Why fast biblically

Humble yourself before God. Psalm Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered. Ezra And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled.

James Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Distress and grief. Judges Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening , and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

Nehemiah Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. Spiritual strength. Overcoming temptation and dedicating yourself to God.

Matthew Then 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. Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. You may have tried to fast too long the first time, or you may need to strengthen your understanding and resolve.

Keep trying until you do succeed. God will honor you for your faithfulness. Jesus, David, and many other followers of our God have gone without food for a little while to worship and pray to the one who supplies all our needs. God considers fasting important. His Word, in fact, contains 92 passages mentioning it. Many of our heroes of the faith, including Moses, Elijah, Esther, Nehemiah, Daniel and Paul, fasted at crucial points. Discover what fasting is and how it can impact your faith.

Learn why giving up food and drink for a period of time can improve your relationship with God. There is little instruction about how to fast in the Bible, but there are plenty of examples of people who fasted.

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As with Nehemiah, fasting can be a tangible sign of our concern over a particular work God is doing. Here are some things to consider as you prepare for fasting:.

Pray and confess your sins A necessary step before fasting is to humble yourself before God see Psalm and confess your sins see 1 Samuel Prayer should be our sustenance throughout the fast, but it is imperative we begin the fast with a contrite heart.

To express love and worship for God e. Christians who want to pursue a fast will benefit from studying other instances in the Bible where fasting was practiced. To pursue this kind of topical study, a simple internet search will bring up many different resources.

But the prophet Isaiah provides us with perhaps the clearest explanation and understanding of fasting in the Bible. Portions of Isaiah 58 emphases mine will serve as a framework for studying why, how, when, and why Christians today should pursue fasting:.

Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways , as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God.

They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. Isaiah —2. All of these reasons are wonderful goals to pursue for individuals whose hearts are right and whose motivations are pure. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

God desires that his people come to him in all situations to seek out his guidance and direction. He cares for us in all situations, because he knows us better than we know ourselves. And during these periods in our lives, fasting can sharpen the urgency and intensity of that search. Fasting for the sake of making a show in front of others, or fasting to ask God for things that are clearly outside of his will, is an exercise in futility. More on that in a minute. Fasting comes in different forms and is done in different ways.