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[Announcer] (0:00 - 0:34) Think about the Bible like you never have before. You're listening to Christian Questions. Experience more episodes, videos, and Bible study resources at ChristianQuestions.com.

Our topic is: "Should Christians Fast?" For many Christians, fasting is a really big deal. While several differing interpretations of Christian fasting exist, the reality of what it means needs to be drawn directly from Scripture.

What does fasting mean and how important is it for Christians to engage in this practice? Here's Rick, Jonathan, and Julie.

[Rick] (0:36 - 0:47) Welcome everyone, I'm Rick. I'm joined by Jonathan, my co-host for over 25 years, and Julie, a longtime contributor, is also with us. Jonathan, what's our theme Scripture for this episode?

[Jonathan] (0:48 - 0:58) Acts 14:23: "When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed."

[Rick] (1:00 - 1:51) Fasting is a practice that has endured for thousands of years. Fasting appears often in the Bible, and among other things, it's used as a tool of focus, an expression of grief, and a sign of humility. What seems to have been a common occurrence in ancient days has now become far less mainstream.

Do all of the biblical references to fasting in both the Old and New Testaments mean we as Christians should be engaging in this practice regularly? If we should be participating, what circumstances bring on appropriate times to fast? Just as importantly, how should we fast?

Are there time frames that should be kept? What about drinking water during a fast? Is that appropriate?

Many, many questions. Fortunately, the Bible gives us many, many practical answers, and some are actually very surprising.

[Julie] (1:53 - 2:14) So many people, Rick, ask us practical questions about Christian fasting that we wanted to discuss them here in their scriptural context. The latest Pew Research Center survey from February 2024 says that one in five Americans fast for religious reasons. That's 21% of adults.

The majority of Christians fasting are Catholic, but Protestants sometimes fast as well.

[Rick] (2:15 - 2:33) Okay, beginning with fasting in the Jewish Law; we have to start somewhere, so we're going to start with the Jewish Law. It was all about humbling oneself before God in a repentant way, and this was in direct relation to the part of the Law that was called the Day of Atonement.

[Jonathan] (2:33 - 3:23) The annual Day of Atonement was a way to seek forgiveness for the sins committed each year, allowing the Israelites to maintain a relationship with God. Let's read from Leviticus 16:29-31: "And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls (fast), and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: for on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls (fast), by a statute for ever." These verses bring out that in doing all these things, you are good with God.

[Julie] (3:23 - 4:02) Jonathan, you read this really strange expression, "afflict your souls." We looked that up in Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible, this Bible commentary, and it says, "The old term for fasting; but its meaning evidently embraces, not only abstinence from food, but that penitence and humiliation which gives scope and purpose to the outward act of fasting. The Day of Atonement was the only public fast commanded by the Law of Moses."

Fasting was one of the formalities the Israelites, under the Law Covenant, they had to keep in order to show their obedience to God. Again, this Law required only one fast per year on the Day of Atonement.

[Rick] (4:03 - 4:27) The Law gives us one specific, specific fast, and that was for everybody. In addition to this specific fasting instruction that was for all of Israel, everybody who was in the country was supposed to abide by this. There are many other Old Testament examples of individuals and groups fasting. We're going to reference several of these throughout our conversation today.

[Julie] (4:28 - 4:33) Yeah, one reason people fasted in the Old Testament was in grief over a tremendous loss.

[Jonathan] (4:33 - 5:01) For example, Nehemiah fasted over the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem in Nehemiah 1:3-4: "They said to me, The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire. When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven."

[Rick] (5:01 - 5:24) Think about the scene here. He's weeping, he's mourning, he's praying, and he's fasting. His whole being is focused on what he feels at his grief over this tremendous loss of the security of God's holy city, Jerusalem. What a great example, an Old Testament example of that heartfelt fast.

[Julie] (5:25 - 5:30) Another reason people fasted in the Old Testament was over the death of a respected person or people.

[Jonathan] (5:31 - 6:08) For example, David fasted over the death of King Saul and Jonathan, his best friend, 2 Samuel 1:11-12: "Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword." This was an outward expression of the grief felt because people they loved had died. They stopped what they were doing and stopped eating to mourn the loss.

[Rick] (6:08 - 6:59) They mourned, they wept, and they fasted. Again, you see this pouring out of these individuals over the grief of the death of King Saul and beloved Jonathan. Two really very emotional examples of fasting thus far. Now, let's shift gears a little bit. Fasting appears in the New Testament, okay? The first appearance of fasting is when Jesus is eight days old. He's brought to the Temple for circumcision, and the prophet Simeon takes him in his arms and he prophesies, and there's a beautiful, beautiful account here of Simeon's emotion, realizing he's holding the Messiah. Then he blesses Mary and Joseph. Then right after that, we have the verse in Luke 2:36-38:

[Jonathan] (7:00 - 7:28) "And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fasting and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem."

[Julie] (7:28 - 7:42) Here, fasting was done as an expression of humble service and discipline. The prophetess, Anna, fasted frequently as part of her devotion, her total devotion, to God. At 84 years old, she had the privilege of seeing the Messiah as a baby.

[Jonathan] (7:43 - 7:53) It's important to note that Anna was a dedicated Jewish woman, and her fasting was a regular part of her focused dedication to God's Law and God's providence for his people.

[Rick] (7:54 - 8:23) Again, you have this commitment to this fasting as a part of her regular life serving God in the temple. She just never stopped. She was just so, so dedicated.

We can see fasting in these examples really, really lighting up what fasting meant to the Jewish people. Let's figure out what fasting actually means. There are three words for fasting in the New Testament, and they're all very, very closely related.

Jonathan, let's sum these words up.

[Jonathan] (8:24 - 8:56) Well, in Greek, there is both a noun and a verb, meaning "purposely and intentionally not eating for religious reasons." The third Greek word used can either mean the same; "abstaining intentionally and religiously," or it can mean "not eating simply because there is no food to eat." It's either not available physically at that time or from poverty.

When trying to comprehensively study this topic, it's important to understand why someone is not eating.

[Rick] (8:57 - 9:39) Fasting is literally not eating. Now I just want to make a side point. We're going to come back to this later.

It doesn't say anything about drinking fluids. It just says not eating. This becomes a big issue later on, but it's a very simple concept.

Not eating, generally because you've decided not to; but the same word can mean, because you're not able to. Sometimes what that means is, sometimes fasting is involuntary. You're doing it because you don't have a choice.

You don't intend on it. It's just a situation without food. We've got a couple of scriptures that give us examples of that unintentional fasting. Jonathan, let's start with Matthew 15:32:

[Jonathan] (9:40 - 10:17) This is from the King James Version: "Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way." In other words, the people won’t leave because Jesus was teaching them, and they literally won’t have any food to eat. He didn’t want them to faint with hunger. They weren’t purposely and intentionally fasting. Through a miracle he provided the fish and the loaves of bread. Now, here's another example in 2 Corinthians 6:4-6: "...but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the holy spirit, in genuine love..."

[Julie] (10:41 - 10:53) The word for "hunger" here is that same word as "fasting." Paul is recalling situations where there was literally nothing to eat in all these afflictions he's gone through. He would have eaten if he could, but this was an involuntary type of fast.

[Rick] (10:54 - 11:19) We've got the involuntary type of fast, and we've got the very intentional kind of fasting. Same words, so we want to be understanding of how and when it should apply for us as Christians. We've got some good Old Testament bases, and so now we can begin to develop our topic.

Jonathan, Fasting and Our Christian Lives; where are we so far?

[Jonathan] (11:20 - 11:44) Fasting is an ancient process that in Old Testament times was used for many reasons. The Law of Moses required all of Israel's communities to fast as a preparation for the Day of Atonement. Individuals fasted when they were faced with great loss.

So far, we can see fasting as a tool for humility, thanksgiving, and grief.

[Rick] (11:44 - 12:12) Thus far, we've seen it a tool. Fasting is a tool. It was part of the Law, but it was also a tool for specific circumstances.

We need to understand that, because that gives us a basis for understanding what we as Christians should be focusing on. As we have just scratched the surface, we can see that fasting in the Old Testament was deeply and personally meaningful.

[Jonathan] (12:13 - 12:21) With the basic Old Testament foundation in place, what can we now learn about fasting for Christians from the New Testament?

[Rick] (12:22 - 12:59) As with everything else biblical, we need to be keenly aware of Old and New Testament differences. Those things that were mandated by the Law for the Jewish people have now become principles or examples for those who follow Jesus. Let me say that again.

Those things mandated by the Law have now become principles or examples for those who follow Jesus. Paying close attention to how Jesus used fasting will be the basis for our New Testament understanding. But first, let's take another quick look at an Old Testament example.

[Julie] (13:00 - 13:08) Yes, fasting was also used as an expression of faith, hope, and concern in the face of a potentially grave tragedy.

[Jonathan] (13:08 - 13:53) For example, King Darius fasted over Daniel, whom he had just sealed in the lion's den. Daniel 6:16-19: "The king spoke and said to Daniel, Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you. A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel. Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him. Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lions’ den."

[Julie] (13:54 - 14:22) Darius fasted over his concern about Daniel. Just an important side lesson to consider, Daniel slept better in the lion's den than Darius did in the royal palace. The lesson is, if we aren't ready to praise God where we are, with our conditions and circumstances as they are, we're not likely to praise Him in better and more desirable circumstances. We have to change our perspective, not our circumstances or possessions, in order for us to have this heart overflowing with joy and praise.

[Rick] (14:22 - 15:15) In this example, King Darius is deeply, profoundly concerned. He's worked himself into a corner. They tricked him into putting this edict out, and now he has to enforce it and he's feeling like, I have ruined things. He spends this night fasting because I am so distraught over what I may have contributed to. Of course, we know the account. He goes there and he yells to Daniel, and Daniel says, hey -- I'm making this up -- how'd you sleep? You have this very deep emotional outreach that is shown through fasting for a king. This king was not a Jewish king, let's remember that. It's a really good example of fasting in a situation where there's potentially a grave tragedy unfolding.

[Julie] (15:16 - 15:23) We've got all these reasons, but from a practical standpoint, let's answer the question, should Christians fast? What can fasting do for us?

[Rick] (15:23 - 15:48) Well, if we follow in Jesus's footsteps and apply the principles that he applied, we can learn significant lessons regarding our own discipline and focus. Then I want to focus on those words, regarding our own discipline and focus. Listen to how those things unfold when we look at Jesus's example.

Jonathan, let's go to Matthew 4:1-2:

[Jonathan] (15:48 - 16:48) "Then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he then became hungry." This incredibly long fast reminds us of Moses on the mountain as he communed with God, Exodus 34:27-28: "Then the LORD said to Moses, Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments." Notice that with Moses, it was specifically where he did not eat bread or drink water for forty days and forty nights.

With Jesus, it says he fasted for forty days and forty nights, with no mention of whether or not that included drinking water.

[Julie] (16:48 - 17:12) Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up, because a popular question searched at ChristianQuestions.com is, "Can I drink water during a fast?" There's no New Testament guidance for a Christian fast, so we have nothing that says not to drink water, and we know that both Moses and Jesus were sustained supernaturally for a specific purpose. But Rick, what do you think? Can you drink water during a fast?

Yes? No? Did Jesus?

Do we know?

[Rick] (17:12 - 17:14) Okay, well, that's a lot of questions right there.

[Julie] (17:15 - 17:15) Sorry. There's more.

[Rick] (17:15 - 19:19) Did Jesus... I know, I know, she's just warming up. Did Jesus drink water during this forty-day fast? I don't know.

There's an argument that says, no, he did not, because it was after the fashion of Moses, but the Scripture doesn't tell us he didn't. Either way, it is not relevant to us. We know that he put himself aside to see God's will, to understand Scripture and he, like you said, was sustained by God Almighty Himself. Should we drink water during our fasts? Think about this for a second. In the Old Testament Law, it said for them to fast. Fasting, by definition, didn't mean not drinking water. Alright, so in the Old Testament, you have a very clear focus on fasting as simply a lack of food. In the New Testament, you have the same focus.

This idea of not drinking water is drawing from a cup of... there's essentially three scriptures that give you a sense of not drinking water, and we're taking those examples and we're inserting it into fasting. It's not appropriate.

It is not an appropriate insertion of an idea. Fasting is a lack of food, and the kind of fasting we're talking about is a lack of food for the sake of our spirituality, our communion with God. It has nothing to do with drinking water.

Having said that, fasting for an extended time--now we're talking forty days here--weakens the physical body. Satan saw this as a grand opportunity. Jesus, he's baptized, he goes up into the wilderness, and he fasts for forty days, and Satan sees this as an opportunity. I would imagine that he is just waiting to see how weak Jesus can be and then he's going to pounce, just like that roaring lion. Let's go the temptations in the wilderness and look at them through the eyes of Jesus fasting and what Satan does. Matthew 4:3-4:

[Jonathan] (19:20 - 19:35) "And the tempter came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said, it is written, MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD."

[Julie] (19:35 - 19:47) Is this a fair fight? Here's this extremely powerful spirit being fueled by pride and evil against a mere human, although a perfect one, who isn't taking in any physical nourishment. He is trying to take advantage.

[Rick] (19:48 - 20:31) Absolutely is, absolutely is. He's hungry, and so what's the temptation? Oh, make some bread.

You can do it. I know you can do it. You've got God's Spirit in you.

I know that you can do it. it is taking advantage, it is saying, look, you've got the power and you're hungry. What's the harm? What's the deal? Don't worry about it.

We need to see how this really, really puts things in perspective. As we look at this, fasting can help us to reset our priorities. That's what it does.

It helps us to reset our priorities so that that which is most God-honoring remains our highest, highest, highest objective.

[Julie] (20:32 - 20:39) Even Jesus's hunger was real, but it wasn't his highest priority. He shifted the focus of his own desire by fasting for a time.

[Rick] (20:39 - 21:11) He did, and it was important to do that, and it was important to let Satan know, hey, look, I'm not here for the food. I'm not here for the miracles. What I'm here for is communion with the Father so I can do His will. See, that's the core. That's the key of the fasting, and that's what we want to take from what Jesus gave us as an example. Tending to our physical needs is necessary, and for those who follow Jesus, it should always be done in the context of our being nourished by the Word of God.

[Jonathan] (21:12 - 21:22) Is God telling us to stop eating to the point of starving to death because we will be sustained by just continually reading the Bible? This would be absurd.

[Rick] (21:23 - 21:46) It would be, and folks, don't try that at home. We say that sometimes to be a little bit funny, but I am absolutely dead serious. Don't take this out of its appropriate context.

Please pay attention to how fasting unfolds, especially in the New Testament. If you want to engage in fasting, there is a proper way to do it, and there are loads of improper ways to do it.

[Julie] (21:46 - 21:52) From a practical standpoint, what can fasting do for us as it relates to what we've learned here on these temptations?

[Rick] (21:53 - 22:03) Okay, well, let's go further with the next temptation. Satan continued to attack the physically weakened Jesus. Jonathan, Matthew 4:5-7:

[Jonathan] (22:03 - 22:33) "Then the devil took him into the holy city and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, If you are the son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU; and ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE." Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written, YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST." Well, it sounds like Satan knows the Scriptures well.

[Julie] (22:33 - 22:38) Did you notice he says, "If you are the Son of God," knowing full well who Jesus is.

[Rick] (22:39 - 23:10) All of this is in the context of deep physical hunger, and being weakened physically, and Jesus puts it in order. Don't "put the Lord your God to the test." It's really that simple.

He doesn't say it in his own words. He says it in the words of Old Testament Law. That's what fasting has brought to him.

It's focused his mind to be able to answer these hard, hard things with such clarity. That weakness, actually we see, has been turned to great strength.

[Julie] (23:11 - 23:35) What can fasting do for us? Well, fasting can keep our hearts and minds clear and humble, and it reminds us in a practical and immediate way how reliant we are on God's providence and what we owe Him in return. I feel like this could be a lot more impactful for those of us who can take for granted the instant gratification of having an abundance of food, like many of us do here in the United States.

[Jonathan] (23:35 - 23:53) This enables us to never act in a way that would be testing God, as this puts us in the position of authority instead of Him. We also want to be fully aware of the need to only apply Holy Scripture in an appropriate and loyal way.

[Rick] (23:53 - 24:40) Again, how did fasting work in this circumstance? Satan is trying to take advantage of a physically weakened Jesus, and Jesus, through his fasting, through his prayer, through his meditation, through his recalling of God's Word, has been strengthened. All of those things together have strengthened him so that he would be strong.

Scripture was the key in these temptations. He's always following Scripture, and I truly believe that part of this forty day fast and going away from everybody was to make sure that he had in his mind what his guidelines were, and going over again and again in his perfect mind all of those scriptures to keep this in order.

[Julie] (24:40 - 24:44) What can fasting do for us? What other lessons can we see here, Rick?

[Rick] (24:44 - 24:56) Well, let's go back to the third temptation. Satan's final attack was for Jesus to fulfill Satan's own desire to be like the Most High. This is in Matthew 4:8-11:

[Jonathan] (24:57 - 25:20) "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to him, All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Go, Satan! For it is written, YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY. Then the devil left him; and behold, angels came and ministered to him."

[Rick] (25:20 - 26:07) Jesus' answer is, Go, Satan! Why? Not because I said so, okay?

It's not because I said so. It's because the scripture says, "You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only." You are disqualified from that.

So go. You don't fit the scriptural picture, the scriptural perspective, the scriptural direction that I am going. You see that Jesus took this time and this physical difficulty, this self-inflicted difficulty of fasting, and used it to draw himself as close as possible to his Heavenly Father so he could do His will.

[Julie] (26:07 - 26:23) The lesson of what fasting can do for us then is, adding to our little pile, it can help us maintain an unrelenting focus on our only highest objective. Previously, we suggested it would help us reset our priorities, but we need to maintain them in order to be spiritually effective.

[Rick] (26:24 - 26:47) For us, it's reset and then maintain. For Jesus, it was review the setting and then maintain. He didn't have to reset anything, but we need to look at this from the standpoint of, what do we learn from Jesus' example? Let's go further. The question now; is Jesus' example showing us that we are to fast in the same way as those in the Old Testament did?

[Julie] (26:48 - 27:16) Remember, fasting was and is part of the Jewish culture, and we saw how national fasting was required that one day of year. Sometimes public fasts were proclaimed to ask for God's help or forgiveness, and in a time of need or grief, individuals privately fasted. However, by Jesus's day, it was apparent that many people looked upon fasting as a sign of piety, to be noticed by others and admired. Jesus spoke against this kind of fasting for show in Matthew 6:16-18.

[Rick] (27:18 - 27:40) What we have now, and we're going to get to those scriptures a little bit later, but let's take a look at an example of Jesus showing us about fasting in relation to other fasting, in relation to especially the Old Testament model. Let's look at Matthew 9:14-15, Jesus speaking with the disciples of John the Baptist:

[Jonathan] (27:40 - 28:26) "Then the disciples of John came to him, asking, Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Well, John the Baptist was in prison at this time, so his disciples were likely fasting as a sign of mourning. Jesus gives John's followers a very unusual answer: "And Jesus said to them, The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." Well, in John 3:29, John the Baptist had pointed to Jesus as the bridegroom. When the bridegroom is around, it's a joyful time for feasting, not fasting. When he is with them, all is well.

[Julie] (28:26 - 28:48) After centuries of trying and failing to keep the Law, this "new and living way" was being opened. Jesus was about to die, pay the ransom for Adam's sin, and redeem the whole world of mankind, but that would mean an end to the Law Covenant. Justification of life would no longer be sought by performing works or following formalities.

It would now come through faith in Jesus's sacrifice.

[Rick] (28:48 - 30:12) What we have is a paradigm shift. Jesus's answer has lifted the Law's mandatory fasting requirements. That's what he's essentially saying here, and we're going to develop this further.

However, he absolutely leaves room for fasting to continue for his followers. We're going to suggest that this Christian fasting will be a much smaller focus, and will be more centered around disciplining ourselves toward living God's will, and less focused on our responses to the circumstances around us. Is Jesus saying, yes, Christians are going to regularly fast? He didn't exactly say that. What he said is, my followers will fast when I'm not here. Is he going back to the rituals of the Law? I don't think so. What I think he's doing, as we will open up in the next couple of segments, is he is showing them a higher level of fasting that is very individualized, and very, very, very key, in terms of doing it appropriately. We can get this answer, the sense of this answer, by looking at the very next verses, because Jesus then speaks three very, very short parables. We're just going to touch on two of them, but remember, he just said that, yes, my followers will fast when I am not here. Here are his next words, Matthew 9:16-17.

[Jonathan] (30:12 - 30:37) Here's the first parable: "But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results." Here's the second parable: "Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."

[Julie] (30:38 - 31:08) What does all this mean? The old system, under the Law, couldn't contain the new doctrinal truths of the gospel. Why?

Because the new system had a banner of love and grace, while the old system was a banner of works. The required, repeated sacrifices of the old way couldn't stop mankind from dying. The redemption Jesus brought with this one-time sacrifice of his life for all mankind will be permanent.

This is a new garment, a new wine in a new wineskin.

[Jonathan] (31:08 - 31:24) Episode 1243: "Am I Putting New Wine Into an Old Wineskin?" We highly recommend listening to it with the CQ Rewind show notes document available at ChristianQuestions.com and on the Christian Questions app.

[Rick] (31:25 - 31:54) Remember, he speaks these parables right after he talks about, my followers would fast, and then his next words are--his very next words are--but what I'm showing you is different than what you've ever seen. We need to put those things together and understand the context of what Jesus is saying about this new way. It is very, very different than anything they had ever known.

Again, we'll just unfold this momentarily. Jonathan, Fasting in Our Christian Lives; where are we thus far?

[Jonathan] (31:55 - 32:15) Christian fasting is in no way a ritual. Instead it is a tool of focus. Jesus showed us that his own fasting at the beginning of his ministry was to help him better condition his mind towards the instinctive God-honoring principles he needed to absorb to be perfectly faithful to his mission.

[Rick] (32:15 - 32:32) It had to do with conditioning his mind toward those God-honoring principles. Seeing Jesus in action always helps us understand what we need to do. Listening to his teaching shows us how to do it.

[Jonathan] (32:33 - 32:43) As usual, Jesus paved the way for us to understand where fasting fits into our Christian lives. What are the "do's and don'ts" of Christian fasting?

[Rick] (32:43 - 33:12) Not only did Jesus give us a personal example of fasting, he also taught us, in very straightforward terms, how Christian fasting would be clearly distinguished from the fasting of the Jews of his day. While these next lessons may seem simple, they remind us of the necessity to be sincere, to be humble, and to be teachable as we follow in his footsteps.

[Julie] (33:13 - 33:24) I can't help but compare Christian fasting to Christian tithing. Both are based on Old Testament Law, but they're not required or expected of Christians even though as principles, they can be good and righteous.

[Rick] (33:24 - 34:19) That's a really good example. We look at that and we look at it as a principle of giving. We say, what a great principle, but it's a principle.

Christian giving is not in accordance with a percentage, with somebody there doing the calculations. That's not the way it works in Christianity. Keeping that in mind, let's look at some fasting "do's and don'ts." We're going to get very practical here, and again we're going to begin with the Old Testament. We're going to begin with an examination of a very clear reprimand to the Jewish people about what became their own twisted use of fasting. These are scriptures in Isaiah, and these scriptures show us what went wrong and what God saw and what God really wanted-- so very, very, very important texts that will build a basis for our New Testament conversation. Jonathan, Isaiah 58:1-7.

[Jonathan] (34:20 - 35:00) This is from the New Living Translation: "Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people Israel of their sins! Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about Me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask Me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near Me. We have fasted before You! they say. Why aren't You impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and You don't even notice it..."

[Rick] (35:00 - 35:24) "We've been very hard on ourselves, you don't even notice it." Look at how self-sacrificing we are before You, oh Holy God. Isaiah is talking about them putting on a show.

That's exactly what he's saying. These are God's words. You've got the problem. Now let's go to God's response to that problem. Jonathan, let's continue:

[Jonathan] (35:25 - 35:58) "...I will tell you why! I respond. It's because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with Me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD?"

[Rick] (35:58 - 36:39) This is a very ... this is a ... I would not want to be on the receiving end of this! Let's just say it that way. You just don't want to have somebody say, "And you call this fasting and you think that you're pleasing God Almighty with those actions?" Now think about it. They were physically doing the things that were required. They were checking off the boxes.

Don't eat, dress in sackcloth and ashes, you know, be humbled and all... checking off the boxes. But God is saying, you've missed the point. When we go to verse 6 now, God is going to reframe what He expects from proper fasting.

[Jonathan] (36:39 - 37:04) "No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help."

[Rick] (37:04 - 37:34) God is saying, fasting before Me comes from the inside out. Sure, it's not eating food. You're dressing in sackcloth and ashes, I understand.

Wonderful. However, if the inside is not in harmony with the outside action, it doesn't mean anything to God Almighty. This is a huge, huge lesson for the Jewish nation, and we're going to carry this over, the principles of it, to the New Testament.

[Julie] (37:35 - 37:47) Denial of the flesh through fasting and to sit in sackcloth and ashes, which was the custom, without true heart transformation, doesn't impress God. Hey, why was fasting in the Old Testament so often linked to sackcloth and ashes?

[Rick] (37:47 - 38:46) Well, sackcloth and ashes were an outward expression of grief and of penance, and fasting is supposed to be built on top of that. We're not eating, and we're in a physically uncomfortable position, Lord, because we are so troubled. It is supposed to be a symbol of being troubled.

It's not supposed to be, hey, let's do this because God said so, and then He'll bless us. That was the problem. They took what could have been transformational and they made it sensational. They made it something that you look at from the outside and say, "Yay, look at how well they fasted, oh, good job." It was completely off, but putting those two things together were two very deep expressions of where we need to be before God. Let's take this principle from the Old Testament, and now let's fast-forward to the New Testament. Fasting "do's and don'ts;" let's get started there.

[Julie] (38:47 - 38:54) Okay, well, I have a question. Should I let everyone know that I'm fasting if it's for good spiritual reasons? Maybe I can encourage others that way.

[Rick] (38:55 - 39:25) Okay, should you let everybody know? The answer is "nope," you should not. Why do I say that?

It's very, very straightforward. Let's go a little further, okay? Don't fast in a way noticeable to others.

Why do we say this? Fasting is not a tool for use in public witnessing. We got a hint of that in the Isaiah scripture, but Jesus plainly tells us that in Matthew 6.

We're going to look at Matthew 6:16-24. Jonathan, let's just start with verse 16:

[Jonathan] (39:25 - 40:17) "Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." Fasting isn't to impress others or to make them feel "less than." The Pharisees were all about fasting to make themselves look more pious. But do, here's a "do," do fast privately. In so doing, fasting becomes a tool that can draw us closer to our Heavenly Father.

Continuing with verses 17 and 18: "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."

[Julie] (40:18 - 40:39) Don't make a big deal about it. Look normal. Keep it to yourself.

This isn't a public show, but it's an internal way to set aside time and energy it takes to plan and prepare and eat and clean up, to instead focus on our connection with God. Okay, got it. But how long should a fast, especially one involving food, how long should it last?

[Rick] (40:40 - 41:57) Well, that's a very subjective question, and I think the answer to that question really lies in what are you physically capable of? Should we say ... set out and say, okay, I'm going to fast for seven days? You know what?

First of all, the Scriptures in the New Testament don't say anything about that. In the Old Testament, to prepare for the Atonement Day, they fasted for a day. That was the ritual that was set before them. That's probably a good baseline to begin with. Again, we are not supposed to fast for the sake of fasting. We're supposed to fast for the sake of aligning ourselves with our Heavenly Father.

That's what it comes down to. How long should we fast? We don't have a lot of Scriptural guideline, but the idea of weeks or days and days, I think we've got to be really careful because that can physically be dangerous, and God is not telling us in any way, shape, or form to put ourselves in some kind of physical danger by doing these things. Let's go to another fasting "don't." Don't fast as a sign of a spiritual maturity. This implies that we are earning our worth before God, and this is what Jesus essentially is saying in the next verse in Matthew 6:19:

[Jonathan] (41:58 - 42:04) "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal."

[Rick] (42:05 - 42:12) Now, this reminds us of the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. Remember the two are coming before God... Luke 18:11-12:

[Jonathan] (42:13 - 42:29) "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: God, I thank you that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get."

[Julie] (42:30 - 42:50) "Even like this tax collector." Twice a week of fasting is a lot, but he's talking all superior like this about the tax collector, so that we know there isn't much of a transformation going on. Don't use fasting as an indication that we're more spiritually advanced or accomplished than the person next to us. That makes sense.

[Rick] (42:50 - 43:03) Yeah, fasting isn't about, look at me. ... Fasting is about me looking up to my Heavenly Father.

If we get that backwards, the fast is useless. Let's make sure it's about us looking up to our Heavenly Father.

[Jonathan] (43:04 - 43:33) "Do" fast as a method of personal communion with God. This provokes our hearts to higher loyalty. Matthew 6:20-21: "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Fasting is good if we are doing it to intentionally connect our heart to God. It is a quiet and personal moment between us and our Heavenly Father.

[Julie] (43:35 - 43:55) What do you think about the mandatory fasting, like during Yom Kippur, which corresponds to the old Day of Atonement for the Jews and a time of Lent for Catholics? The intent is to get the focus off of food and more on charity and mercy, and this seems like a good thing, especially when your faith community does it as a group and you can support each other. What do you think?

[Rick] (43:55 - 44:45) Well, I think we want to be careful. I'm not saying you shouldn't do that, because you're right, the principle of that is very, very good. But understand, when we take the principle of inward transformation and we make it a public spectacle of sorts, we run the risk of taking that inward transformation and turning it into some kind of an outward example, an outward show.

We are shown that fasting is not supposed to be in that area. I would say if you are engaging in those things, be very careful that you understand what is driving that fast for you internally and put yourself in the position of doing it as quietly as possible. Jonathan, let's go on to another "do" in relation to fasting.

[Jonathan] (44:45 - 45:27) "Do" fast privately for the purpose of seeing God's will and word more clearly. Matthew 6:22-23: "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" How do you clear up your eye? Honestly evaluate what might be disrupting or distracting from our connecting to our Heavenly Father. We might have a medical reason why we shouldn't fast, like diabetes or an eating disorder. It doesn't have to be food-related.

[Julie] (45:28 - 45:52) That's a good point, because taking a fast from social media might be even harder than skipping a few meals, or maybe not bringing your phone to the dinner table. We can fast from complaining, online shopping, TV, whatever takes up our time and blocks our spiritual growth. How about instead of listening to music in the car, we listen to an episode of Christian Questions?

Redeem the time, make your moments matter.

[Rick] (45:52 - 46:22) This is such an important thing. Fasting--it doesn't have to be about food. It's about setting ourselves from the inside out into a greater harmony with our Heavenly Father through Christ.

That's what it's there for, that's what we're supposed to do with it. We've got treasures on earth, treasures in heaven, now we've got the eye, making sure your eye is clear. These are lessons in regard to our appropriate fasting.

Jonathan, let's do another fasting "do."

[Jonathan] (46:22 - 46:38) "Do" fast as a way to maintain single-mindedness. Matthew 6:24: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

[Julie] (46:39 - 46:54) Fasting is a relatively easy and accessible way to practice self denial and get into this mindset of needing less. We can't serve God on social media, we can't serve God and bow down to peer pressure. Fasting is stopping something for a time to be clear in our direction.

[Jonathan] (46:55 - 47:00) We can consider if it is right for us as a kind of "pause button."

[Rick] (47:01 - 47:38) You pause and consider. Fasting is a "Selah" moment. It's a moment to just stop and reassess from the inside out.

Let's look at another example of fasting. As a Jew, now this is the Apostle Paul before he was the Apostle Paul; as a Jew, as Saul of Tarsus, he fasted as the physical blindness he received at his conversion enlightened him. Here's what happens. After hearing Jesus's voice while on the road to Damascus, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Here's what happens afterwards; Acts 9:7-9:

[Jonathan] (47:38 - 48:14) "The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank." These three days must have felt like solitary confinement, but this fasting was a stepping stone for him to meet, receive, and be guided by Ananias. It makes sense that as a Jewish Pharisee he would fast, especially after such a dramatic event.

[Julie] (48:15 - 48:33) This was a huge turning point in Christianity, to have this leader in trying to stop the movement suddenly become one of the key faces of the movement. This is going to be the ultimate paradigm shift for him, and it was good to regroup and do nothing but sit in the dark for three days, to find clarity and really to think about what he's done.

[Rick] (48:34 - 49:33) Now think about this in relation to the teachings that we just went over from Jesus. It talks about not storing up treasures on earth, okay? You've got this time of darkness and not eating or drinking, and it specifically says he doesn't drink.

There are no more treasures on earth. There's no more earthly ambition to go trap the Christians. Then it says he lost his sight. Jesus said if the eye of the lamp of the body isn't clear, you can't see. He physically lost his sight so that when Ananias would come and heal him and then baptize him, he would have new sight. He would have new treasures in heaven.

He, in this three days of quiet darkness not eating, not drinking, completely reformed himself from the inside out. It's a wonderful example of what we should see fasting performing in our lives. Jonathan, Fasting in Our Christian Lives; where are we so far?

[Jonathan] (49:34 - 49:52) The "don'ts" of Christian fasting are in many ways similar to the "don'ts" of Jewish fasting. However, the "dos" of Christian fasting are narrower in focus. Our fasting should be laser-focused on the development of our loyalty and discipline towards walking in the narrow path of Jesus's own footsteps.

[Julie] (49:52 - 49:58) We want to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, do we really walk in Jesus's footsteps to this degree?

[Rick] (49:58 - 50:16) It's an important question. We need to understand how fasting either fits or does not fit into this walking. It's painfully obvious that fasting, whether in a Jewish or a Christian environment, is never, never something to be trifled with.

[Jonathan] (50:17 - 50:24) What other practical examples do we have in the New Testament that helps us grasp the practicality of Christian fasting?

[Rick] (50:25 - 51:06) When we talked about Jesus's example of fasting, we learned three broad lessons. Let's just put them together really quickly here. First, fasting helps to reset our priorities to our highest objective.

Second, fasting keeps our hearts and minds clear and humble. Third, fasting can bring us an unrelenting focus on God first, which is our only, only highest objective. Now let's look for some narrower objectives that we can achieve through Christian fasting. Start with a question: Is fasting, is Christian fasting, an important part of casting out demons? The New Testament does not say that it is.

[Julie] (51:07 - 51:27) This is really interesting. Some point to texts in Matthew and Mark about this exceptionally strong demon. A man brought his afflicted son to the disciples of Jesus, but they couldn't cast this demon out.

He then brought the boy to Jesus, who sent the demon away. His disciples say, well why didn't that work for us? Jesus teaches them all about having faith.

[Jonathan] (51:28 - 51:53) In the King James Version, Mark 9:29 ends like this: "...And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." But let's read the same verse in the New American Standard Bible.

"...And he said to them, This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer." "Fasting" disappeared!

[Julie] (51:53 - 52:14) That's because the word fasting here is not found in the oldest Greek manuscripts, so it's omitted from modern translations. The King James Version was published in 1611, before many of the older manuscripts (and therefore thought to be more reliable) were discovered. There are fewer variations among the older manuscripts than the later manuscripts.

[Jonathan] (52:14 - 52:48) The King James Version copied the concept from Mark 9:29 and added it to the parallel account in Matthew 17:21, which says "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." Looking up modern translations, this entire verse 21 is missing. It skips from verse 20 to 22.

We call that "spurious," meaning it is not in the oldest manuscripts, and therefore it was added later and is not valid. In the New Testament fasting was not a part of casting out demons.

[Rick] (52:50 - 53:10) These verses about this one event have something that we need to consider; that fasting was not part of it, but it was added afterwards. We'll get into that in a little bit, because there's more learning along this line that we're going to need to do. Julie, let's move forward now.

[Julie] (53:10 - 53:18) Sure, what can fasting do for us? Again, we keep this practical. It can be a solemn tool of commitment of our specific actions to God.

[Rick] (53:18 - 53:32) Okay, let's look at an example. The appointing of Barnabas and Saul for the missionary work is a great example of this, and one of very few examples in the New Testament of actual fasting in action. Acts 13:1-3:

[Jonathan] (53:33 - 54:01) "Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were ministering (literally serving at their own expense) to the Lord and fasting, the holy spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away."

[Rick] (54:02 - 54:11) Fasting here was an outward sign of an inward focus regarding a major development in this Christian church.

[Julie] (54:12 - 54:53) This though, Rick, is often cited by some as an example of one of the more controversial reasons for fasting. People say it is to get more of the holy spirit, God's power and influence. Here they fasted as a group, and the holy spirit guided them to make a decision to set apart these two men for their first missionary journey. Back in the Old Testament when Daniel fasted, an angel of the Lord appeared to strengthen him. We talked about Anna fasting in the temple, and she got to see the baby Messiah. Should we expect miraculous answers to our problems, or on the other end of the spectrum, maybe just clarity which would possibly involve the influence of God's spirit? How does God's spirit fit into this fasting?

[Rick] (54:53 - 55:54) Well, first of all, no, we shouldn't expect some kind of miraculous answer. You've got God's spirit giving them direction. The fact that you see God's spirit giving them direction to have Barnabas and Saul set aside, indicates to me in the Scripture that that is what was on their mind. We need to expand the Gospel. We're told to expand the Gospel. What are we supposed to be doing as their servant?

They are probably laboring over this question, and the spirit's guidance shows them what to do. They pick up, they continue in that fasting and prayerful mode as they choose these two individuals, guided by God's influence, to go and expand the work in a way it had never been done before. This was huge.

Fasting was for the purpose of getting themselves out of the way so they could see what God's spirit was showing them, was pointing them towards. It's nothing miraculous. It is a very clear focus on moving forward.

[Jonathan] (55:55 - 56:14) Even if a dedicated Christian does have a holy heart condition, that doesn't mean God will exercise His power to answer that prayer. Prayer and fasting are not a formula to prompt God to exercise His power. Obedience results in answered prayer if we pray according to His will.

[Julie] (56:15 - 56:18) Let's go back to us. What can fasting do for us?

[Rick] (56:19 - 56:36) Fasting can be an outward manifestation of our inward commitment of others to God's care, of others to God's care and His grace-- again, Paul and Barnabas in this example. Now, a chapter later in Acts, they are appointing elders in the churches.

[Julie] (56:37 - 56:56) Ironically, after having persecuted Christians for so long and so effectively, Paul himself was persecuted for being a Christian. In Acts 14:19 he's in the village of Lystra, but these Jewish people traveled from other cities to try to stone him, but that didn't stop Paul. Let's pick up with Acts 14:20:

[Jonathan] (56:56 - 57:40) "...The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe. After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Here the disciples were doing important work, but their troubles were just beginning. Paul and Barnabas are preparing them for the persecution and hard trials ahead, as they have to leave this city soon. Continuing with verse 23: "When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed."

[Julie] (57:40 - 57:44) Prayer and fasting here was an expression of trusting in the Lord's providence.

[Rick] (57:45 - 58:54) This is big, this is important. What's happening here? For the first time, we see in Scripture that these who have started these churches in these areas needed to move on, and they realized that moving on would mean that those left behind would be on their own. Fasting and praying are focusing on these massive steps that had never happened before. Here's what happened; elect elders in every church, and then with prayer and fasting, walk away. Walk away knowing that these churches were now out of their hands. They couldn't have Zoom meetings from the next city. They couldn't text one another.

They were going to be separated. This was enormous. It was such a big thing, because the church is just getting started, and they're putting the spiritual welfare into the hands of those who've never carried it before.

Of course they're going to pray and fast. Of course they are. It's such a big thing, and it shows you how sincerely they held on to the principles of godliness and righteousness here.

It's really, really an amazing thing.

[Julie] (58:54 - 58:59) Prayer and fasting, prayer and fasting, prayer and fasting. Why do you think fasting is so often linked with prayer?

[Rick] (58:59 - 59:21) Because the two set our inward heart toward outwardly finding and following the will of God. It's about the inside. Prayer is opening ourselves up to God.

Fasting is saying, I'm going to empty myself of everything else. Please fill me. It's done quietly and personally so that we can be better stewards of what we're given.

[Julie] (59:21 - 59:24) It seems that fasting without prayer would just be a diet.

[Rick] (59:25 - 59:46) Yes. That's all it is. You're right.

You're right. Without the proper motivation, without prayer, it is. It's just a diet.

Let's move forward now. Are we instructed to have fasting play a role in our marriage relationships? Well, the scriptures do not specifically tell us that.

Let's look at 1 Corinthians 7:5.

[Jonathan] (59:47 - 1:00:20) Reading from the King James Version: "Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency." Let's read that same verse again, but this time from the New American Standard Version: "Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." "Fasting" disappeared again.

[Rick] (1:00:21 - 1:01:29) Yes, it did. Fasting disappeared because it wasn't in those earlier manuscripts. It wasn't part of the accurate translation understanding of the holy Scriptures. Again, you're taking fasting out. Why are we doing it? Because the scriptures are telling us to do it, alright? What is this about? It talks about "stop depriving one another." This is about the physical relationship between husband and wife.

This is the sexuality of marriage, and it's saying that be careful to make sure that everything is done within the context of serving God first, and he's saying make sure that any times of abstinence are in the appropriate context of sensibility. That's what he's saying. Don't do these things to such an extreme, just like fasting all by itself.

Fasting is not in these verses, but fasting, if you do it to an extreme, you're not doing what God wants you to do. Same thing with abstinence here. Be careful that you still have honor one for the other.

That's what 1 Corinthians 7 is all about. But again, the point is, fasting is not a part of these verses.

[Julie] (1:01:30 - 1:01:46) We're going to include more of these spurious fasting examples in this week's free CQ Rewind show notes, but Rick, why do you think there's so many of these fasting examples in the New Testament aren't actually there? They seem to be added later by the copyists or the translators.

[Rick] (1:01:46 - 1:02:31) You're right, and that's a good observation, and I was actually surprised by how many there are, and I'm thinking, huh, why is that? I think the reason is that fasting was such an integral part of Old Testament culture that it was just carried over, and it was an assumption. Well, there must be fasting.

There must be fasting. There's prayer. There's deep grief.

That means there must be fasting. ... There's prayer.

There's deep question. That means there must be fasting, and I think it was unintentionally added to add to the Scriptures, but it essentially takes away because it's not the Holy Word of God. I think it took the Old Testament and was spilling it over into the New. Let's wrap this conversation up. Fasting in Our Christian Lives; Jonathan, what do we have now?

[Jonathan] (1:02:31 - 1:02:58) Once we carefully omit the several uses of fasting that were not in the most reliable manuscripts, we are left with Jesus referring to fasting twice in relation to his followers and three instances of Christian fasting written after Jesus went to heaven. This tells us that fasting was not an absolutely central New Testament teaching and was only exampled in church-altering matters.

[Julie] (1:02:59 - 1:03:17) What do we do now? Well, we can take the powerful principle of fasting and liberally apply it to our lives. We can temporarily remove what's convenient, easy, comfortable, in order to refocus our hearts on that which is higher, more noble, definitely more elusive, and sacrificial.

[Jonathan] (1:03:18 - 1:03:24) Fasting can be a wonderful way to refocus our loyalty to our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus.

[Rick] (1:03:25 - 1:04:30) When we look at fasting in the New Testament, it is not nearly as common as we may have thought. We look at that and say, okay, the lesson, and folks, the lesson is the way biblical lessons always are; take the principles of the Old Testament, take those principles and apply them to the practicality of the New Testament. We're not told to fast all the time, but make that a personal decision when it's appropriate. Do it in an appropriate way, do it quietly, do it privately, and do it for the reason of bringing your heart away from the distractions of the world, so that you can focus on how you serve your Heavenly Father and how you walk in the footsteps of Jesus. That is what Christian fasting leads us to.

Think about it. Folks, we love hearing from our listeners. We welcome your feedback and questions on this episode and other episodes at ChristianQuestions.com. Coming up in our next episode: "Are Monitoring Spirits Watching Us?"

Final Notes: copyright @2024 Christian Questions. In addition to this transcript, we provide comprehensive CQ Rewind Show Notes for every episode. They include every scripture quoted during the podcast, as well as graphics, illustrations and bonus material. Click the "CQ Rewind Show Notes" button near the audio player or sign up to receive these weekly at ChristianQuestions.com. This transcript was created using artificial intelligence. While we believe it to be accurate, we apologize for any errors that may exist.