• Fasting is the practice of physically putting aside food, maybe even food and drink for a time, as a physical expression of a spiritual reality. It’s basically saying, “More than our bodies are dependent on food, our souls and lives are dependent on God.” When we fast, we set aside a meal when we don’t eat— breakfast, lunch or dinner. Maybe we set aside a day not to eat, or maybe longer than that—a few days, a week or more. When we do this, what we’re saying is, “There’s something more important in my life than physical nourishment. More than I need food, I need God.” Fasting is a physical reminder of that spiritual reality. I know this is a foreign concept among many, so I want to give you a quick overview of why we do it.

• In Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus teaches us a few of the reasons not to fast. He says, “And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face 18 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.” Jesus teaches us that our fasting should not motivated by the praise of others. It should be motivated by a heart for God. That's what fasting means: a heart-hunger for God and his kingdom.

Biblical reasons to fast:

1. We fast to express our delight in God’s goodness. 

• Think of Psalm 63:1: “God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you.” My soul thirsts for You more than water and is satisfied in You. My soul is satisfied in You as with the richest of foods. If You give me an incredibly rich meal, my soul is more satisfied in You than in this. What we’re saying in fasting is that we delight in God’s goodness. More than we enjoy food, we enjoy God. 
• Fasting is a physical statement that says, “More than I want lunch right now, I want God.” We put aside lunch for a day, then instead of eating a sandwich, we pray and read the Word. In so doing, we’re saying, “More than I want a sandwich, I just want You.” That’s what I love about Zechariah 8:19: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts.” Fasting is feasting. It’s not like starving—it’s like feasting on God instead of food. It’s better. We express our delight in God’s goodness and we confess our need for God’s grace.          

2. We fast in times of confessions and repentance for sin. 

• Often in the Old Testament, in places like Joel 1 and 2, we see fasting associated with times of confession and repentance for sin. Fasting is saying that more than we need a meal, we need God’s mercy to cover over our sin. We fast when we are confronted with our sin. If we’re struggling with a particular besetting sin, our impulse should be to fast, to set aside food for a time, saying, “God, help me in this battle with this sin. I need Your mercy more than I need a meal.”   

3. We fast to seek and submit to God’s will. 

• Often people in Scripture fasted when a decision needed to be made, when they were seeking to know what God desired them to do. We think of Ezra 8, Nehemiah 1 and Daniel 9. They either needed to know God’s will, or they knew God’s will but they needed help following it. What we’re saying when we fast is that more than we want our hunger to cease, we want God’s Kingdom to come and His will to be done in our lives.

4. We fast to anticipate the return of God’s Son. 

• In Matthew 9:14, we find Jesus’ teaching on fasting: “Then the disciples of John came to [Jesus], saying, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’” The disciples weren’t fasting. “And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.’”
• Jesus was saying that when the bride and bridegroom are together—a picture of Him and His disciples—you don’t fast then. You celebrate. Then when they’re apart, that’s when you fast. Fasting is an expression of an aching, a longing, a hunger inside of you because Christ is not here. He’s coming back, but He’s not here right now, so we long for His return. Fasting is a physical expression that says more than our stomachs long to be full, our souls long to see Christ. 
• We are tired of sin and suffering in this world. We’re tired of the injustices around us. We’re tired of pain and cancer and diseases and tumors and death. We long for Jesus to come back and bring an end to that and fasting is an expression of that longing. So if we’re not fasting, then what are we saying? We’re content with being apart from Christ. Not fasting is an expression of a lack of desire for Jesus to return. More than our stomachs long to be full, our souls long to see Christ.

• All followers of Jesus should fast and pray often.

• In Matthew 6:16–18, the gripping thing from this text are the words in verse 16, "And whenever you fast . . . " Notice that it does not say, "If you fast," but, "when you fast." From this, we can conclude that Jesus assumed that fasting was a good thing and that it would be done by his disciples. Jesus does not teach on whether we should fast or not. He is assuming we will fast and teaching us how to do it and especially how not to do it.

• Maybe you’ve never fasted at all. We as pastors have not talked about this as we should. In Scripture, fasting is a basic as praying. When you look at the beginning of Matthew 6, “When you give, give like this... When you pray, pray like this... When you fast, fast like this...” We don’t ask, “Should we give?” We know we should give. “Should we pray?” We know we should pray. “Should we fast?” Jesus says it’s just as basic as prayer and giving. 

Below is an acronym to help you during a fast:

Focus on God. 

Abstain from food. 

Substitute the time with prayer and study. 

Taste and see that God is good.