What Does the Bible Really Say About Fasting?

Fasting is something many Christians are familiar with, but I’m not sure we always approach it with the right heart.

Some people associate fasting simply with giving up food. Others immediately think of the popular Daniel Fast, and sometimes fasting can begin to sound almost like a transaction with God: If I sacrifice enough, maybe He will answer my prayer.

But after about five years of fasting myself, I’ve learned that fasting is about much more than what is—or isn’t—on my plate.

I’ve fasted for a day, three days, a week, and for longer periods. I’ve also practiced different kinds of fasts during different seasons of my life. My first was a Daniel Fast, and through that experience, I began to see the power of God in a way I hadn’t before.

Yet one of the most important things fasting has taught me is surprisingly simple: The length of the fast isn’t what matters most. Your heart does.

An Empty Stomach Isn’t the Goal

Simply going without food doesn’t automatically draw us closer to God. I can stop eating, but if I spend the entire day filling my mind with worldly entertainment, scrolling through distractions, and giving God no more of my attention than I normally would, what am I really accomplishing?

For me, fasting is about intentionally removing those distractions and replacing them with more time in prayer, more time in God’s Word, and more time seeking Him.

Jesus’ words during His own 40-day fast speak directly to this.

After Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, Jesus answered:

“It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” — Matthew 4:4 (KJV)

Our bodies need food, but our souls need God.

Physical hunger can become a reminder of something deeper. When hunger comes, instead of focusing only on when I can eat again, I can allow that moment to remind me why I’m fasting. I can pray. I can open my Bible. I can seek God because an empty stomach isn’t the goal. A heart hungry for God is.

Sometimes the Flesh Gets Loud

I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes when I’m fasting, all I can think about is food. I’ve even found myself watching food challenges while fasting. There I am, hungry, watching someone eat an outrageous amount of food while I’m intentionally eating nothing. Interesting enough, it eases the rumbling in my stomach.

It sounds a little ridiculous when I say it out loud, but it has taught me something about the flesh: it doesn’t particularly like being told no.

Jesus said:

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” — Luke 9:23 (KJV)

Food isn’t sinful, and neither is being hungry, but for me, fasting has become one way of intentionally telling my flesh that it doesn’t have to receive what it wants in the moment it wants it.

When I’m hungry, my flesh wants food. When I’m uncomfortable, it wants comfort. When I’m bored, it wants entertainment. Sometimes I need the reminder that my flesh doesn’t have to be in charge.

Fasting has helped me practice denying the flesh and redirecting my attention toward God. It exposes just how accustomed I can become to immediately satisfying what I want—and reminds me that there are times when I need to say no to my flesh so I can focus more intentionally on Him.

Why I Fast

There have been different reasons I’ve fasted throughout the years, but one of the biggest is when I’m facing an important decision and need God’s guidance.

Those are times when I don’t want my emotions, fears, or personal desires becoming louder than the voice I’m trying to hear. I want to remove distractions and intentionally seek God.

In my own experience, fasting has allowed me to hear God more clearly. There have even been times when I’ve entered a fast praying about something specific and God answered that prayer almost immediately.

I’ve seen the power of God through prayer and fasting in ways that have strengthened my faith tremendously, but there have also been times when I’ve prayed and waited for a substantial amount of time.

Just because God doesn’t answer immediately doesn’t mean He didn’t hear you.

Fasting isn’t a transaction where I give up food and God owes me an immediate answer. I can seek Him, pray, search His Word, and then trust Him with both the answer and the timing.

God is always on time, even when His timing doesn’t look like mine.

Jesus Said, “When You Fast”

Fasting wasn’t something Jesus merely talked about. He fasted Himself, and when He addressed fasting in Matthew 6, I noticed the language He used:

“Moreover when ye fast…” — Matthew 6:16 (KJV)

Jesus said when, not if, but He also gave a warning about the heart behind it.

Jesus spoke about hypocrites who deliberately made themselves appear miserable so other people would know they were fasting. He told His followers to do the opposite:

“But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret…” — Matthew 6:17–18 (KJV)

Fasting isn’t something we need to announce. Everyone doesn’t need to know how long we’re fasting, how hungry we are, or how difficult the fast has become. There may be legitimate reasons someone else knows—perhaps they’re fasting alongside you, they’re part of your household, or they need to know for health or practical reasons.

However, that’s completely different from making sure people know we’re fasting so they’ll recognize our sacrifice.

If the purpose of my fast becomes making sure other people know I’m fasting, I’ve shifted the attention from God to myself.

Not Every Fast Looks the Same

One thing I’ve learned during my years of fasting is that not every fast has to look exactly the same. My first was what is commonly called the Daniel Fast, based on periods described in the book of Daniel when Daniel abstained from certain foods. It was through that first experience with fasting that I began seeing God’s power in a very personal way.

I’ve since fasted in other ways and for different lengths of time. I’ve also gone through seasons when my circumstances required me to approach fasting differently.

When I was breastfeeding, for example, my body needed regular nourishment. Instead of going completely without food, I ate fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and brown rice and briefly went without meat. I was still nourishing my body while intentionally changing what I consumed and setting that time apart to seek God.

That experience reinforced something I believe is important: Fasting isn’t a competition.

A three-day fast isn’t automatically more meaningful than a one-day fast. A week isn’t automatically more spiritual than three days, and someone whose circumstances require a modified fast isn’t somehow offering God less than someone who can abstain completely from food.

The heart matters.

Pregnancy, breastfeeding, medications, and certain health conditions can affect what kind of fasting is safe. Water-only fasting—and especially dry fasting, which involves abstaining from fluids—shouldn’t be undertaken casually. If your circumstances require you to eat regularly or you’re considering a restrictive fast, talk with a qualified healthcare professional about what is appropriate for you.

Sometimes wisdom means modifying the fast around what your body requires. The purpose isn’t to prove how much deprivation you can withstand. The purpose is to draw closer to God.

Don’t Skip Isaiah 58

There is an entire chapter of the Bible I believe anyone interested in fasting should read: Isaiah 58. I don’t want to take a few verses from it and tell you what to think about them.

Read the entire chapter for yourself.

Read it prayerfully. Pay attention to what God says about fasting and the condition of the heart. Then read Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:16–18 and the account of His fast in Matthew 4.

Don’t build your understanding of fasting solely around my experiences—or anyone else’s. My experiences can tell you what I’ve encountered during approximately five years of fasting. God’s Word should be the authority.

Fasting Isn’t a Formula

I’ve experienced prayers being answered while I was fasting—some almost immediately. I’ve also experienced the dreaded waiting. That’s why I don’t believe fasting should ever become a formula for getting something from God.

I’m not saying, “God, I went without food, so now You need to give me what I’m asking for.” I’m seeking Him.

Sometimes I’m asking for guidance. Sometimes I’m bringing a specific prayer before Him. Sometimes, I simply need to remove distractions and spend more intentional time seeking God, and sometimes the answer doesn’t come when I expect it.

That doesn’t mean the fast failed. It means I’m still called to trust Him.

Prayer, Persistence, and Fasting

My own experiences with prayer and fasting are part of why I included a chapter on fasting in the Glorious Grace 30-Day Prayer & Persistence Guide.

The guide isn’t about finding a formula that guarantees God will answer every prayer exactly how or when we want Him to. It’s about becoming more intentional in prayer, remaining persistent when answers don’t come immediately and continuing to seek God through His Word.

Fasting naturally belongs in that conversation because I’ve experienced firsthand how removing distractions and denying the desires of the flesh can turn my attention back toward God.

Seek Him. Seek Him when the answer comes quickly. Seek Him when it doesn’t. Seek Him when you understand what He is doing, and seek Him when you don’t.

Just keep seeking Him.

After about five years of fasting, I’ve learned that it isn’t about how many meals I can skip or how many days I can go without food. It isn’t about proving my devotion to other followers of Jesus.

It’s about drawing closer to God. It’s about quieting the things that compete for my attention and intentionally making room to seek Him. Fasting doesn’t make God owe me an answer, and it doesn’t guarantee that He will answer in the way or timing I want, but it reminds me where my dependence belongs.

So if there is one thing I hope you take away from this, it’s this: Seek Him.

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