Why is Prayer & Fasting Important?

Most Christians are not taught about fasting and prayer but it is important to realize that Jesus actually commands us to fast:

¹⁷But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6: 17-18)

Notice that Jesus said “WHEN you fast” – He didn’t say “IF you fast.” It is clear that Jesus expected us to fast.

So, let’s take a look at what fasting is and how the Holy Bible demonstrates it is to be used.

What is Fasting?

Fasting usually involves abstaining from certain foods – or all food – for a specific amount of time (e.g., 1 day, 3 days, 14 days, 21 days, 40 days) and for a specific purpose.

Fasting can also be ongoing. For example, an ongoing fast can be a commitment to permanently avoid defiled foods (e.g. unclean animals, artificial ingredients, GMOs).

Examples of fasting in the Holy Bible are centered around abstaining from food as a means of humbling ourselves before the Lord, going deeper into our soul, and getting our hearts right with the Lord. When we fast, we are seeking the Lord regarding whatever is afflicting our soul.

Another application for fasting is to help us gain self-control over the things and/or activities in our lives that are getting in the way of keeping God first.

If the thing and/or activity is actually sinful, we need to permanently turn away from it. If the thing and/or activity is not sinful but is becoming a stumbling block to our relationship with God, we need to develop self-control over it (or we need to give it up). With God all things are possible.

Fasting can be used as a way to begin getting free from addictions. A full-blown addiction will consume our life and try to become our god. That’s because addiction includes a powerful spiritual attack. But humbling ourselves and seeking the Lord with all our heart through prayer and fasting can be an excellent way to overcome the enemy.

Total Fast

¹⁶Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise… (Esther 4: 16)

This is an example of a total fast: no food and no beverage. This type of fast is usually for a very short period (maximum of 3 days).

Another total fast is a water fast: no food but water is allowed. This type of fast can be done for several days (maximum of 40 days).

Please do not try to do an extended total fast without being sure that God is calling you to do so. Also understand that we need to prepare our body before attempting an extended fast. Please do additional research and consult with your doctor before attempting a total fast or an extended fast.

Partial Fast

³I ate no pleasant bread [delicacies], neither came flesh [meat] nor wine [alcohol] in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. (Daniel 10: 3)
¹²“Test your servants for ten days; let us be given [only] vegetables [plant-based foods] to eat and water to drink.” (Daniel 1: 12)

A partial fast allows for certain foods and but avoids certain foods.

Daniel 1 describes a partial fast that allowed only for water and plant-based foods.

Daniel 10 describes a partial fast that avoids alcohol, animal flesh, and delicacies (pastries, desserts). Daniel 10 also mentions avoiding a non-food item: lotions (anointings).

A partial fast can also be giving up one or meals during the day but still eating at a designated time during the day. For example, not eating anything until dinner.

Ongoing Partial Fast: Faithful to God by Avoiding Unclean / Defiled Food

⁸But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore, he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself…¹²“Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables [pulse] to eat and water to drink. ¹³Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” ¹⁴So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. (Daniel 1: 8, 12-15)

Daniel sought to maintain the commands that God had given the Jewish people. Since he could not be sure that the animals had been properly dispatched, he avoided animal flesh. Since he could not be sure that certain types of foods were done in keeping with God’s commands, he avoided those foods entirely. He avoided defiled food because he did not want to defile himself. So, he ate plant-based foods (“pulse” means more than just “vegetables”).

Mourning

¹³And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days. (1 Samuel 31: 13)
¹²And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. (2 Samuel 1: 12)
³And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. (Esther 4: 3)
²In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.³I ate no pleasant bread [delicacies], neither came flesh [meat] nor wine [alcohol] in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.(Daniel 10: 2-3)

Fasting and prayer is often used when our soul is in mourning. When we mourn, our heart is touched deeply. Fasting and prayer for a limited period of time can be a way of navigating through those deep thoughts and feelings (as we seek the Lord with all our heart).

Humbling the soul

¹³But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom. (Psalm 35: 13)
¹⁰When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. (Psalm 69: 10)

Fasting and prayer is a way of humbling ourselves before the Lord. We turn away from letting the desires of our flesh rule over us. We give up gratifying ourselves and focus on getting our heart right with the Lord.

Serving God

³⁷And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. (Luke 2: 37)

This woman of God fasted and prayed every day and night. Hers was a life of denying the flesh and living for God. In order to be fasting and praying daily, she was most likely living in a cycle of daily partial fasting and at specific times, a total fast.

Spending Time in God’s Presence

²⁸And he [Moses] was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. (Exodus 34: 28)

While Moses was in God’s presence receiving the 10 Commandments, Moses did not eat or drink for 40 days and nights. Keep in mind that humans need water to survive. Moses’ fast without water for 40 days was done in God’s presence (God sustained Moses).

Seeking God

³⁰And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, ³¹And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. ³²Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee… ³⁴Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: ³⁵But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him… ³⁸How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. ³⁹And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: ⁴⁰Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly… ⁴³To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. ⁴⁴While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. ⁴⁵And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.(Acts 10: 30-32, 34-35, 38-45) (KJV)

This Gentile centurion sought the Lord in prayer and fasting. His humility and dedication to God were rewarded. He was visited by an angel and told to ask for Simon Peter. When they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, He and his household became the first Gentiles to receive God’s Holy Spirit.

Seeking God for Understanding

²In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.³I ate no pleasant bread [delicacies], neither came flesh [meat] nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled… ⁸Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me…⁹Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground… ¹²Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. (Daniel 10: 2-3, 8-9, 12)

Daniel was in mourning and did a partial fast for 3 weeks (21 days). God heard Daniel’s prayers and sent an angel to give Daniel understanding.

Beseeching God for Grace & Mercy

¹⁶David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. (2 Samuel 12: 16)
²²And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? ²³But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. (2 Samuel 12: 22-23)

King David had sinned greatly against the Lord: he had committed adultery and murder. When the child of the adulterous union became ill, David fasted and prayed to the Lord for grace and mercy on his child. But God had ordained that the child would not live because of David’s sin. David fasted in hope of the child being spared but he did not continue to fast after the child died (other people would have fasted in mourning). He accepted God’s sovereign will.

Although God is gracious and merciful, He doesn’t always answer “yes” to our request. Prayer and fasting is not a way of manipulating God. It is a way for us to seek Him with all our heart and trust Him regardless of what He chooses to do.

In Humility: Requesting Protection from Enemies

²¹Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance… ²³So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us. (Ezra 8: 21, 23)
¹⁶Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. (Esther 4: 16)
³And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. (2 Chronicles 20: 3)

Fasting helps us to humbly go before our mighty God and request His protection from our enemies. When we turn away from pride, humbly seek the Lord in prayer and fasting, trust God regarding His decision, and our heart is right with the Lord, often He will choose to provide the protection we are requesting.

In Repentance: Requesting Forgiveness & Mercy

⁴And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven… ¹¹O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. (Nehemiah 1: 4, 11)
³And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes…¹⁰Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets… ¹⁴Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice…. ¹⁹O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. (Daniel 9: 3, 10, 14, 19)
⁵So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them… ⁹Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? ¹⁰And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. (Jonah 3: 5, 8-10)

Fasting and prayer provides a way for us to humbly repent and entreat the Lord for forgiveness and mercy. These examples were in the Old Testament.

Remember that Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sin, and God’s forgiveness is available to us when we humbly accept His Son Jesus as our Savior and Lord.

Fasting and prayer remains an excellent way to help us present our whole heart to the Lord.

In Obedience: Humble before the Lord

²⁹“And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves [fast and pray] and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. ³⁰For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins. ³¹It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; it is a statute forever. (Leviticus 16: 29-31) (ESV)
²⁷Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls [fast and pray], and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. ²⁸And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. ²⁹For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. ³⁰And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. ³¹Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. ³²It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls [fast and pray]: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. (Leviticus 23: 27-32)
⁷And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month a holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls [fast and pray]: ye shall not do any work therein (Numbers 29: 7)

God commanded the Jewish people to observe certain fasts as part of their observance of the holy days that God ordained (especially on Yom Kippur: the day of Atonement). Fasting and prayer on days that God commands is an act of obedience to the Lord. God blesses obedience.

Because of our fallen (sin) nature, humans are naturally prideful. Humility does not come naturally. When we choose to humble ourselves before the Lord, is an act of free will. Blessed are the meek (gentle, humble).

Preparing for Ministry & Resisting Temptation

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³And the tempter came… ¹¹Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. (Matthew 4: 1-3, 11) (ESV)
²As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” ³And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. (Acts 13: 2-3)
²³And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. (Acts 14: 23)
⁴But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, ⁵In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; ⁶By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,⁷By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left; (2 Corinthians 6: 4-7) (KJV)

Fasting and prayer are important components of preparing for and continuing in ministry. When we fast and pray, we are vulnerable because we are hungry but we can also become spiritually stronger. The reliance on God and denying of our flesh that fasting reinforces provides a powerful tool for overcoming temptation.

Spiritual Warfare

¹⁵Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water…⁸And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. ¹⁹Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? ²⁰And 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. ²¹Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. (Matthew 17: 15, 18-21) (KJV)
²⁵When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. ²⁶And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. ²⁸And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? ²⁹And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. (Mark 9: 25-29) (KJV)

Notice that Jesus was ready to cast out that type of demon because He had already been fasting on a regular basis.

Please note that only the King James Version (KJV) includes “prayer and fasting” as the only way that type of demon can be cast out. You might want to ask yourself why the other translations might mention “prayer” but leave out “fasting” and why do several other translations leave out verse 29 completely? It seems like an awfully important verse to choose not to include.

There are different versions of the Holy Bible because it has been translated from the original languages (Aramaic/Hebrew/Greek) into other languages (e.g., English). Because of the variations between translations of the Holy Bible, please compare them to the King James Version (KJV). Any area in which the meaning is different, try to study the original word in its original language (Aramaic/Greek/Hebrew) and the various meanings of that word in context. Or just stay with the KJV.

The fast that God rejects

“Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. ²Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God. ³‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. ⁴Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. (Isaiah 58: 1-4)
¹²When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. (Jeremiah 14: 12)
¹⁰“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18: 13-14) (ESV)

If we have been sinning against God and our hearts are not in the right place, God will not hear our prayers – even if we are fasting. And if we are fasting for ourselves instead of for God, that fasting is in vain.

The Fast that God chooses

⁶“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? ⁷Is it not to share your bread with the hungryand bring the homeless poor into your house;when you see the naked, to cover him,and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. ⁹Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, ¹⁰if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.
¹¹And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. ¹²And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;you shall be called the repairer of the breach,the restorer of streets to dwell in.
¹³“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; ¹⁴then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 58: 6-14) (ESV)

There is a right way and a wrong way to fast. When we fast and pray God’s way, He will hear our prayers. We cannot expect Him to hear our prayers if we will not obey Him. But if we trust and obey Him, He promises many blessings!

Is Fasting for Christians?

¹⁶Moreover 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. ¹⁷But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; ¹⁸That 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. (Matthew 6: 16-18)
¹⁴Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?¹⁵And Jesus said unto them, 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. (Matthew 9: 14-15)

Yes, Jesus taught that His followers are to fast. When He was walking with His disciples, they did not fast because He was with them in person. Although Jesus’ Holy Spirit is within us, we are to fast during the time that we are awaiting His (the Bridegroom’s) return. Once the Bridegroom (Jesus Christ) returns, we will no longer participate in fasting.

The Fast that God declares for the End of this Age

¹³Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. ¹⁴Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord,¹⁵Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. (Joel 1: 13-15)
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; (Joel 2: 1)
¹²Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: ¹³And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. ¹⁴Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?
¹⁵Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: ¹⁶Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
¹⁷Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? ¹⁸Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
³²And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2: 12-18, 32)

Yes, this scripture is directed primarily toward the Jewish people but it can also apply to Christians. We are to turn to the Lord with all our heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend our heart (not our clothes).

The end of this age will include very difficult challenges. God is still in control and He has warned us of what the future holds. We are not to be caught by surprise. We need to spiritually prepare for what is coming.

Before beginning a fast, we need to go about it the right way:

Make sure you are doing for the right reason.
Check with your doctor before beginning a fast.
Prepare your body for the fast (what you eat before the fast impacts the fast).

If you aren’t sure what type of fast God is calling you to do:

Ask God what He would have you fast.
Ask God how long He would have you fast.
Ask God when He would have your begin the fast.

Remember that fasting is just fasting (for yourself) unless you include prayer.