Why Fast?

The act of abstaining from food to weaken the flesh and submit to the Holy Spirit.

That was how I described fasting yesterday.

I also mentioned that despite its important place in Scripture, fasting is not a required practice for following Jesus.

So why bother with it at all?

Great question.

Christ is the Reason

The very fact that Jesus fasted speaks to its importance.

With that in mind, take a look at these words of His from the Sermon the Mount:

Notice the part I put in bold.

“Whenever you fast…”

The very fact that Jesus assumes His followers will fast further implies how important the whole thing is.

But let’s go a step deeper - why did Jesus fast? And why does He assume His followers will do the same?

Live By the Spirit

As mentioned yesterday, fasting is all about weakening the flesh to strengthen a connection to the Holy Spirit.

This is something we all need.

As the Apostle Paul writes:

All of us are walking around with the flesh - the corrupted bodily appetites present because of sin’s mark on the world.

God’s Spirit is working in us to transform and redeem that flesh but the flesh puts up a fight.

When we fast, the flesh is weakened in that fight.

But surely prayer and Bible reading are just as good, right?

Yeah, sure.

But what makes fasting stand out from these is how bodily it is.

Reading the Bible spiritually cleanses the mind but fasting spiritually cleanses the body.

And, after all, we’re not just mind and not just body, we’re both, so we need spiritual practices that target both.

The same way reading Scripture anchors our thoughts in God’s truth, fasting anchors our bodily reactions in His truth.

So why fast?

Because it accesses a vital dimension of spiritual and bodily growth, one that we all need in our daily fight against the flesh.

And tomorrow we’ll explore some of the ways we go about that.

For now, be blessed.

Jon,

Theophilus Newsletter