What does the Bible say about fasting?

"And when ye fast, be not gloomy-faced as the hypocrites; for they disguise their faces, so that they may appear to men fasting. Verily, I say to you, They have their reward. But thou while fasting anoint thy head, and wash thy face, so that thou mayest not appear to men fasting, but to thy Father that [is] in secret; and thy Father that seeth in secret will recompense thee."

The Lord does not so much enjoin fasting as bring it like prayer under the Christian principle of having to do with our Father in secret. It falls under the individual life of faith. Yet He undoubtedly sanctions and approves of it when so practised; and this independently of the more open and united aim, such as we find in Acts 13:2-3, Acts 14:23. He also intimates its value for spiritual power. Pious men have ever felt and must feel its appropriateness in chastening the soul before God, where public or private need called for humiliation. But even in Mark 9:29 it is well to note that the two most ancient copies ignore "and fasting," as they with other authorities also the entire verse 21 of Matt. 17, nor is there a word corresponding in Luke 9. The apostle however who more than others was given to stand for liberty in Christ speaks (in 2 Cor. 6:5, 2 Cor. 11:27) simply and piously of "fastings" and "fastings often" in his service, to the rebuke of that levity which the Corinthian assembly betrayed, and which characterises modern Christianity, save where superstition and self-righteousness give it an artificial moment in very different eyes.

The Lord did not condemn fasting as a practice. He instructed His disciples that it should be undertaken in secret, as before God, rather than before men (Matt. 6:16-18). It was to be united with prayer for the effectual expulsion of unclean spirits in certain cases (Mark 9:29). There was a season of prayer and fasting in the early church when Paul and Barnabas went forth on their first missionary tour (Acts 13:3). Nothing in scripture appears to warrant the present general abandonment of the practice by Christians, though indeed there is a sense in which we may say the Lord is still with us (Matt. 28:20). Self-denial in the spirit of Nazariteship, of which food-fasting is but a single phase, should, however, be practised by the believer habitually and not only on special occasions.

Fasting should not be undertaken with a view to obtaining merit, nor in an attempt to make God intervene in a specific manner, nor to ‘show off’ before others (Matt. 6:16), but it can help us to pray more fervently in intercession or in seeking the Lord’s mind (see Acts 13:2). Paul’s letter to the Corinthians shows that he fasted often (2 Cor. 6:5; 11:27).

(3) We now come to the subject of fasting. I believe there is a real value in fasting that few of us know much about. If, on particular occasions which call for special individual prayer, one were to unite fasting with it, I have no doubt the blessing of it would be felt. There is humbling of spirit expressed in it. There are prayers which are most suitably accompanied by standing, others by kneeling. Fasting is one of those things in which the body shows its sympathy with what the spirit is passing through; it is a means of expressing our desire to be low before God, and in the attitude of humiliation. But lest the flesh should take advantage of even what is for the mortifying of the body, the Lord enjoins that means be taken rather not to appear unto men to fast than to permit any display. For although a true Christian would shrink from putting on false appearances, the devil would cheat him into doing it unless he is very jealous in self-watchfulness before God. "Thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (vers. 17, 18).

Verse 16. — Here we come to the third component of "your righteousness" with which the chapter began. The first is alms; the second, prayer; the third, fasting. Do not let what you give, be before men; let your prayers be in secret, and do not let your fasting appear before men. The hypocrites wanted to advertise themselves, and they had their reward; they were esteemed very pious people. Fasting itself may be an evil thing. Writing to the Colossians the apostle condemns neglecting the body; but we may well conceive a soul with such a burden on the heart before God that it takes no food but remains before Him that is true fasting. Do not let there be anything to promulgate it. Let it be a secret between your soul and God. It will be a blessing to you if there is reality, and it is a real expression of your soul before God. There is a great desire for the nation now to spend a day of humiliation and prayer; if only a form it will be a very poor thing, but if there is really a humbling before God, it will correspond with Nineveh.

In short, fasting embraces self-denial, so that the needy of all sorts around may be helped and blessed. If Isaiah 58 were faithfully carried out it would mean constant self-denial, and this would prove a most acceptable form of fasting of a very practical nature. If the Christian, young or old, practised Isaiah 58 they would realize in detail what fasting means.

We read of the Lord fasting forty days and forty nights in the wilderness (Matt. 4:2); of the prophets and teachers at Antioch fasting when they chose Barnabas and Saul for the ministry (Acts 13:2-3)— doubtless actual and literal refraining from food for the time being, so that they might be undistracted in their spiritual exercises.

But there is a practical and constant side to fasting that we ought to have our attention drawn to. We refer to Isaiah 58:3-8. Fasting is not merely external, as Isaiah asks, “Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?” If fasting is just a matter of food, attitude, dress, it is pure hypocrisy. Alas! how much there is of this.

What are we told by the prophet Isaiah that fasting means "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh." (Isa. 58:6-7.) Because this is in the Old Testament, is it any the less true to-day?

As already mentioned, the Lord Jesus neither gives a commandment to fast, nor does He forbid it here. He leaves fasting as a personal exercise of the heart but gives the warning not to do it in a hypocritical manner (as with giving alms and praying). The hypocrites are of sad countenance in order to appear as pious as possible (cp. Luke 24:17), and to make people see how earnest they are. But as we have already seen in verses 2 and 5, our God and Father won't give us any reward if we seek to obtain it through the mere appearance of piety, and recognition by men.

In verses 1 to 4 we have seen righteousness menward (including giving); in verses 5 to 15 prayer Godward; now in verses 16 to 18 fasting is the subject. This is selfward, personal self denial; for true self-denial is totally personal, not for display at all. Sometimes fasting is practiced for the sake of one's health, which is of course personal. However, it might be done in order that one can give his time and energy individually to some particular service for the Lord. If so, why should I want any one else to know it beside the Lord?

At least, it should not make me miserable looking, as though it was a burden to miss a meal! If fasting is willingly done, it should certainly be cheer-fully done. If done honestly for the Father's glory, the Father will reward it.