What Is the Purpose of Fasting?Намуна

“Man shall not live by bread alone…”

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

The Biblical discipline of fasting is best described as abstaining from food for a certain length of time to set your mind on God. This practice might seem rather odd to us today. After all, why would an empty stomach be “spiritually benefitting” in some way or another? You might be surprised to learn that Jesus actually expected His followers to fast. When Jesus was asked why His disciples did not fast, He answered that they were not fasting regularly, because He was still with them. But listen to what Jesus says next: “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”(Mark 2:20)

Notice that Jesus did not say they can or might fast. He said they will fast.

Jesus expected His apostles to fast once He was taken away to heaven. In fact, Jesus Himself fasted. When Jesus was hungry, the devil tried to tempt Him by asking if He could turn some stones into bread. Jesus responded by quoting from Deuteronomy that people don’t live by bread alone, but by every word from God. This response reveals the powerful reason why God chose fasting as a way to seek Him. When we fast, we suddenly notice how dependent our body is. Without food and water, we don’t survive for long. But more importantly, without God we wouldn’t live at all. God is the one who gave us everything, not only our food, but even our life. Fasting is a great reminder that we should be thankful for what God has given us.

The question is, though, are we still willing to be dependent upon God?