The secret benefit of fasting

We tend to think of fasting in a negative light. It makes sense: fasting is abstinence. It is giving up food and drink or other blessings that come from God. Perhaps the reason so many of us fast so rarely is that we think of fasting more as something we are giving up than as something we are gaining.

But Christian fasting is not just about giving up. It is not just about abstaining. The purpose of Christian fasting, in fact, is not about abstaining, but about receiving. Our abstinence is always for some greater purpose and purpose—some ultimate gain, not loss. Christian fasting is abstinence for a specific Christian purpose, or it is not true Christian fasting.

Jesus had no doubt about whether His church would fast. «Whenever you fast,» He said, not «if» (Matt. 6:16–17). «Then they will fast,» He promised (Matt. 9:15). And so the early church fasted (Acts 9:9; 13:2; 14:23), and for two millennia Christians have fasted. And when we have done it in a truly Christian way, the end result has not been loss but gain. But for Christian fasting to become a spiritual feast, we must reiterate its purpose and benefit.

The purpose of (Christian) fasting

Today, fasting is becoming fashionable again in many circles, and this means that Christians should pay even closer attention to this topic, taking their cue from Jesus rather than popular culture. A few generations ago, many voices argued that fasting was harmful to health. Today, more and more nutritionists are advocating: «When done properly, fasting can have beneficial physical effects» («Celebration of Discipline,» p. 48). But what is the difference between fashionable fasting and Christian fasting?

The key difference is the Christian purpose. We could say Spiritual purpose—with a capital letter for the Holy Spirit. Not just spiritual in the context of opposing the material, but Spiritual in the context of opposing the natural. For Christians, the essential, integral component of Christian fasting is the Christian purpose. It may be to increase sincere prayer (Ezra 8:23; Joel 2:12; Acts 13:3), to seek God’s guidance (Judg. 20:26; Acts 14:23), or to seek His salvation or protection (2 Chron. 20:3–4; Ezra 8:21–23). It can also be humility before Him (1 Sam. 21:27–29; Ps. 35:13), an expression of repentance (1 Sam. 7:6; Jonah 3:5–8) or regret (1 Sam. 31:13; 2 Sam. 1:11–12), concern for His cause (Neh. 1:3–4; Dan. 9:3), overcoming temptation and dedicating ourselves to Him (Matt. 4:1–11). And most importantly, an expression of love and devotion to Him (Luke 2:37) and saying through our fasting, «Oh God, I long for You more.».

Without a Spiritual Purpose, it is not Christian fasting. It is simply starvation.

Benefits of (Christian) fasting

Christians may fast for dietary reasons and for various physical benefits that nutritionists are now emphasizing. But dietary goals do not make fasting Christian. Instead, what spiritual fruitage can we receive from God in response to our conscious Christian fasting? How does God reward faith-filled fasting?

The fact that fasting is a reward is spoken of by Christ himself in a very significant place. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls on us to fast in secret, not for show, promising that «your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly» (Matt. 6:18). This clearly indicates that God rewards fasting. But how exactly?

First, it is important to clarify: the fasting that God rewards is not a declaration of our willpower, but an expression of our emptiness, a longing to be filled by Him. Christian fasting does not come from our own strength, but from the heart in which God himself works (Phil. 2:12–13) and the strength that He provides (1 Pet. 4:11).

Realizing that it is not about our strength or will, what rewards does He give through His free and unforced grace when we fast for Him and not to show others?

Answers to sincere prayers

The first and most obvious answer is the reward for what we fast for. What was the specific purpose of our fast, as we mentioned above? Fasting serves as an aid to prayer. It accompanies the specific petition we address to God through the access we have in Christ (Rom. 5:2; Eph. 2:18; 3:12), and it manifests an unusual sincerity. Fasting, as a servant of prayer, makes a special supplication to God with an added intensity that goes beyond ordinary daily prayer.

Fasting is a kind of special measure in the life of faith. Normal life is not fasting. Normal life is constant prayer and enjoyment of the Creator through His gifts—food and drink. Fasting is a special regime designed for extraordinary prayer and for demonstrating to the Creator that we enjoy Him more than His gifts.

More than God himself

This leads us to the highest reward of Christian fasting and to the «best of all» goals we have already emphasized: God himself. More important than God’s earthly guidance, protection, deliverance, and provision is our eternal acceptance and joy in Him.

God created us to eat and drink so that we might see Him in it. He created our world to be eaten and drunk so that we might better experience His goodness when our mouths are full and remember that He is better than food and drink when our bellies are empty. Fasting serves as a reminder that our God is the Great Sanctuary itself: «Come, all you who thirst, come to the waters; he who has no money; come, buy and eat; come, buy wine and milk without money and without price» (Isa. 55:1).

God Himself in Christ is the One who satisfies more than the best food, and quenches our thirst more than the purest water, the sweetest milk, and the best wine. In Him our souls «eat that which is good,» and we «enjoy the fatness of flesh» (Isa. 55:2). He is the One who says, «To him that is thirsty I will give out of the fountain of the water of life freely» (Rev. 21:6). We who have tasted and seen His goodness (Ps. 34:8) now join with His Spirit in saying, «Come! And let him that is thirsty come; and let him that will, let him take the water of life freely» (Rev. 22:17).

Cast your pains on Jesus

When we fast, our stomach aches and discomforts remind us that Jesus is real food, not our daily bread, and that Jesus is real drink, not our usual drinks. Christians will fast, as Jesus promised, because as people of faith, we know that believing in Him means coming to Him to satisfy the hunger of our soul and quench the thirst of our soul (John 6:35). And one of the best regular reminders of this can be to temporarily abstain from other foods and drinks.

The great (and often hidden) reward of fasting is God himself. «Open your mouth wide,» he says as we empty our bellies, «and I will fill it» (Ps. 81:10). God rewards Christian fasting because it aligns us with God’s very purpose in the universe: to glorify Himself in our desire, delight, and satisfaction with Him. And He rewards this not only with what we ask for during the fast, but ultimately with His very being as our need, delight, and satisfaction.

Christian fasting is not so much about what we deprive ourselves of, but about who we desire more.