(*) Fasting... what does it mean?

PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY:  Thinking about why God’s people fast, and contrast it with why other religions fast, I was curious to find out what the Bible has to say about it.  I want to know what the Bible says about the purpose of fasting, what it means, and how to do it.

METHOD:  I word searched three different translations of the Bible (New Living, NASB, NIV) on the word ‘fast.’  First page is the summary.  Subsequent pages are a list of all the verses by categories. 

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE TEXT:

Fasting is a voluntary withholding from oral intake for moral or religious reasons.  A traditional Biblical Jewish fasting looks like this: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6033-fasting-and-fast-days

According to the Jewish traditions, one can fast during the fasting scheduled on the calendar or taking a private fast.  There are very obligatory fasts, other than the Day of Atonement.’  All the fasting on the Fast-Calendar has to do with commemorating an important event in Biblical history.  Please refer to the above reference for more detailed information.

In my searches, I found a total of 65 references on the word 'Fasting.'  Here is a breakdown of how often they are mentioned per category.

Reasons for Fasting	How many times mentioned in the Bible
In response to Mourning and Grief	4
To ask God for Help	14
To ask God for Forgiveness of Sins and in repentance	10
To ask God for Requests	5
Why Jesus’ disciples didn’t fast	10
Jesus’ instructions on fasting	4
Jesus’ 40 day fast	1
As lifestyle	4
How God questions and detests our fasting	11
For evil reasons	3
Fast as grief for another human	1
Mentioned as a date	3

SUMMARY:  The Bible does not specifically lay out any regular declaration of mandatory fasting rituals.  But, it does indicate when fasting are done.  Days of fasting are not indicated by the calendar, per se, but by situations or in remembrance of an historical event.  The Bible does indicate that fasting is a part of the lifestyle of God’s people.  It is clear that Biblical fasting is done in these following situations: mourning or grieving the death of someone important, when asking God for help in situations of distress, when asking God for forgiveness of sins, and when making requests to God.  Fasting is always done along with sincere prayer and worship to God, rather than as a requirement.

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ps. I have all the references too.  There are too many verses to post on this blog, but, I can send it to you if you request it.