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Biblical Fasting
Taken from cru.org
FASTING
How to Do a Biblical Fast
Sheri Onishi
1. What is Biblical Fasting?
Biblical fasting can be defined as abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. Simply going without food because it is not available or because of medical reasons is not biblical fasting. There must be a spiritual motivation to qualify a fast as Scriptural.
John Piper writes in his book Hunger for God: "Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God. Christian fasting is not only the spontaneous effect of superior satisfaction in God, it is also a chosen weapon against every force in the world that would take that satisfaction away."
2. Some Biblical Examples and Purposes of Fasting
Jesus fasted to acknowledge His dependence and to gain spiritual strength through reliance on the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. He did this before He began His public ministry (Luke 4:1,2).
Nehemiah fasted for confession, repentance, and favor in the sight of the king to get permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:4).
David humbled himself for God to intervene because of injustice (Psalm 35:13). In 2 Samuel 12:17,23, he fasted for healing and miraculous intervention.
Mordecai and the Jews fasted upon hearing news of Haman’s wicked plot for their extermination (Esther 4:3).
The Early Church fasted while worshiping and committing their ministry to the Lord. They also sought the Lord through fasting for guidance, confirmation and the appointment of...
FASTING
How to Do a Biblical Fast
Sheri Onishi
1. What is Biblical Fasting?
Biblical fasting can be defined as abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. Simply going without food because it is not available or because of medical reasons is not biblical fasting. There must be a spiritual motivation to qualify a fast as Scriptural.
John Piper writes in his book Hunger for God: "Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God. Christian fasting is not only the spontaneous effect of superior satisfaction in God, it is also a chosen weapon against every force in the world that would take that satisfaction away."
2. Some Biblical Examples and Purposes of Fasting
Jesus fasted to acknowledge His dependence and to gain spiritual strength through reliance on the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. He did this before He began His public ministry (Luke 4:1,2).
Nehemiah fasted for confession, repentance, and favor in the sight of the king to get permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:4).
David humbled himself for God to intervene because of injustice (Psalm 35:13). In 2 Samuel 12:17,23, he fasted for healing and miraculous intervention.
Mordecai and the Jews fasted upon hearing news of Haman’s wicked plot for their extermination (Esther 4:3).
The Early Church fasted while worshiping and committing their ministry to the Lord. They also sought the Lord through fasting for guidance, confirmation and the appointment of...
