What Does The Bible Say About Fasting?
Published Aug 01, 2021
You may think that, in this day and age, religious fasting has become irrelevant. But if you read the bible, you may reconsider that opinion.
So what does the bible say about fasting?
The practice of fasting is mentioned in both the Old and the New Testaments. But they have rather different views on the subject.
In the Old Testament, fasting is depicted as a sacrifice. People voluntarily deny themselves food and drink either as a form of penance or to ask for a favor from God. In books like Leviticus, strict laws are laid out on how – and when – people should fast. This usually includes putting on a sackcloth and sprinkling ashes on your head. In modern Christianity, this is what we usually call the biblical fast.
But when Jesus Christ came, he expressed a different view on fasting. In the book of Matthew, he said that fasting need not involve disfiguring your face just so others will know you are fasting. He also emphasized that fasting is not only about not eating or drinking. True Christian fasting also involves abstaining from sin. It’s more than just starving yourself. Rather, it’s about denying yourself material pleasures in favor of spiritual nourishment. In short, fasting should be done in the sight of God and only for the purpose of seeking God’s approval rather than that of men.
To give you a better perspective, here are some bible verses about fasting both from the Old and New Testaments.
Fasting in the Old Testament
- When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. – Psalm 69:10
- So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. – Ezra 8:23
- “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. – Joel 2:12
- Is not this the fast that I choose: to lose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? – Isaiah 58:6
- If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. – 2 Chronicles 7:14
- Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. – Ezra 8:21
- And the people of Nineveh believed in God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. – Jonah 3:5-6
- I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. – Daniel 10:3
- Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. – Isaiah 58:5-8
- David, therefore, sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. – 2 Samuel 12:16
So he was there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. – Exodus 34:28-29
Fasting in the New Testament
- So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. – 1 Corinthians 10:31
- And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:16-18
- Be careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. – Matthew 6:1
- Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. – 1 Corinthians 8:8
- And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. – Luke 5:33-35
- And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” – Matthew 4:3-4
- But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. – 1 Corinthians 9:27
- Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After he fasted 40 days and 40 nights he was famished. – Matthew 4:2
- While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” – Acts 13:2
Just like how Daniel fasted and prayed in obedience to Him, fasting and prayer help bring us closer to God. The willingness to give up the things we desire the most and consciously avoid sin is the utmost expression of our love for Him. It gives us the courage and strength to resist temptation and become worthy to be called one of his people.
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About The Author
Judy Ponio is a professional writer for the Lay Cistercians blog and a devoted Catholic. She works hard to ensure her work uses accurate facts by cross checking reputable sources.
