Food and Christianity collide in a heart-shaping practice called fasting.
The Greek word for fasting, nesteuo, translates directly as ‘to abstain from eating’ (CS Lewis Institute), and because of this, it is undeniable that surrendering food is not just encouraged, but it’s a vital part of a Christian’s walk with God.
Respected by the prophets in Isaiah 58 and normalized by Christ in Matthew 6:16-18 (Akande, Gospel Coalition), fasting is a fundamental step for anyone who wants to grow in their relationship with God.
First Step
The first thing to understand about fasting is that it is under-practiced in modern Christianity.
This means that just because someone fasts more often than the person sitting next to them at church does not mean that they have a healthy relationship with fasting.
In an article from the Gospel Coalition, Reverend Oyewole Akande quotes his friend saying, “I can’t believe God would have answered my prayer but decided not to because I ate a piece of chicken” (Akande, Gospel Coalition). Simply put, people cannot see the point of surrendering their lunch, so they just don’t do it. This is clearly outlined as a mistake when Christ says of His disciples, “But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast” (Luke 5:35, NIV).
If someone wants to be a disciple of God, then it is detailed that they will fast, not that they might fast.
However, in modern Christianity, it seems that at every turn, Christians look for ways to evade fasting with desperation. The most popular way to escape the discipline is the ever-growing replacement that resembles a dollar-store knock off, social media fasts. A trend that has swept the Christian culture. Church-goers across the globe cling to their meals but experience a warm feeling of accomplishment as they throw away their phone. However, as stated, the Greek word for fasting, nesteuo, translates directly as ‘to abstain from eating’ (CS Lewis Institute).
Any other kind of fast cannot act as a replacement for surrendering food.
However, it’s worth noting that there is nothing wrong with giving up social media if someone feels as though it will enhance their faith. It cannot act as a replacement for food fasts, but it can certainly act as a supplement. The manner in which someone can effectively incorporate non-food-based fasting into their walk with God needs to be expansive and not attempting to replace anything.
In order to begin a fasting practice, it needs to be understood that surrendering meals is clearly outlined as necessary.
If a Christian is looking to understand fasting in order to walk deeper into their faith, they have understood that abstaining from food isn’t an optional part of a walk with God. Instead, it’s a direct command and necessity for anyone who wants to be Christ’s disciple.
Why Should We Fast?
The next thing for a Christian to understand about fasting is why it’s commanded. It can easily feel far-fetched to think that the less someone eats, the closer they are to God.
The answer is found when fasting is no longer looked at as an action, but instead an internal heart-posture.
The idea of sacrificing aspects of life that Christians hold dear is very understandable in other areas of the faith, for example surrendering parts of life that act as temptations. When these ideas align, fasting and temptation, then the rationale behind fasting becomes clear.
During the Sermon on The Mount, Christ commands, “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:29-30, NIV).
With this command, the simple idea of surrendering temptation is taken to a massive extreme as Christians are told that even something as precious as their hand is nothing compared to Heaven. Christ is making the statement that in order to truly understand what God has for Christians, they have to believe that even having their left eye isn’t worth it if it causes a stumbling block in their relationship with God.
However, it’s necessary to understand that a hand cannot cause someone to sin.
This idea is outlined by Christ when he declares, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45, NIV).
Sin is not a product of a Christians hand or eye, but a product of a heart that hasn’t truly submitted to God’s authority.
This is where fasting proves vital. In order to change character, the path is less simple than cutting off a hand. Instead, it requires a purposeful action that can change character. Frequently and willfully surrendering basic necessities like food prepares a heart to surrender the rest of itself.
Very many people hold their breakfast closer to their hearts than their sins; therefore, if they put God’s authority above their breakfast, then their food will soon follow.
Making fasting a consistent and devoted practice is needed in order to teach a heart to surrender to God’s authority.
Throughout modern Christian culture one spiritual discipline is neglected in excess. However, this discipline of fasting is not an optional part of the faith that one can pick and choose how to practice. Instead, it is clearly outlined as not just an effective, but a necessary, way to draw closer to God.
The reality is that Christians are called to surrender roadblocks in their faith, and that is too difficult a practice to be done without first training their heart.
If someone wants to grow in their faith, then fasting is a vital and effective step.
Works Cited
Akande, Oyewole. “Does Fasting Seem Strange to You?” TGC Africa, 7 Apr. 2021, africa.thegospelcoalition.org/article/does-fasting-seem-strange-to-you/. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
Christian, Vera. “Vera Christian.” Vera Christian, 9 Nov. 2022, www.verachristian.com/connecting-the-dots/how-to-social-media-fast. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Life, Gospel. “Gospel Life Fellowship.” Gospel Life Fellowship, 13 Dec. 2020, www.gospellifemd.org/ygqt/2020/12/10/matthew-529-30.
Mathis, David. “Fasting for Beginners.” Desiring God, 26 Aug. 2015, www.desiringgod.org/articles/fasting-for-beginners.
Tarrants, Thomas. “The Place of Fasting in the Christian Life.” C.S. Lewis Institute, 6 June 2018, www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/the-place-of-fasting-in-the-christian-life/.