Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough: A Guide to Nine Biblical Fasts (29 page)

Abuses of Fasting

The discipline of fasting was abused in at least five ways in Scripture. (1) Some separated the formal practice from internal devotion to God and repentance from sin, which it was supposed to represent (see Isa. 58:5; Joel 2:13). (2) Fasting was sometimes practiced to cover other sinful motives and/or practices (see 1 Kings 21:9-13; Isa. 58:41). (3) Others fasted for economic rather than spiritual or ministry reasons (see Isa. 58:7). (4) Some Pharisees fasted for appearances rather than as a genuine act of worship to God (see Matt. 6:16). (5) Fasting, probably for ascetic reasons, was demanded by some false teachers in the Early Church (see 1 Tim. 4:3).

Breaking the Fast

You will want to break your fast biblically. If you have fasted biblically, meaning you have mourned and repented of your sins, then you will want to break the fast in the same spirit as you carried out your fast. I don’t think you can go from a spirit of earnest prayer to levity and banqueting.

Some do not keep their fasting vows—the time of the fast or abstaining from the food/liquid that symbolized their vows. I believe this breaks
the effectiveness of their vows, and that they must start again from the beginning. I do not believe they can take up where they have left off (i.e., if they make a three-day vow, and eat something after two days, they can’t return and fast for one day).

The Yom Kippur fast of the Jews was from sundown to sundown. Because the stomach is empty after fasting, some have shocked the body at sundown or at another end of the fast by filling themselves with food, thinking they need to make up for food not eaten. The human body doesn’t need that shock. Also, don’t break the fast with rich food. Soup or a light sandwich are appropriate. One man told me after an extended fast that a bowl of bullion broth was “heavenly,” and the best thing he ever put in his mouth.

The term “breakfast” comes from the biblical phrase “breaking the fast.” The term occurs in the original language of John 21:12,15. “So when they had eaten breakfast [broken the fast], Jesus said to Simon Peter” (v. 15).

After Jesus arose from the dead, He told the woman at the tomb that he would meet the disciples at Galilee (see Matt. 28:10). Out of frustration, the disciples returned to their old occupation of fishing. Perhaps they had forgotten that Christ had called them to leave their nets and follow Him (see Mark 1:16). When Christ appeared to them, they were discouraged, backslidden and perhaps out of the will of God. He told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat where they would catch fish. When they got to the shore, they found fish, bread and a fire. Jesus invited them to “Come, break your fast” (John 21:12, author’s paraphrase). They ended their fast with Jesus Christ.

They were no longer spiritually blinded, but knew who Jesus was. “None of the disciples dared ask Him, ‘Who are You?’—knowing that it was the Lord” (John 21:12). After this experience Jesus could commission the apostle Peter: “Feed My lambs” (v. 15).

When you break the fast, you should be in fellowship with Jesus Christ. You fasted and sought the presence of God in your life; now exit the fast with Him.

Break your fast with a “holy meal.” This doesn’t mean the Lord’s Table, nor does it mean you have religious “things” to eat or religious “things” on the table (e.g., candles, etc.). When you break your fast, be sure to give thanks to God for the food you eat, and ask Him to give you physical strength through the food. You should eat your food with the
same attitude as you had when you abstained from it. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

Breaking Your Fast and Christian Service

Jesus and the disciples ate breakfast on the shores of Galilee. When they finished, Jesus turned to Simon Peter and asked him three times, “Do you love Me more than these?” (John 21:15). The word “these” refers to the nets, boats and Peter’s occupation as a fisherman. Jesus was asking Peter if his love for Him was greater than his love for making a living and getting food to eat. That is also the question of fasting.

In two questions in this conversation, the Lord used the “deep” word for love—
agapao
. In this question Jesus was asking Peter, “Do you love Me with all of your heart?” Peter was honest. Knowing he could not say that he loved the Lord that much, he used the shallow word—
phileo
—in response. In effect, he said, “I have affection for you, Lord.”

The third time the Lord asked Peter the question, “Do you love Me?” He used the shallow word for love also, as though to ask, “Peter, do you
really
have affection for me?” Then Peter could only answer, “Yes.” Because of Peter’s honesty, the Lord was able to give him a command for Christian service: “Feed my sheep” (v. 17).

At the end of this night’s fast, Peter was ready for Christian service. He was no longer a boasting servant. He had learned his limitations through defeat. Because of his repentance, the Lord commanded him to feed His sheep. The apostle who had denied His Lord three times was graciously reintroduced into Christian service.

After you have fasted, you must get up off your knees and go to work for Jesus Christ. It is one thing to withhold yourself from food; it is another thing to give yourself in dedicated service. Fasting should lead to soul winning, Sunday School teaching, sacrificial giving of your money or some other form of service to the Lord.

The proof of your fasting is measured by the energy of your service after you break your fast. Jesus said, “You shall be witnesses to Me” (Acts 1:8). As a result of fasting, we should be better witnesses so we can become better soul winners.

Breaking Your Fast with Celebration

The Jews understood both fasting and feasting, or celebration. Each year Israel observed the Day of Atonement. The trumpet sounded throughout
the land on the tenth day of the seventh month. On this occasion, the high priest went into the holy of holies and made “atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel” (Lev. 16:17). The emphasis on the Day of Atonement was upon the sins of the nation. As the high priest did his work of priestly intercession and atonement, the people joined in fasting (see 23:27-29).

“For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people” (v. 29). This verse means that those who did not fast, confess their sins and repent of their evil would not enter into the forgiveness that was otherwise available on the Day of Atonement.

The Day of Atonement, as a solemn occasion, was properly symbolized by a fast, but it was always ended by a great celebration unto the Lord (see v. 32).

Breaking Your Fast with Praise

Hannah was a godly wife. She wanted to serve the Lord, but most of all she wanted a son. Each year she went to the house of God and prayed for a son. On one occasion she fasted and “did not eat” (1 Sam. 1:7). Hannah fasted and prayed for her request.

The high priest Eli saw her praying in the Temple. The Bible says, “Eli watched her mouth” (1 Sam. 1:12). Because of her intensity in prayer, Eli thought she was drunk and he rebuked her. She replied, “I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord” (v. 15). Obviously, Hannah cried to God and was of a solemn spirit because she wanted God to answer her prayers. She was under the burden of fasting.

After she had fasted and prayed, “[she] bore a son” (1 Sam. 1:20). Immediately after her son’s birth, Hannah went to the house of God. Hannah’s beautiful song of praise is recorded in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. She cried out, “My heart rejoices in the Lord” (v. 1), and “The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up” (v. 7). Hannah ended her fast with praise.

Broken Fast

(See Violated Fast.)

Corporate Fast

A fast conducted by a group of persons in concert with one another.
Group fasts may be a spontaneous response to a movement of the Spirit of God within the group, or an organized event within a church or group of churches often designed to encourage divine intervention in a matter of joint concern, such as national or international policy. For examples of corporate fasts in Scripture, see
appendix 5
.

Danger as a Motive for Fasting

Several biblical examples reveal people practicing the discipline of fasting when faced with actual or potential dangers. These include (1) Jehoshaphat, when threatened by the people of Moab and others (see 2 Chron. 20:3); (2) Jehoiachim, who proclaimed a fast as a sign of penitence to avoid God’s punishment (see Jer. 36:9); (3) Ezra, as he prepared to travel to Jerusalem (see Ezra 8:21); (4) the Jews in Shushan, when threatened by Haman’s plot (see Esther 4:3); and (5) Joel, when faced with a locust plague (see Joel 1:14; 2:15).

Daniel Fast (See
Chapter 8
)

Problem
. When faced with a physical problem of health/healing, you limit your diet to basic necessities that strengthen the body to heal itself of sickness or to maintain good health.

Key Verse
. “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink” (Dan. 1:12).

Prescription
. (1) Begin your fast by defining the problem, then pray for a specific answer to the problem. (2) Fast as a spiritual commitment to God for His answer. (3) Your fast-commitment is an outer test that reflects an inner desire. (4) Fast and pray to understand the role of sin that keeps you from health/healing. (5) Your fast is a statement of faith to others. (6) The Daniel Fast is not done privately. (7) Know the potential of the food you eat during the Daniel Fast. (8) Yield all physical results to God.

Practical aspects
. (1) The Daniel Fast will lead to spiritual insight. (2) It is longer than one day. (3). It is a partial fast, not a complete fast. (4) The Daniel Fast involves eating healthy food. (5). The Daniel Fast involves abstinence from “party” food.

Day of Atonement

The only prescribed fast in Scripture. This annual fast was established by divine revelation (see Lev. 16:29), whereas other fasts in the Jewish calendar
(e.g., Purim) find their origins in historic tradition. On the Day of Atonement, rabbinic law required people to abstain from eating, drinking, bathing, anointing themselves, wearing sandals and conjugal intercourse. The Day of Atonement is described as “the Fast” in the New Testament, and may have been observed by the early Christians (see Acts 27:9).

Disciple’s Fast (See
Chapter 2
)

Problem
. A besetting sin, one that holds a person in bondage. Usually the person had repeatedly but unsuccessfully tried to break free of that sin.

Key Verse
. “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:21).

Prescription
. (1) Renounce any control over your mind that is not from Christ, affirming your desire to be free. (2) Acknowledge that an external power is responsible for the bondage (see Matt. 17:18). (3) Forgive anyone you have blamed for the problem. (4) Submit your desire to God’s desire for you. (5) Take responsibility for the way you may have contributed to your own bondage. (6) Disown all evil influences that tempt you to remain bound.

Discipline Fast

Fasting in response to a spiritual conviction from God that a fast should be undertaken even if there is no apparent goal.

Disputed Texts About Fasting

Four references to fasting included in the Textus Receptus are absent in the earliest manuscripts. These include Matthew 17:21; Mark 9:29; Acts 10:30 and 1 Corinthians 7:5. Those who believe the references to fasting are later additions usually claim they were added to support the increased emphasis on asceticism during the Middle Ages.

Elijah Fast

Problem
. This fast is for those who want to break an emotional or mental thought pattern that may or may not be sin. A habit is a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition reflected in regular or increased performance.

Key Verse
. “So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God” (1 Kings 19:8).

Prescription
. (1) Prepare physically for the Elijah Fast. (2) Recognize and
face your limitations. (3) Revisit the place where God revealed Himself and gave spiritual victories. (4) Fast to hear and understand the Word of God. (5) Let the Word of God examine you to reveal your weakness. (6) Confess/agree with God about your weakness. (7) Look to God’s Word for quiet inner meaning about your problem, not to external power for breaking the habit. (8) Lay out a set of positive actions. (9) See the positive through God’s eyes. Don’t focus on breaking bad habits, but on establishing good habits. (10) Envision the potential results in your life when you obey God.