"John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came to Jesus and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples don’t?”
Jesus replied, “Can wedding guests fast while the groom is still with them? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.
“No one patches an old coat with a new piece of cloth that will shrink. Otherwise, the new patch will shrink and rip away some of the old cloth, and the tear will become worse. People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the wine will make the skins burst, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine is to be poured into fresh skins.” Mark 2:18-22
Even at the time of Jesus, people have been asking questions about fasting.
But unlike Jesus, I will not be giving my take on fasting by handing out Jesus type signature stories or parables.
What I would do though, is that I will try to clarify a few things about fasting through my own personal experience with it, and I will support these with Scriptures.
I understand that you will still have questions regarding fasting, even with my best efforts. My aim though is that after reading this, at least you would know why you are fasting and how to go about it.
Rewards
But first, the good news, and there is good news. There is a reward when you fast.
But it should not be to make you look good or for people to look up to you on how religious you are for being so righteous.
When you do fast, Jesus warned to be sure not to practice your religious righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. He added, do not make it so obvious, otherwise that will be the only reward they will ever get (Matthew 6). Figuratively, don't even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Meaning, fasting should be something between you and God.
Second, God did not meant for us to suffer or get sick when we fast. No, for I do not believe we have a Father in heaven who is masochistic.
Third, yes we all should fast. And you case you missed it, it is in the verse above -- when the groom (Jesus, talking about Himself) is taken away from them (His disciples), then they will fast. "They" are those who follow Jesus (also in Matthew 9 and Luke 5).
Why fast?
In Jewish tradition and customs, they fast on their holy days and they follow strict rules and regulations. Since old testament times, their fore fathers have fasted and they have recorded them in their Jewish Scriptures. God had His people fast as a sign of mourning, to cry out to Him and to seek Him.
In the New Testament, we have seen that although Jesus fasted, His disciples did not. And Jesus answered one of their questions as recorded in Mark 9:29, this way: "This kind (of evil spirit) cannot come out by anything but prayer and fasting.", which they asked when Jesus was able to cast out this evil spirit after they could not.
Jesus Did Fast
Jesus fasted while He walked among us. In the verse above, He said, we do not pour new wine into old wineskins. And the reason this applies to fasting is that the Jews used to fast, out of religious obligations or tradition or worse to look holy and righteous or to atone for their sins. All this because they follow the letter of the law as prescribed in the old testament. Jesus came to fulfill the law and usher in the new covenant between God and His children. Thus we do not pour "new" wine into "old" wineskin. We are no longer His people, but His friends and His children.
New Way
The disciples of Jesus fasted, not out of tradition or obligation. They fasted because they wanted more of Jesus, they wanted more power, they wanted to hear from Him, they wanted to seek Him and yes they wanted their prayers answered.
Note: Remember after Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, He was tempted by the devil to turn stones to bread, so He could eat and break His fast. Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'
Yes, when we fast, we do not eat physical or actual food. Now what we should eat instead, is spiritual food, or the Word of God.
Fasting should not just be about abstaining from something or not eating something, it should be about taking time off to seek God's face while meditating on His Word.
Meaning as we starve our flesh, we should make our spirit full by partaking of the bread that comes from heaven, His Word.
Lastly, it is recorded in Scriptures that the Acts 2 church prayed and fasted for, and laid hands on appointed members as they anointed them to be their leaders.
Which kind of fast?
Any kind, just as long as it leads you to your Father in heaven, to doing His will and to hearing His voice.
In seeking His face, you would know what kind of fast would work for you. Although Scriptures gives us different kinds, there is no cookie cut way to do it. And I will not even try to tell you which one. But as we have already learned, whatever will work for the purpose of your fast should be the kind of fast you should be doing. And one thing we could now be sure of, we just need to do it.
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