Introduction
The Holy Bible frequently mentions fasting, which can take different forms and occurs on various occasions. The Old Testament records several stories of fasting by Moses and David, along with community fasts such as the fasting of Esther. These fasts varied in duration and could take on different meanings for the Hebrew people: periods of penance, supplication, and purification.
Biblical Examples of Fasting
The Supernatural Fasts: Moses, Elijah, and Jesus
Three significant supernatural fasts are recorded in Scripture, where Moses, Elijah, and Jesus each spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting alone.
Moses on Mount Sinai
Moses spent his fasting period on Mount Sinai when God gave him the Ten Commandments. As recorded in Exodus 34:28-29: “Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread and drinking water. And he wrote on the stone tablets the words of the covenant—The Ten Commandments.”
Elijah’s Journey to Mount Horeb
Elijah walked 40 days and 40 nights to Mount Horeb, where he met the Holy God. This journey was undertaken while fasting and praying. As recorded in 1 Kings 19:7-9: “The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.’ So he got up, ate and drank, strengthened by the food. He traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?'”
Jesus in the Wilderness
Jesus went to the desert after His baptism, where he remained in prayer and fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Matthew 4:1-2 states: “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.”
These supernatural fasts concern specific moments in the history of humanity’s relationship with God—the First Covenant, the temptations of Jesus, and the calling of God’s prophets and Christ Himself. They go beyond all natural laws and are ordained by the Holy Spirit. While Christians as human beings cannot imitate these supernatural fasts, we can honor them during the blessed Lenten period, which lasts for 40 days, by humbly remembering them through a time of prayer and sobriety.
Daniel’s Fast: A Partial Fast of Purification
The Book of Daniel records a fasting practice of the prophet Daniel on two occasions: first for a period of 10 days (Daniel 1) and later for 21 days. During these periods, he abstained from meat and wine. These fasts were periods of purification that allowed Daniel to grow in the gifts of God and become more receptive to His messages.
As recorded in Daniel 1:15-17: “At the end of ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. To these four young men, God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning, and Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.”
David’s Fast: Supplication and Mourning
David’s fast was characterized by supplication and mourning. The Bible tells us how King David fasted for seven days for his sick son. After the child’s death, David’s fasting accompanied the suffering of his heart, body, and spirit. As recorded in 2 Samuel 12: “David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground.”
Esther’s Fast: Battle and Intercession
The Book of Esther describes how Queen Esther saved the Jewish people through a courageous act of faith. A woman of great heart, she offered everything to God for the salvation of her people—her beauty, her intelligence, her piety, and her fervor.
When Queen Esther of Persia learned of a threatened massacre of the Jews ordered by Haman, the king’s advisor, she called for a fast of three days and three nights. This was a total fast during which she herself refrained from eating or drinking and set aside all her royal ornaments (clothes, perfumes, etc.).
As recorded in Esther 4:15-16, Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, nights, or days. My attendants and I will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
Through this fast, Esther offered herself totally to God. Stripping herself of external adornments before Him, she approached in a posture of great humility, humbling herself and accepting her weakness. She entrusted God with her decisive encounter with the king and the future of her people. God was touched by this impulse and by the intercession of Esther, and made null the decree against the Esther people.
The Repentance Fast
Many passages in the Holy Bible describe one-day fasts observed as a sign of repentance for faults and sins committed. A notable example is the repentance of the city of Nineveh, whose inhabitants responded to the prophet Jonah’s warning.
As Jonah 3:4-10 records: “Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’ The Ninevites believed in God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When the warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne and took o his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust, and issued a proclamation to all: ‘Do not let people or animals, herds or ocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with cloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let everyone give up their evil ways and their violence, who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.’ When God saw what they did and they turned from their evil ways, He relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.”
Christian Church Fasting Traditions
Three Main Fasting Seasons
Throughout church history and continuing today, three main types of fasts are observed:
1. The Nativity Fast (Winter Fast)
Duration & Period: This is a 40-day spiritual and physical preparation period for Christmas (Nativity of Christ), observed from November 15 to December 24 (or January 7 for some traditions). It is also known as Philip Fast or St. Martin’s Lent.
Dietary Guidelines: Adherents often abstain from meat, dairy (including milk, butter, and cheese), and eggs. Fish is permitted on specific days, such as weekends and certain feast days, especially in the earlier weeks.
Spiritual Focus: The fast includes increased prayer, attending church services, almsgiving, and confession to prepare the heart for the birth of Jesus.
Strictness: The fast becomes stricter from December 13th to 24th, with some traditions forbidding sh during this period.
Purpose: The Nativity Fast mimics the 40-day fast of Moses before receiving the Ten Commandments and the journey of the Magi, encouraging believers to detach from worldly distractions. It is considered a joyful season, distinct from the stricter Great Lent, aiming to prepare believers for the celebration of the Nativity.
2. The Great Lenten Fast
The Great Lenten Fast is a penitential season in the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic traditions that prepares believers for the feast of Easter (Pascha). This is the most rigorous of the church fasting periods, focusing on deep spiritual discipline following the joyful seasons of Easter preparation.
Duration: The length varies annually based on the date of Pascha (Easter), lasting anywhere from just over a week to over a month, though it always concludes on the day before Easter or on the Sunday before Easter in some traditions.
Fasting Rules: This fast is generally more strict than others. Typically, it involves abstaining from meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs. Fish is often permitted on certain weekends, while Wednesday and Friday may be stricter depending on specific church traditions.
3. The Apostles’ Fast (Summer Fast)
Purpose: The fast commemorates the Apostles’ fasting and prayer after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as they prepared for their mission. It also serves as a period of spiritual discipline following the joyful seasons of Easter.
Duration: The length varies annually based on the date of Pascha (Easter), lasting anywhere from just over a week to over a month. It begins the Monday after All Saints’ Sunday (the week after Pentecost) and focuses on fasting from meat, dairy, and sometimes sh to emulate the Apostles’ preparation to preach. The tradition always concludes on June 29 or June 28 in some traditions.
Jesus’s Teaching on Fasting
Many Christians believe that because Jesus Christ spent 40 days fasting, demonstrating that fasting is true intimacy with God, and because our Lord Jesus desires His followers to fast, we should not make a public show of it like the Pharisees.
Jesus taught that fasting is good and helps us draw nearer to God. However, He emphasized that fasting should be a private, sincere act of worship focused on God, not a public display for human approval.
As recorded in Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus instructed: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disguise their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Jesus taught that fasting should be done with a sincere heart, appearing normal and washing our faces, anointing our heads, rather than looking gloomy like hypocrites who want others to see their sacrifice. We fast to make our God happy, not to gain human praise or attention.
How Christians Should Practice Fasting
Christian fasting involves abstaining from food or specific comforts to focus on prayer, repentance, and spiritual growth. The practice is often done by skipping meals (fasting for 24 hours, including one eating time, or dinner for a set period, mostly). However, the specific time or duration of the fast is a voluntary act.
Our Lord Jesus Christ did not prescribe a specific time or duration for fasting—it is voluntary rather than a legalistic public display. It is meant to be an act of humbling oneself before God and seeking guidance spiritually.
Guidelines for Keeping a Fast
Set a Clear Purpose: The best purpose for fasting is to glorify our Holy God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, seeking direction, repentance, or intercession to give your sacri ce meaning.
Begin Slowly: If you are new to fasting, start by skipping one meal, then progress to skipping meals for 24 hours.
Types of Fasts:
Normal Fast: Abstaining from all food but consuming water. Partial/Daniel Fast: Abstaining from delicious foods (meat, wine, sugar) and eating simple foods like vegetables and grains. Soul/Non-Food Fast: Abstaining from distractions like social media, TV, or entertainment
Focus on Prayer: Use the time you would spend preparing and eating food to read Scripture, meditate, and pray
Keep it Private: Follow Jesus’s teaching to wash your face and act normally so your fasting is between you and God, not for others to see.
Be Health Conscious: Fasting is a form of spiritual growth, not intended for physical harm.
Prepare Ahead: Decide the duration ahead of time.
Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water or juice when abstaining from food.
End Gracefully: Break your fast with light and simple food.
Be Prayerful: Trust that Holy God will take care of you.
Consider Others: Some believers skip their diets when fasting, moving from simple food to richer food. While this is not inherently wrong, it is best if you can save money or food grains to remember your poor relatives, patients, or neighbors. Even better is giving that food in uncooked form, perhaps through your church, to people in need.
What God Desires in Our Fasting
The prophet Isaiah addresses the true nature of fasting that pleases God. In Isaiah 58:3-5, people complain to God: “Why have we fasted, and You see not? Why have we afflicted our soul, and You take no knowledge?”
God responds in Isaiah 58:4-5: “Behold, in the day of your fast you nd pleasure and exact all your labors… Behold, you fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the st of wickedness. You shall not fast as you do this day to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to a ict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?”
God’s Chosen Fast (Isaiah 58:6-7)
God reveals what He truly desires in our fasting:
- To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens
- To let the oppressed go free
- To break every yoke
- To share your bread with the hungry
- To bring the poor who are cast out into your house
- When you see the naked, to cover them
- Not to hide yourself from your own self and family
God’s Promises for True Fasting (Isaiah 58:8)
When we keep the fast as God commands, He promises blessings:
- Then shall your light break forth as the morning
- Your health shall spring forth speedily
- Your righteousness shall go before you
- The Glory of the Lord shall be your reward
Seasonal Fasting Practices
Winter Fasting
Winter fasting refers to adopting eating patterns during colder months that mimic ancestral habits of reduced food availability. This often involves intermittent fasting (12-18 hour breaks) to aid cellular repair, immune support, and digestion. It leverages shorter winter days for potential metabolic benefits, sometimes coinciding with traditional practices.
Purpose: To encourage the body to redirect energy from constant digestion to repair, detoxification, and waste removal.
Methods: Common approaches include 16:8 (16 hours fasting, 8-hour eating window) or 18:6 intermittent fasting.
Seasonal Context: It is based on the concept that historically, less fresh food was available in winter, encouraging longer gaps between meals.
Conclusion
Fasting is a sacred spiritual discipline that has been practiced throughout biblical history and continues in the Christian church today. Whether we fast for repentance, supplication, spiritual growth, or preparation for holy celebrations, the heart of fasting must be directed toward God.
The examples of Moses, Elijah, Jesus, Daniel, David, and Esther teach us that fasting, combined with sincere prayer and humility, opens our hearts to receive God’s direction, strength, and blessing. As Isaiah reminds us, the fast that God honors is one that leads to righteousness, compassion for others, and freedom from wickedness.
Have faith in the words of Holy God and follow the example of His Holy Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Share His love with those around you, for our Jesus Christ loves you.