To fast or not to fast?

Jesus said, When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do… Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full... Matthew 6:16-18

Not long ago I heard a sermon about fasting. The preacher was someone I knew just a bit, and for whom I had great respect – thoroughly biblical, practical, and always humble and warm.

It was interesting that right at the start he confessed (with some embarrassment) that fasting was something he had never done, though he had been a Christian for many years, and a preacher for quite a few.

Why then had he decided to preach on the subject!

Simple: he was working his way through Matthew’s Gospel, and had reached Matthew 6:16-18, where Jesus doesn’t tell his followers to fast, but simply assumes that they will: “When you fast…” It’s true that the passage as a whole is a warning to his followers not to make a show of their religion – and given that he is a Jew speaking to his fellow-Jews, and given that fasting was a normal feature of Judaism, he naturally includes it in the examples he mentions, along with “giving to the needy” (verse 2) and “prayer” (verse 5).

In other words, Jesus isn’t mainly concerned here about fasting, but about the kind of hypocrisy that loves to flaunt its faith in order to impress.

But still, there Jesus’ assumption is, plain as day, and the preacher (all credit to him!) didn’t feel it would be honest to skip over it and hope that nobody noticed. With a slightly shame-faced smile he told us that now he would have to take fasting more seriously. (I never discovered if he did, but then I didn’t hear him regularly.) And so we had a sermon on fasting…

I suspect that most of us likewise tend to push fasting to the back of our minds and not really take it seriously – to some extent I plead guilty to that myself. And it’s true that it’s not a prominent theme in the New Testament, cropping up in just a handful of places.

The most obvious example, of course, is Jesus himself fasting for forty days and nights (!) in the wilderness (Matthew 4). Then there are the leaders of the church in Antioch; they receive the Holy Spirit’s guidance to send out Barnabas and Saul as missionaries “while they were worshipping the Lord and fasting” (Acts 13:1-3).

The basic purpose of fasting is simple: to draw closer to God by denying ourselves things which otherwise tend (quite properly) to fill our horizons. This is clear from Paul’s teaching on marriage and other sexual matters in 1 Corinthians 7. In verse 5 he tells married couples not to overdo what we might call sexual fasting, but he does recognise that it may sometimes be helpful “so that you may devote yourselves to prayer”. We fast, in whatever form, in order to deepen our relationship with God.

So what about us? If, like that preacher, we feel perhaps we ought to take it more seriously, when might we put it into practice? Let me suggest a few possibilities…

First, if we are aware of having fallen into some sin, it might be a good way of demonstrating to God our true sorrow, and of asking him to cleanse and renew us.

Second, we might be facing a big decision – to go for a particular job; whether or not we should marry; how to handle a delicate situation. A time of fasting might help to clear our minds, get things in perspective, and so be better able to discern God’s will for us.

Third, we might have a serious need – sickness, financial worries, family problems – or even a crisis on our hands. Spending time focussing on God, seeking healing or simply peace of mind, might help us through a dark time.

Fourth, we might feel led to fast along with others – like those leaders in the Antioch church, who seem to have been seeking the way ahead for their church. Or a small group of friends who share a particular concern might decide to fast over an agreed time. One area where it became part of my own annual pattern was a “day of prayer and fasting” for the whole church at certain points in the year, most obviously at new year.

I’m sure it goes without saying that there is nothing magical about fasting – it’s not a quick fix, and certainly not an attempt to twist God’s arm (as if we could!). Further, there are no strict rules about it, no formula for us to follow. You may skip just one meal, and devote that time to focus on prayer. Or you may feel led to fast over several days. In a church fast, there should be no compulsion, and sensible account should be taken of individual people’s health needs. Enthusiasm shouldn’t trump wisdom!

I’m sure there’s a lot more that could be said. But I think it’s worth noticing that in Matthew 6 Jesus isn’t afraid to speak of rewards in relation to fasting. We can’t earn God’s blessing by fasting (or by anything else); but it does, he clearly says, bring rewards.

Something to think about?

Loving Father, please help me to know if, how, and when you might be calling me to fast. Amen.