The importance of fasting in the bible

The importance of fasting with reference to the Bible includes the following:

• Fasting helps us to receive God’s revelation (Daniel 110:1–9, 12–14)
• Fasting helps to build up our faith (Luke 2:37)
• Fasting helps us get direction from the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:1-4)
• Fasting causes God to deliver us from life-threatening situations (Esther 4:16)
• Fasting helps us overcome temptations (Matthew 4:1–3, 5–6, 8)
• Fasting is key to commissioning God’s servants for ministry (Acts 13:1-4; Acts 14:23).
• Fasting can deliver us from the wrath of God or other calamities (Jonah 3:5–9, Joel 2:1–13, 1 Kings 21:25)
• Fasting helps us get protection from God (Ezra 8:21–23)
• Fasting qualifies us for God’s reward (Matthew 6:16–18)
• More benefits of fasting (Isaiah 58:8–12)

Let us examine the aforementioned importance of fasting as outlined in the identified scriptures.

1. Fasting helps us receive God’s revelation about hidden secrets and mysteries

Daniel was one of the captives taken to Babylon when King Nebuchadnezzar attacked and subdued Jerusalem. He served under the three Kings of Babylon, namely, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius.

He was a devout servant of God who spent his life seeking God through the study of His word, prayer, and fasting. As a result, the Spirit of God dwelt in Daniel, making him one of the wisest men of his time. He was able to reveal hidden secrets and explain mysteries under the direction of the Spirit of God.

Through the study of God’s word, he came to understand that the time for Israel’s captivity in Babylon had come to an end. However, what he didn’t understand was the reason why they had not been released. As a result, he decided to seek God through prayer and fasting for three full weeks, that is, twenty-one days. This account is recorded in Daniel 10:1–9, 12–14, as follows:

“In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, but the appointed time was long, and he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision. In those days, I, Daniel, was in mourning for three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food; no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.”

“Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.”

And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled and hid themselves. Therefore, I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength. Yet I heard the sound of his words, and while I heard the sound of his words, I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.”

“Then he said to me, ‘Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.’”

From this passage, we realize that, right from the onset, after Daniel had committed to seeking the face of God through prayer and fasting, an angel of God was dispatched with the answer to his prayers. However, a delay occurred due to the intervention of the powers of darkness, represented by the prince of Persia. Thus, heaven responded by sending another angel as reinforcement, and Daniel got the answer to his prayers.

Likewise, just like Daniel, if we commit our lives to prayer, fasting, and study of God’s word, we will be positioning ourselves to receive great revelations from God.

In addition, God may even dispatch angels to come to our rescue when answers to our prayers are delayed due to interference by the principalities and powers of darkness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12–13).

2. Fasting helps build up our faith

In the book of Luke 2:36–38, we come across a woman called Anna. This woman had been married but later became a widow. She never departed from the temple, where she spent her days in prayer and fasting. All her life, she had this faith that one day she would see the savior of Israel. Her desire was fulfilled when baby Jesus was brought to the temple by Mary and Joseph to be prayed for. This is what the scripture says

“Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband for seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years who did not depart from the temple but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant, she gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”

Just like Anna, if we can continue steadfastly in prayer and fasting, our faith in God is strengthened, and we are able to patiently wait for the manifestation of the things that we desire God to do for us.

3. Fasting helps us get direction from the Holy Spirit

When we fast, we become tuned into the spiritual realm, and we are able to hear exactly what the Holy Spirit wants us to do. We find this example in Acts 13:2, which says:

“Now in the church that was at Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon, who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.”

4. Fasting causes God to deliver us from life-threatening situations

In the book of Esther, we read about the deliverance of Jews from the threat of annihilation engineered by Haman. It so happened that Haman, who had been promoted by the king, got angry with a Jew called Mordecai, who had refused to bow before him as a way of recognizing his promotion. As a result, Haman decided to kill not only Mordecai but also all the Jews in that kingdom.

So, Mordecai reached out to Queen Esther, who was also a Jew, for help. We see Esther calling for a fast, after which a great deliverance is wrought by God on behalf of His people. Haman got hanged, and the Jews were delivered from the threat of extermination.

We find this story in the book of Esther 4:15–17; 8:7-8; 8:15–17, recorded as follows:

“Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.’

So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.”

“Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, Indeed, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay his hand on the Jews. You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring, no one can revoke.’”

“So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple, and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. The Jews had light, gladness, joy, and honor. And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast, and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.”

In the same manner, God can help fight any battle in our lives if we wholly give ourselves to Him, through steadfast prayer, fasting, and study of His word.

5. Fasting helps us overcome temptations

Fasting can help us overcome trials and temptations that come our way on a day-to-day basis. We get this example from Jesus Himself, whom the Bible tells us was led to the wilderness by the Spirit in order to be tempted. We are told that after fasting for forty days and forty nights, the enemy came to tempt Him but did not succeed in all three attempts. We read this in Matthew 4:1–3, 5–6, and 8 as follows:

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now the tempter came to Him and said, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.

But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’’

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and ‘in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Jesus said to him, It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’’

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘all these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’

Then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve.’’ Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”

It is worth noting that after overcoming the devil in all these temptations, the Bible tells us that Jesus then left the wilderness to go and begin His three-year ministry. This means that, before you begin a job or project of any kind, it is a good idea not only to pray about it but also to supplement those prayers with fasting. By so doing, you are guaranteed good success as long as the job or project is aligned with God’s will for your life.

6. Fasting is key to commissioning God’s servants for ministry

The Bible teaches that when we humble ourselves by prayer and fasting, God is able to deliver us from calamities that He initially purposed against us because of our sins. We read this in several scriptures regarding the people of Nineveh who responded to Jonah’s call for repentance, repentance by King Ahab; and the call for repentance by Prophet Joel.

Jonah 3:5–10 says

“So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the King and his nobles, saying,

Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily to God; yes. Let everyone turn from his evil ways and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent and turn away from His fierce anger so that we may not perish?

Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.”

In the same vein, in Joel 2:12-13, God commits to forgiving us our sins as long as we return to Him through prayer and fasting. This is what the scripture says

“’Now, therefore,’ says the LORD, ‘turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.’”

In 1 Kings 21:25–28, we see God postponing the calamity he had pronounced against King Ahab because he humbled himself before God with prayers and fasting. The scripture says:

“But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel, his wife, stirred him up. And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning.

And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring calamity in his days. In the days of his son, I will bring calamity to his house.’”

7. Fasting helps us get protection from God

When faced with dangers of various kinds, prayers and fasting can be used to petition God for protection. In Ezra 8:21–23, we find Ezra and a company of Jews heading back to Jerusalem to begin the work of reconstructing the city. Knowing of the danger they would face on the road to Jerusalem, Ezra proclaimed a fast to petition God for His protection over the entire company that was traveling with him. God answered this prayer, and they had a safe journey. The scripture says:

“Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God and seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, ‘The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.’ So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.”

8. Fasting qualifies us for God’s reward

Jesus also teaches us that humbling ourselves before God in prayer and fasting can earn us a reward. We read this in Matthew 6:16–18, which says

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces so that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

9. More benefits of fasting

The prophet Isaiah also enumerates for us the importance of fasting in Isaiah 58:8–12. He teaches that when we fast in the right way, the following things will happen to us:

“Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday.

The LORD will guide you continually, satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell in.’”

Conclusion

This article has discussed the importance of fasting in the Bible, as shown by the following examples:

• Fasting helps us receive God’s revelation (Daniel 10:1–9, 12–14)
• Fasting helps to build up our faith (Luke 2:37)
• Fasting helps us get direction from the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:1-4)
• Fasting causes God to deliver us from life-threatening situations (Esther 4:16)
• Fasting helps us overcome temptations (Matthew 4:1–3, 5–6, 8)
• Fasting is key to commissioning God’s servant for ministry (Acts 13:1-4; Acts 14:23)
• Fasting may deliver us from the wrath of God or other calamities (Jonah 3:5–9, Joel 2:1–13, 1 Kings 21:25–27)
• Fasting helps us get protection from God (Ezra 8:21–23)
• Fasting qualifies us for God’s reward (Matthew 6:16–18)

Consequently, every serious Christian should consider incorporating fasting into their lifestyle to reap its maximum benefits. Remember, fasting is not a way of arm-twisting God into granting us our wishes. Instead, it is a discipline through which we learn to humble ourselves before God as we wait for the fulfillment of His purposes in our lives. Again, before you fast, ask the Holy Spirit for direction on how to go about it.

I hope the information was helpful. Thank you.

Related Post: How to fast according to the bible

You can buy us coffee as a thank you gesture by clicking on this link: Buy Me a Coffee

Are you a born-again Christian? If not, kindly say the following prayer from the bottom of your heart, and you will get saved.

Prayer to become a born-again Christian

“Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and hereby ask for your forgiveness;

I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that you are the only begotten Son of the living God.

I believe that you were sent by your Father to the earth to save sinners like me.

I now accept you as my personal Lord and Savior.

Come into my heart and baptize me with The Holy Spirit.

Thank you for saving me.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

Amen!”

Congratulations friend! You are now a born-again Christian!

Welcome to the Family of God!

Benediction

“The LORD bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.”

(Numbers 6:24-26)

Shalom.

Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/