“Christian fasting is a believer’s voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes. Other types of fasting-despite the benefits they may produce for the mind and body-could not be classified as Christian fasting, and fasting by a non-Christian obtains no eternal value… And fasting is more than just the ultimate crash diet for the body; it is abstinence from food for spiritual purposes.”
As we see here in this quote from Donald S. Whitney’s book, Spiritual Discipline for the Christian Life, there are two different kinds of fasting, Christian and non-Christian. If both involve the abstinence of food, then what is the difference? Why is there an emphasis on Christian fasting and what does the Bible have to say about this topic? Let’s look at Christian fasting first.
If our bodies were made by God and designed to be sustained by food, then why is fasting honorable to God? In Luke chapter 4 we see that that Jesus was led by the Spirit out into wilderness where He was tempted by the devil for 40 days. In verse 2 we see that during these 40 days Jesus fasted from all food. This passage does not give us an answer as to why He was fasting during this time in the wilderness, rather the scripture focuses on the temptations that Jesus was faced with and His responses to them. As Jesus was being tempted by the devil He needed to rely on His heavenly father to fight for Him in the spiritual realm. But as He fasted He also had to rely on His Father to fight for Him as He physically suffered from being hungry. Although we’re not told why Jesus fasted I believe the reason He did so was to show and remind Himself who He put His sole dependence in. Deuteronomy 8:3 says “Yes, He humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Yes, our bodies were designed for food, but when food becomes a distraction or that’s where we put our focus and believe that food is where we get our strength we have then made it a god in our lives. For this purpose, fasting is good. In the abstinence of food or any other type of fasting, we are allowing space for the Lord to do something in our lives. Besides allowing the Lord more control in your life, what other value or reward is there in fasting for the Christian? Oftentimes when a person is fasting they are doing so for a specific person or situation. In the self-denial of food, the person turns to the Lord on behalf of the situation when the hunger pains occur. During that intimate time of dependency on the sustainer of life, the Lord often uses that time to speak, give an answer or a new perspective to the person fasting about said situation. If we continue reading in Deuteronomy where the Lord is speaking to the Israelites about there time in the wilderness, the Lord tells them what all He did for them during the time without food. “For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell.” The Israelites were also given manna, “a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors.” Look at the Lord’s provisions for His people. They were being blessed in other ways while they were focusing on their loss. I’d like to point out that the Israelites we not actually fasting during their time in the wilderness. They were simply with out food. Their fast was not a heart decision, but the Lord still provided and blessed them. How much more than does the Father answer and provide for His Children when they deny themselves of something available to them in abundance?
Now that we have seen a biblical example of fasting, and the value fasting has in the Christian life, let’s look at fasting for a non-Christian. The motive behind fasting in this situation appears shallow and possibly even harmful. If you are abstaining from food but have no spiritual expectations than that would lead me to believe that one possible motive for doing so is self-image. Many, especially girls, think that if they starve themselves they will lose weight. I see two issues here. The first is that this is not physically healthy or correct. While skipping meals may not cause you to feel stuffed or gain weight this is certainly not the way to lose it. The healthiest way to lose extra weight actually has nothing to do with fasting, but rather eating the right foods, in the right quantities. I have also heard of people fasting for a clear mind or new perspective. But if you do not believe there is higher being giving you that new perspective then what is happening when you fast? In my experience, fasting without the Lord only makes you hungry. There is no one to sustain or work through the person fasting, therefore is fast fasting for a non-Christian really productive? In contrast to Christian fasting, here there are no heavenly blessings. There is no one providing manna, clothes don’t wear out, and feet that will not blister or swell. The only reward for fasting in the flesh is that which we can do for ourselves physically and mentally, which I have already proven to be non-constructive.
As Donald Whitney stated, Christian fasting is a believer’s voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes and fasting by a non-Christian obtains no eternal value. The value in fasting by a Christian is great and far beyond human control. By simply removing the distraction that food can be, we are inviting the Lord to do something in the void and recognizing that He is where our strength comes from. “We do not live by bread alone; rather we live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
