From prayer, Rev. Sang Ho Bae explained the second spiritual discipline. This time, he discussed the true purpose of fasting.

Jesus teaches about fasting in Matthew 6 and says that God looks at the heart of the one who fasts rather than at the fast itself. Almsgiving, prayer, and fasting are all good deeds, but when they are corrupted into outward show meant to be seen by people, they can no longer be acts of faith that please God. The Lord says, “When you fast, do not look somber like the hypocrites” (Matt 6:16), making it clear that the essence of fasting is not to draw people’s attention but to be directed toward God, who sees in secret. In those days, the Pharisees would deliberately make their faces look disfigured, sprinkle ashes on their heads, put on a gloomy expression, and walk around saying, “O God,” in order to show that they were fasting. Their fasting had been corrupted into a mere form meant to gain people’s praise, not an expression of a heart turned toward God. So Jesus pointed out such hypocrisy and corrected the purpose and direction of fasting.

An Overview of Historical Background of Fasting

Throughout Scripture, fasting was an important spiritual discipline for God’s people. The saints of the Old Testament fasted in times of national crisis or moments of repentance, and on the Day of Atonement the whole nation afflicted themselves and humbled themselves before God (Lev 16:29–31). David fasted and mourned when he became aware of his sin (2 Sam 12:16–17), and Paul fasted for three days after his conversion, humbling himself before God (Acts 9:9). Jesus Himself fasted in the wilderness before beginning His public ministry, and the early church fasted and prayed before making important decisions. Paul confessed that he was “often fasting” (2 Cor 11:27), making fasting a part of his life. The Reformed theologian Calvin called fasting “a holy discipline that aids prayer,” explaining that its purpose is to humble oneself before God and to recover spiritual focus.

Taking Fasting for Granted

However, as time has passed, fasting has been increasingly forgotten. Modern people value physical comfort and the pleasures of taste more than spiritual hunger. Scripture says that the sin of Noah’s generation was not merely moral corruption but an absorption in the everyday physical concerns of “eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage” (Matt. 24:38). Fasting is an important spiritual means that awakens the soul from such fleshly preoccupation and turns our gaze back to God. Fasting helps the soul focus on God by restraining bodily desires and becomes a channel of grace that allows us to hear God’s voice amid the noise of the world. The purpose of fasting is not simply to stop eating; it is a spiritual decision to lay aside even legitimate physical desires for a time in order to pursue deeper fellowship with God.

Fasting in Times of Crisis

Fasting was also an expression of faith that sought God’s help in times of hardship and crisis. Esther proclaimed a fast when the life of her people was at stake (Esth 4:16), and King Jehoshaphat fasted with all the people and cried out to God when faced with an invading army (2 Chr 20:3). The people of Nineveh, from the king down to the animals, fasted and repented when they heard Jonah’s proclamation, and God saw their humility and withheld the disaster (Jon 3:5–10). Fasting is a confession of faith that relies entirely on God when facing problems that human strength cannot solve, and it is an attitude that humbles our hearts before Him and seeks His mercy.

Hunger Strike: A Misuse of Fasting

Yet fasting is often misused. Hunger strikes for political purposes have nothing to do with biblical fasting, and using fasting as a bargaining tool to obtain something from God is also a wrong attitude. Fasting is not an act of pressuring God but an act of humbling oneself before Him and seeking His compassion. Using fasting as a method of health management is also different from the biblical purpose of fasting. Fasting is for spiritual benefit, not physical gain. It is meant to draw us nearer to God, not to fulfill worldly desires.

Fasting and Spiritual Awakening

Scripture and church history testify that fasting has been an important channel of spiritual awakening and revival. The Reformers, including Luther and Calvin, humbled themselves before God and focused on the Word through fasting. The Puritans called fasting “the act of presenting the soul’s hunger before God,” and Jonathan Edwards recorded that fasting and prayer arose together during times of revival. Charles Spurgeon confessed that fasting prayer meetings were “times when the gates of heaven were opened wide.” Fasting was a spiritual weapon and a channel of grace through which God renewed His church.

Fasting is not an end but a means. Fasting itself does not produce spiritual power; rather, when we focus on God through fasting, God pours out His grace. Fasting is an expression of longing for God and a gesture of a heart that desires His grace.

Fasting as an Act of Faith

But the core of fasting is not the act itself but whom the act is directed toward. Jesus taught the same principle not only in fasting but also in almsgiving and prayer. Whatever we do—whether giving, praying, or fasting—the important thing is that it must be an act of faith directed toward God. Faith is directed toward God alone. Any religious act not directed toward God is not an act of faith. Good deeds done to be seen by people may receive praise from people, but they do not receive rewards from God. The fasting that the Lord acknowledges is not the act itself but the faith contained within it. Therefore, true fasting must be an act of faith offered with a sincere heart before God, and to those who seek Him in such a way, the Lord who sees in secret will give His reward.