if it was not His will that all of His disciples should fast from time to time.
Acts 13:2 “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
So why do we fast? There are various scientific studies that have shown that fasting benefits one’s health over the long term, nevertheless even though it may be beneficial for our health that is not the reason why we fast. Someone said that fasting does not change God and that is true, for the Lord is the same before we fast, during our fast, and after we fast. Scripture does reveal a number of reasons why we fast however, one of which is to enable the believer to more clearly discern the leading of the Holy Spirit. For example, in the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit reveals to us that while Paul and Barnabas were fasting and praying, they received guidance from the Lord regarding their apostolic ministries. There are numerous other incidents that can be quoted from scripture that confirm the same truth to us, i.e. that God gives guidance to His saints when they fast. For example while Peter was fasting and praying he was given the vision that led him to minister to the gentiles for the first time (Acts 10:10). In another example we see that while Cornelius was fasting and praying, that the Lord gave him an angelic visitation instructing him to call Peter to his home that they might hear the gospel so that he and his household could be saved (Acts 10:30). And so we can clearly see that fasting is one of the mechanisms that the Lord uses to assist the saints to more easily discern the Lord’s guidance for their lives.
Michael E.B. Maher
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