In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus did not say, “If you fast,” but “When you fast,” assuming that fasting would be a normal part of life with God (Matthew 6:16). He gave guidance on how to fast in secret, not to discourage fasting, but to protect it from becoming a show.

Jesus also said that after He returned to the Father, “then they will fast” (Mark 2:20), pointing to fasting as a natural response of His people in His physical absence.

From the earliest days of the church, Christians have taken this seriously, regularly setting aside time to seek God through fasting and prayer. When we fast today, we are simply stepping into a practice Jesus assumed His disciples would embrace.

"Jesus assumes that one of the three core practices of his disciples was giving which we get, prayer which we love, and fasting which we totally neglect."– JON TYSON

Scripture often uses the word flesh to describe the desires that pull us away from God. Those desires are loud, and they rarely want to hear the word no.

"Fasting helps to express, to deepen, and to confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, to sacrifice ourselves, to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God." – ANDREW MURRAY

It reminds us that saying “no” to lesser desires positions us to say “yes” to God. Fasting trains our hearts to refuse something good for the sake of something greater—knowing Christ more deeply and walking in step with His Spirit.

In Scripture, God’s people often fasted when their hearts were broken over sin or suffering.

David fasted when confronted with his sin and its consequences; Nehemiah fasted when he heard of Jerusalem’s ruins and the people’s disgrace (2 Samuel 12:16; Nehemiah 1:4).

"Fasting gives our bodies a way to participate in our grief instead of hiding it or numbing it."

If you normally eat three meals a day during a 21–day fast, skipping just one meal a day creates 21 intentional pauses where you can mourn, confess, and seek God’s mercy. Those moments become sacred spaces to bring your sin, your hurt, and the world’s brokenness honestly before Him.

Fasting never guarantees a certain outcome, and it never pressures God into doing what we want. The story of David praying and fasting for his child is sobering. He pleaded with God, but the child still died according to God’s wisdom and justice (2 Samuel 12:15–18). Yet this story doesn’t diminish fasting—it actually shows us something honest about it. We fast not to control God, but to seek Him.

All throughout Scripture, God’s people fast when they desperately want to hear His voice or need His help. In Acts 13, the church in Antioch was “worshiping the Lord and fasting” when the Holy Spirit spoke clearly and set apart Paul and Barnabas for mission. Their fasting didn’t create God’s voice, but it helped them become attentive to it.

This is why Christians throughout history have taken fasting seriously. John Piper says fasting is a way to “intensify our spiritual hunger for God.” Dallas Willard teaches that fasting creates space for God to realign our desires and sharpen our ability to listen. Fasting doesn’t make God hear us better—it makes us more ready to receive whatever He wants to say. It’s about approaching Him with humility, focus, and a heart that’s willing to obey.

In Isaiah 58, God confronts His people for fasting while ignoring injustice and the needs around them.

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" – ISAIAH 58:6-7

Through Isaiah, He says the kind of fast He desires is one that “looses the chains of injustice,” shares food with the hungry, provides shelter, and clothes those who are naked (Isaiah 58:6–7).

Fasting can become an embodied way to stand with those who are hungry by no choice of their own. Church history is full of this practice.

"Most people know that Jesus came to bring forgiveness and grace. Less well known is the biblical teaching that a true experience of the grace of Jesus Christ inevitably motivates a man or woman to seek justice in the world." – TIM KELLER, GENEROUS JUSTICE

For us, this means fasting isn’t only about going without food—it’s about allowing God to shape our hearts toward the people He cares about. When we feel hunger, we’re reminded of those who feel it daily. When we slow our pace, we begin to notice needs we’ve overlooked. And as we create space for God, He forms in us a compassion that moves beyond emotion into action. Fasting becomes a way of saying, “Lord, make my life part of Your healing work in the world.”