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Purposeful Fasting (Clyde Taber)

Fasting is a strange word to our ears. We cringe, hesitate, and dismiss it. We sidestep it as gingerly as the religious leaders bypassed the beaten man in Jesus' parable. Yet fasting was part of the rhythm and flow of the life of the early Church.

Jesus Christ affirmed and embraced the Old Covenant practice of fasting. "When you give to someone in need" (Matthew 6:2), "when you pray" (Matthew 6:5), "when you fast" (Matthew 6:16) he taught on the mount. Jesus assumed giving, praying, and fasting were a normal part of the spiritual life. These are not electives but a part of the core teaching in the school of Christ.

Fasting preceded many great hinge points in human history. After Moses fasted, he received the tablets that changed our knowledge of sin and the world's sense of rightness (Exodus 34:28). After Jesus fasted, the cup began to flow with the wine of the New Covenant (Matthew 4:2). After the early Church leaders fasted, the Jesus movement exploded beyond the borders of Palestine (Acts 13:2). The 20th century church in Asia fasted and now it grows at unprecedented rates. The Father loves to reward those who fast with a pure heart (Matthew 6:18).

Fasting precedes purpose and so purpose should precede fasting. When we fast, we should consider it a time of "setting aside" in order to "take up." We abstain from food for a time in order to better focus on Christ and His kingdom. Fasting requires resolution and dedication. We take time to exit the highway of our busy lives.  Fasting is most beneficial when accompanied with seeking, sacrificing and sowing to the Spirit rather than flesh. When we eat, we satisfy the flesh. When we fast, we reach beyond the flesh to the realm of the Spirit. 

Fruitfulness in fasting is not quickly achieved. It is a practice that is enhanced with time and experience. When we enter into a season of fasting, the Lord gives grace. For a moment it reminds us of death, and then the Spirit translates the absence of food into a sense of life, light and discernment.

As Jesus Christ was deliberate in his journey to Jerusalem, may we follow him in this practice. Not "if" but "when you fast."