The Fasting Practiceනියැදිය

Day 1: To Offer Ourselves to Jesus

I love to eat. One of my favorite pastimes is cooking for our family and community — homemade sourdough pizza is my specialty. So it comes as no surprise that I’m far more comfortable feasting than fasting.

And yet, I am an apprentice of Jesus. And Jesus fasted. He began his ministry with forty days of fasting in the wilderness. When the devil tempted him to eat, he said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

In Matthew 6:16-18, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives a quick teaching on fasting. Notice two things: One, Jesus assumes that his disciples will practice fasting. He says, “When you fast,” not, “If you fast.” And, two, when you fast, the Father “will reward you.” Meaning, there’s a gift waiting for you on the other side of fasting.

And yet today, very few Christians fast. But we used to. Let me give you a brief history of fasting.

There are stories of fasting all through the Old Testament. By the time of Jesus, it was common practice for the Jewish people to fast twice a week until sundown. And the early Christians continued this practice. Additionally, Lent, the six weeks prior to Easter, was originally a fast, where followers of Jesus would not eat until sundown each day. Followers of Jesus used to fast, a lot. It’s one of the most essential and powerful of all the practices of Jesus, and, arguably, the single most neglected in the modern, Western church.

So, let’s cover the basics of fasting.

First off, what is fasting, exactly? Fasting is — at its most basic — not eating food. It’s not abstinence, which is abstaining from a particular activity like social media or shopping. It’s also not a restricted diet, where you only eat certain food types.

Second, how long is a fast? There’s no set time. The most common fast is from waking until sundown, but there are examples in Scripture of up to forty-day fasts.

Third, when do you fast? Because fasting is not a command, that’s up to you. In both Scripture and in church history, we do see two different types of fasting: fasting as rhythm and as response. Rhythm: This would be fasting twice a week for most of church history. But then, response: Most of the examples of fasting in Scripture are in response to a national crisis, like an invasion, or sin, or to grief and loss.

Finally, we come to the most important question of all: Why do we fast? There are all sorts of reasons we fast, but to group them into four basic categories, we fast to offer ourselves to Jesus, to grow in holiness, to amplify our prayers, and to stand with the poor. We want to talk about all four reasons. But for today, we’re starting at the heart of it, the most central reason of all: To offer ourselves to Jesus.

I think of Paul’s line in Romans 12: “In view of God’s mercy ... offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship.” We offer our whole persons, including our bodies, to Jesus “in view of God’s mercy” — meaning, we do this for him, because of all he’s done for us. We give up food, because he gave up everything; we offer our bodies in devotion because he already gave his for our salvation.

We fast for all sorts of reasons. But this is the primary reason we fast; not to get something from Jesus, but to give something to Jesus — what Paul calls “worship” — our love, affection, and devotion.

To end, Jesus assumed his disciples would fast. But he never commanded fasting. You don’t have to fast. But Jesus fasted. And then said, “Come, and follow me” (Matthew 4v19).

So, if you want to offer your body and all that you are to Jesus in love, practice fasting.