Does Fasting Change Anything?

Quick answer: Fasting does not change God's mind or earn you anything. Grace is not for sale. What fasting changes is you: you set aside a normal comfort for a set time so you can give God your full attention. Scripture shows believers fasting before big decisions, in grief, and in repentance. It is a practice, not a lever.

Key takeaways

• Fasting means going without food, or another normal comfort, for a set time in order to seek God.
• It never buys an answer. Nothing you skip is a payment.
• Jesus expected his followers to fast, and told them not to make a show of it (Matthew 6:16-18).
• If you have a health condition, talk to your doctor before changing how you eat.

What is fasting, in one sentence?

Fasting is going without food, or another normal comfort, for a set time in order to give your attention to God.

The set time matters. A fast is not a vague decision to eat better. It has a start, an end and a reason.

What fasting is not

• Not a bargain. You cannot trade hunger for an answer. Answered prayer is not earned.
• Not a performance. Jesus said not to look miserable so that people notice (Matthew 6:16-18).
• Not a requirement for being saved. You are saved by grace, not by skipping meals.
• Not a punishment. It is a deliberate turning toward God.

Grace is a gift, not a wage, and that is the ground under all of it. If you have ever wondered where your standing with God actually rests, What does it mean to be saved? spells it out in plain words.

What the Bible actually does with fasting

• Seeking direction. The church at Antioch was worshipping and fasting when the Spirit set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work (Acts 13:2-3). They fasted again when appointing elders (Acts 14:23).
• Returning to God. Joel calls the people to return with fasting and weeping, because God is gracious and merciful (Joel 2:12-13).
• Grief and pleading. David fasted and pleaded for his child's life (2 Samuel 12:16). Esther asked for a three-day fast before she went to the king (Esther 4:16).
• A fast God actually wants. Isaiah says the fast God chooses is to loose the bonds of wickedness, to share your bread with the hungry, and to stop hiding from your own flesh (Isaiah 58:6-7).

Notice what fasting does in every one of those places: it marks a moment as serious and turns a person's attention toward God. It is never described as a payment.

These are passages you can read for yourself, a few minutes at a time. If you have never known where to start, How to start reading the Bible when you don't know where to begin shows you how.

So does fasting get results?

Sometimes the answer comes during the fast. Sometimes the situation does not change and what changes is your grip on it. Paul asked three times for a thorn to be taken away and received a different answer than he wanted (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

Keep praying while you wait, even when the words are thin. How to pray when you don't know what to say is a good place to start.

Two things are true at once: fasting does not obligate God, and fasting is not nothing. It quiets the noise, it shows you what you have been leaning on, and it puts a stake in the ground. This week, I am serious about this.

How would I know it worked?

Because you did what you set out to do: you kept a set time with God. That part is measurable. What God does with it is up to him.

Common questions

Do I have to fast to be a good Christian? No. It is a practice, not a test.

Can I give up something other than food? Yes. Daniel refused the king's food and asked for vegetables and water instead (Daniel 1:8-16). Many people set aside social media, coffee or streaming for a set time.

How long should a fast be? Start with one meal. That is long enough to be real.

When is the best time? When you mean it, and when you can keep it without announcing it.

One next step

Foundations, Lesson 4, Prayer and Fasting, covers this in plain words: what fasting is for, what it is not, and how to begin without drama. Twelve short lessons, always free.

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