I recently shared four surprising truths about fasting from the Bible, and today I want to share five practical suggestions from my personal fasting journey. These address some of the unexpected physical and spiritual challenges that come with fasting.
These tips are primarily aimed at those who plan to do relatively short (1-10 day) fasts without eating any food. For those feeling led to do an extended fast (10-40 days), you will need to take some extra precautions. Lou Engle, a big proponent of 40-day fasts, has some resources on his Jesus Fast website, and you can also check out his book The Jesus Fast for more. Another older resource on 40-day fasting is the booklet Atomic Power with God Thru Fasting and Prayer by Franklin Hall. It was written in 1950, but it inspired thousands of people to participate in extended fasting.
I also need to say clearly that I am not a medical professional, and my suggestions are based on Scripture and my personal experience. Please consult your doctor, church leaders and spouse before fasting, especially for the longer or more intense forms of fasting. You should also do your own research, talk with health experts and those experienced in fasting, and continually ask the Lord for increased discernment and wisdom concerning fasting and healthy living.
With that caveat, here are a few suggestions for those wanting to start or grow in fasting.
1. Determine the Boundaries
Setting clear boundaries will help you avoid “cheating” and give you a clear finish line for your time of fasting. Determine exactly when you will start and when you will end. Sharing your fasting plans with a spouse or confidant (or fasting together) may provide some helpful accountability to stay within the boundaries.
Decide clearly what you will or will not eat or drink. Are you going to do water only? Are you going to have other liquids such as fruit/vegetable juices or smoothies?
Will you do a total fast with no food or liquids? (Note: a total fast should only be done for one, two or maybe three days. Again, please consult a doctor and church leader before embarking on such an intense fast.)
Some people do a “Daniel Fast”, with primarily fruits, vegetables and water, especially for extended fasts like 21 or 40 days.
There are many ways to fast, depending on your health, workload and season of life. Regardless of your approach, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you. Start small and work your way up to more intense fasts. Even skipping one meal each week to pray and fast is a great way to start. Many Christians with full-time jobs have worked up to fasting 1-2 days every week.
2. You Will Want to Give Up
When you first begin to fast, your body will not be happy. If you are accustomed to eating as soon as you have a craving, then your body will rage against your new limitations. This is especially true if you’re consuming a lot of carbohydrates and snacking a lot.
You may experience symptoms like headaches, fatigue or moodiness. These are normal experiences, and they are not an indication that you need to stop fasting. In fact, the discomfort from fasting is part of what brings the physical and spiritual benefits. Physically your body is essentially “detoxing”, and it is similar to the pain you feel sometimes when you’re exercising. There is a good pain that means things are changing and cleansing. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. One way to reduce the intensity of the headaches is to gradually wean yourself off of sugar and caffeine in the days before you start fasting. If you eat a standard American diet and eliminate sugar, caffeine and food from your diet “cold turkey”, you will have severe headaches in the first few days of a fast.
Additionally, there will be spiritual warfare when you start fasting. Expect to be tempted with invitations to go out to eat with friends on fasting days. Expect the enemy to whisper lies in your mind. Remember the way Satan attacked Jesus during his 40-day fast. Use God’s word as a weapon against spiritual attacks and politely decline the doughnuts offered from your coworker at the office.
In addition to the spiritual opposition, fasting tends to bring things to the surface that are lingering in your heart and soul. If you start to manifest things like bad attitudes, impatience, bitterness and anger, it is not an indicator that fasting isn’t working. The Holy Spirit is bringing those things to your attention so that you can repent and be set free from them. Those sinful tendencies were probably hiding just out of sight even before the fasting began. This exposure is a gift from the Lord. Fasting humbles us. This doesn’t give you an excuse to be mean to people while fasting, but you can definitely expect to have numerous opportunities to repent.
3. Many Times the Breakthrough Comes After the Fast
I really wish I had realized this earlier. When I first began to fast, I thought I would immediately begin to experience God’s manifest glory in a greater way while not eating. I expected a noticeable increase in passion for God, revelation from Scripture, more joy, dreams and visions. Sometimes that does happen while fasting, but most of the time for me, the breakthroughs come after the fasting is over. Many times the fasting day(s) feel like I’m “pressing through” or even “going through the motions” without feeling anything good. Honestly, sometimes I even feel worse or farther from God while I’m fasting.
I have come to realize that just because I don’t feel happier emotionally or closer to God while I’m fasting doesn’t mean that God is not working. Many times, God is humbling me, breaking me, cleansing me and emptying me of all my pride and sinful flesh. This doesn’t always feel good. And sometimes it doesn’t feel like much of anything.
However, I’ve learned to pay attention in the days and weeks after I end a fast. I may have a deep encounter with the Lord in my private devotions, or God may give me a prophetic dream, or a prayer I’ve been praying might be answered. I have to pay attention and realize that these moments of breakthrough are connected to my previous times of prayer and fasting. It’s not always a perfect correlation, but we know by faith in God’s word that our fasting and prayer is impactful. We don’t always experience that impact on the days that we are not eating, but something is happening when you fast and pray. Be patient. Stay faithful in fasting even when you don’t feel anything. And pay attention after the fast for how God might show up in unexpected ways.
4. Replenish Yourself Spiritually
Not eating is different from biblical fasting. Fasting according to Scripture is a spiritual discipline that cultivates hunger for God and strengthens our faith. However, the only way this can be accomplished is by coupling fasting with other spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible reading and worship.
A friend once said that prayer and fasting go together like peanut butter and jelly. There’s a reason you’ll find these terms paired together in God’s word. Because fasting is not just about restraint from food but about nearness to God. We fast to draw close to Jesus. So taking time to be with Him, in His presence, talk to Him and hear His voice is vital to experience effective, biblical fasting.
Not only do we need to pray and worship while we fast, but we need to spend time in the Bible. God’s word is our “daily bread”, and this is especially obvious to us when we’re not eating any actual bread! Feast on Scripture. Drink deep of His presence. During your fast, take your meal times to pray, meditate on Scripture and sing to the Lord. Taste and see that He is good.
5. Replenish Yourself Physically
There are a few practical things you can do to help yourself physically during your fast.
Be sure to drink lots of water and stay hydrated. Avoid drinks with sugar or caffeine.
Get some light exercise such as taking a 30-minute walk. If you’re doing a multi-day fast, your lungs begin to detoxify as well, and breathing deeply can help support the cleansing process.
For longer fasts, plan to sleep and rest more. Try to get an extra hour of sleep or take a power nap during the day, if your schedule permits. Realize that you’re probably not going to be as productive and energetic as usual while fasting. Try to simplify your schedule during a fast.
When you’re ready to break your fast, make sure to do it slowly. Immediately eating a bacon cheeseburger after days of fasting will cause all kinds of digestive issues. The longer the fast, the slower you need to reintroduce foods into your diet. Begin with easy to digest foods and work back towards normal eating habits.