Fasting at Delta Oaks

Fasting is not nearly as common in our day as it has been among God's people throughout history. Occasionally, our Session will invite the members of Delta Oaks to dedicate a time or day to fasting and prayer for a given purpose.

This may raise a few questions in your mind:

• Is this really necessary?
• Isn't this a bit legalistic/ritualistic?
• Does it really help?
• If we do fast, aren't we supposed to be, well, kinda secretive about it, so that we won't be hypocrites who only want attention (see Matthew 6:16–18)? Why, then, would a church publicly call for a fast?
• What is fasting, and is it even biblical?

All good questions! Let's take the last one first. Essentially, fasting is the forgoing of food for a period of time in order to focus on prayer. Sometimes we call other similar acts of abstinence a "fast" (see possibly 1 Corinthians 7:5), but in the Bible fasts are typically dietary and for an entire day, if not longer. Here are just a few of examples:

• After God brought Israel out of Egypt, He commanded them to fast on the Day of Atonement each year (Leviticus 16:29, 31);
• Under the judgeship of Samuel, Israel realized how deeply they had fallen into sin and idolatry, and observed a day of fasting and repentance (1 Samuel 7:6);
• Before embarking on their dangerous return to Judah from Babylonian exile, Ezra ordered a fast "that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods" (Ezra 8:21);
• Deeply distressed by a genocidal plot against the Jews, Esther asked all the Jews in the Persian capitol of Susa to fast for three days (day and night, food and drink) as she prepared to confront the king;
• When fighting Satan in the wilderness, Jesus fasted for 40 days (Matthew 4:2).

From these examples, we can see that fasting is something we ought to do, not only individually, but also corporately as the church. This is especially appropriate at times that call for deep repentance and great dependence upon the Lord. It is a temporary affliction, and in it we are asking God to focus our minds and sharpen our prayers.

Fasting is not a "hack" to make prayers automatically more effective. Neither is it a way of earning special grace from God (pro tip: You can't!). Nevertheless, fasting remains a biblical and historical practice of the church that we ought not to neglect.

Can fasting be abused, ritualistic, or even harmful at times? Certainly so! That's why the members of Delta Oaks are under no obligation to participate in a called fast, especially in cases where physically fasting might cause health concerns. Honestly, we don't even want to know if you're actually fasting, since that might risk the very pride/attention seeking that Jesus warns against in Matthew 6:16–18!

But at the same time, the abuse of a thing does not negate its right use. When coupled with prayer, fasting gives us a chance together to say "No" to self and "Yes" to God, seeking His kingdom and praying for His will to be accomplished in us and through us, for His glory and our good.

Further Reading

"General Assembly Calls for a Day of Fasting and Prayer" by Everett Henes

"What Is Fasting?" by Zachary Simmons

"What We Mean When We Talk About Fasting" by Leslie Wicke

"Fasting and the Pursuit of God" by Harrison Perkins

"Give Yourself to Fasting and Prayer" by Abraham Kuyper