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Biblical Fasting

Fasting as used in the Bible means “not to eat” or “self-denial.” In the Old Testament the word fast is derived from the Hebrew term tsom, which refers to the practice of self-denial. In the New Testament, the Greek word is nestia, which also refers to self-denial. A summary of the biblical teaching on fasting reveals it to be choosing not to partake of food because spiritual hunger is so deep, determination in intercession is so intense, or spiritual warfare is so demanding that you temporarily set aside even fleshly needs to give yourself more wholly to prayer.

A normal fast involves fasting from all food, but not from water (Matthew 4:2). An absolute fast is very rare, and involves abstaining from food and water in the face of extreme spiritual emergency (Acts 9:9; Ezra 10:6; Esther 4:16; Deuteronomy 9:9, 18; Exodus 34:28; 1 Kings 19:8). Because the body needs fluids to survive, one would need to be very sure of the leading of God to undertake such a fast for any period longer than three days. A partial fast is the restriction of one’s diet as opposed to complete abstention (Daniel 10:3). Fasting may also include skipping a meal consistently or abstaining from certain foods or other activities. Many of us would benefit from a media fast from television, movies, and the internet.

Typically, biblical fasting went for one complete twenty-four-hour period, usually from sundown to sundown. As we previously mentioned, the early church fasted two days every week, Wednesday and Friday. Pharisees fasted on Tuesday and Thursday. Other biblical fasts went from three to forty days.

In the Bible, there are both individual and corporate fasts. Corporate fasts could involve the whole church (Acts 13:1–4) or even the entire nation (Jonah 3; Esther 4; 2 Chronicles 20).

The early church also practiced fasting for several days prior to Easter. Later, this fast took the form of a series of one-day fasts each week for the weeks leading up to Easter. It was also customary for Christians in the post-apostolic period to fast in preparation for their baptism.