What is fasting, and should Christians fast?

PrayerIn theological review

The short answer

Fasting is going without food, for a set time, to seek God in prayer, and yes, Christians should expect to fast, because Jesus spoke of when his followers fast rather than if they do. It is not a way to earn answers or impress anyone. Done quietly, it is hunger turned into prayer, and Isaiah insists it must sit alongside mercy to other people.

The fuller answer

Fasting, in the Bible, is simply not eating for a time in order to give yourself to prayer. Jesus assumed his followers would do it. Teaching on the subject, he said when you fast, not if you fast, and his concern was not the mechanics but the motive: wash your face, keep it between you and God, and do not perform hunger for an audience. The Father who sees what is done in secret is the one whose attention the fast is seeking. People fasted in Scripture in grief, in repentance, in danger and before great undertakings, and the practice runs from Moses and David to Anna and the first churches.

When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:16-18 (BSB)

Jesus also explained a gap in his own lifetime. While he was with his disciples, he said, fasting did not fit, any more than guests fast at a wedding while the bridegroom is still in the room. But the days would come when the bridegroom was taken away, and then they would fast. The church after the resurrection lives in those days: glad, because Jesus is alive, and still hungry for his return and for his work to be finished. Fasting gives that hunger a body.

Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?” Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

Matthew 9:14-15 (BSB)

The early church fasted at real decision points. At Antioch, while the leaders were worshipping and fasting, the Holy Spirit set apart Barnabas and Saul, and the church sent them out with more fasting and prayer. Fasting in Acts is not misery for its own sake. It is a congregation clearing the table, literally, to listen. Christians today fast for the same kinds of reasons: repentance, guidance, grief, a loved one's need, or simply to say to God that he matters more than comfort.

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.” And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Acts 13:2-3 (BSB)

Isaiah 58 sets the guardrails, and no teaching on fasting should skip it. God rebukes fasts that leave injustice untouched, and the fast he chooses loosens chains, shares bread with the hungry and clothes the poor. So yes, fast: start small, perhaps a meal or a day, keep it quiet, and fill the time you save with prayer rather than pride. Anyone whose health makes fasting unsafe should talk to a doctor first and find another way to give up comfort for a season.

Sources

Berean Standard Bible (BSB)

Review status: in-theological-review. Every Contend page passes a human theological review against the Statement of Faith before it is published as approved teaching. This section is in that queue.

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How should I pray?Simply, honestly, and to the Father, in the pattern Jesus gave. His own prayer starts with God's name, kingdom, and will, and only then asks for daily bread, forgiveness, and protection. Prayer is not a performance or a formula. It is talking to a Father who sees in secret, at whatever length the moment actually needs.What does pray without ceasing mean in practice?Pray without ceasing means living in a settled habit of turning to God all through the day, not praying out loud without stopping. Paul puts it beside rejoicing always and giving thanks in everything: a posture, not a performance. In practice it looks like short, honest prayers woven through ordinary work, alongside set times of prayer that anchor the day.What is repentance?Repentance is a change of mind about sin and about God that turns into a change of direction. Peter's command joins both halves: repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away. It is more than feeling sorry, which can evaporate by morning. It is agreeing with God about your sin, grieving it, and leaving it, trusting the mercy that meets you on the way back.Why did Jesus say to pray in secret?Jesus said to pray in secret to kill performance, not to ban public prayer, because his target was people who prayed loudly in public to be admired. Go into your room, he said, and pray to your Father who is unseen. The same Bible shows believers praying together out loud, and Jesus himself prayed in public, so the secret he commands is about the audience your heart is playing to.Bible Character: JesusThe Son of God, born of Mary in Bethlehem, who preached the kingdom of God, was crucified for our sins according to the Scriptures, and was raised on the third day.Bible Character: PaulThe Pharisee who persecuted the church until the risen Jesus stopped him on the Damascus road, and who became his apostle to the Gentiles, travelling the Roman world and writing many of the New Testament letters.Bible Character: BarnabasThe Cypriot Levite surnamed Son of Encouragement, who sold his field for the poor, believed in Saul when no one else would, fetched him to Antioch, and travelled with him on the first journey.