Most people believe that the mysterious and miraculous Christian
Fasting Bible act of fasting merely means not to consume food and/or
drink for a set period of time. But, the Fasting Bible verses reveal
that the true purpose of Christian fasting means so much more than
that. Biblical Fasting is a sacrifice of sorts. Christian Fasting
Bible meaning is to deny the flesh of that which it craves as to gain
control over your flesh as to show that you belong to God and answer
only to Him and not the calls of the flesh. The Biblical Fasting
Bible verses act makes you more spiritually in tune with God.
Here are a Christian Fasting Bible trivia questions ... Is the act of
fasting something that is still to be practiced among Christians
today? What exactly is Biblical fasting? Is fasting something that is
only done at certain times? This Christian Fasting Bible study will
answer these questions and we’ll take a look at how fasting can
become a part of your spiritual growth as you sojourn down the
Christian path.
Biblical Fasting is a way of humbling your soul.
Let us look into fasting in the Bible...
Christian Fasting Truth
Eating is a way to nourish your flesh.
Fasting is a way to nourish your soul.
By eating, your body gains strength to carry out the tasks that you
need to do. Your soul however is different than the flesh. How do you
gain strength for your soul? We all want to be strong in the Lord, as
to allow His strength to work through us, we have to humble
ourselves. We have to choose to surrender our desires as to allow His
will to work through us. One way to do that is by Biblical fasting.
By depriving the flesh of what it craves, it brings you into a closer
spiritual connection and dependence on God.
Christian Fasting is a choice. There are no requirements in the New
Testament to fast. If you have health issues of any kind, you should
abstain from physical cravings other than food that will humble your
soul and bring you closer to God.
Isaiah 58:6-8
6 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?
7 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?
8 Then shall thy light break
forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily:
and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord
shall be thy reward.
So, again we see that Biblical fasting from food is not the entire
concept of Christian fasting but rather to surrender your physical desires and
to serve His will is also a form of fasting. Christian Fasting Bible verses reveal different ways to fast. You’ll
find that people also fasted for various different reasons.
Christian Fasting Bible Study Warning
Biblical Fasting Bible Verses Danger
Even Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights before
He was tempted by Satan.
Matthew 4:2
And when He had fasted forty
days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungered.
Jesus also spoke of fasting several times in the Gospel.
Matthew 6:16-18
16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the
hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that
they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward.
17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash
thy face;
18 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.
Christian Fasting Bible study tidbit of Truth ... In other words, do
not fast and brag about it or do things so others know you are
fasting.
Luke 18:10-14
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the
other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,
God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the
week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing
afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto Heaven, but
smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell
you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other:
for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Biblical Fasting Bible verses reminder ... Fasting is between you and
God. Don’t brag about it, not even to God. The disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked Him, Why do
we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast? Jesus
replied:
Matthew 9:15
Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom
is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be
taken from them, and then shall they fast.
Can you find the message in Jesus’ words that we can apply to our own
lives? When we feel like there is distance between ourselves and the
Lord, that’s a good time for Christian fasting. In times when you
feel the presence of the Lord close to you and all is well, Jesus
doesn’t want you to fast then. Would you want someone to mourn who
was in your good Graces?
Here is another Christian Fasting Bible study tidbit of Truth ... How
long should a person fast? Again, fasting is a personal choice. As
you read above, in the Old Testament, in the Day of Atonement (a
yearly
Feast, the children of Israel were to fast for 24 hours, but at other
times they fasted for several days, sometimes even a week. The whole
idea is to bring your dependence back to God. You may feel weakness
of the body at some point, but you don’t want to fast so long that
you endanger your health or the safety of others. God certainly
wouldn’t want that.
Biblical Fasting Bible verses example ... Let’s use food fasting. You
will feel the desire to eat at the time(s) that you normally would,
which is natural because you had established a habit and your body is
crying out for you to maintain that habit. So, you must establish a
new habit.
Most people eat, even when they’re not hungry, just because it’s
lunch time or supper time. (If you normally skip breakfast and lunch,
but eat supper, it may not be considered fasting if it’s not a longer
period of time than you usually go without eating.) But when you
start to feel the effects of fasting on your physical body such as
hunger, weakness, that’s when it begins to work.
2 Corinthians 12:9
And He said unto me, My Grace
is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in
weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Christian Fasting Bible Study on the Holy Spirit
Biblical Fasting Bible Verses and Prayer
In weakness is when you’ll find your soul begins to reach toward God.
Do you suppose this is a good time for
Prayer and communing with the
Holy Spirit? Absolutely! Reach for His strength.
Matthew 17:14-21
14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to Him a certain
man, kneeling down to Him, and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son:
for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the
fire, and oft into the water.
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and
they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with
you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
18 And
Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child
was cured from that very hour.
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus
apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto
them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say
unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say
unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall
remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit this kind
goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
There was a child who was possessed, and Jesus’ disciples couldn’t
cast out the devil. Jesus explained to them that this kind of demon
isn’t cast out except by prayer and fasting. If prayer
and fasting can cast out devils, imagine what it can do in your life.
16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for
that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and
the rent is made worse.
17 Neither do men put new wine into old
bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and
the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and
both are preserved.
In other words, to cling to the old law after the New Covenant
was made is not necessary. The New Testament was meant to replace the
old. But Jesus did say that His disciples would fast after He
was gone. To follow the laws of the Old Testament for the sake of
tradition is not what the New Testament is all about.
God said that He would put the laws in our hearts,
so to fast by choice, and not obligation, preserves the wine (the
promises of the new covenant) and the bottles (those who believe in
the Gospel of Jesus).
New Covenant Study
What is Christian Fasting Bible Summary
Biblical Fasting Bible Verses Conclusion
If you noticed, many of the times in the Old Testament when people
fasted, it was at times when they needed the Hand of God to intervene
in their lives because circumstances were beyond what they could
handle alone. In our ordinary lives, and through what the world has
taught us, we tend to be proud of our independence and we tend to
limit ourselves and even hinder God from moving in our lives by
remaining in our own comfort zone where we don’t take on anything
beyond our means.
But what if ...
Christian Fasting Bible study scenario ... You threw caution to the
wind and tried something that would make a difference for God that is
further than what you can do alone? As Christians, there are things
that we all wish we could do to glorify our Father, but they remain
wishes because we fear failure. Somehow, we feel like astonishing
works for God could only be accomplished by a chosen few.
How would it make God feel, that your Faith and your dependence on HIM
were so great that you would step outside of your normal boundaries
and abilities and attempt something really amazing for HIM? It may
take a little prayer ... A little fasting ... But God can turn your
ordinary life into an extraordinary life! All you have to do is
humble your soul to HIM. Depend on HIM. The impossible is only
possible through God.
Matthew 19:26
But Jesus beheld them, and
said unto them, With men
this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Remember, Biblical fasting is not a ritual or a punishment, but rather a personal
choice. It is a way of bringing you close to your Father. It does not
have to be food that you surrender, but rather ... Anything the flesh
craves where we are consciously controlling the demands of the flesh.
So, it is a type of sacrifice. It’s a positive experience,
surrendering your soul to God, giving up your will, and replacing it
with God's will.
Our Christian fasting Bible study shares with you from the fasting
Bible verses that the concept and purpose of Christian fasting is to
get closer to God by sacrifice of worldly means.
Note: Please contact your doctor before you go on any type
of diet or fasting of food.
