Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough: A Guide to Nine Biblical Fasts (37 page)

Disciples of John the Baptist

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” (Matt. 9:14).

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” (Mark 2:18).

Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?” (Luke 5:33).

Multitudes Following Jesus

Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way” (Matt. 15:32).

I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.
And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar (Mark 8:2,3).

Leaders of the Church at Antioch

Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away (Acts 13:1-3).

Jews Committed to Killing Paul

And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy (Acts 23:12,13).

Crew and Passengers on the Ship of Adramyttium

And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing” (Acts 27:33).

Ahab

So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?” (1 Kings 21:4,5).

So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his
clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning (1 Kings 21:27).

Anna

Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day (Luke 2:36,37).

Cornelius

So Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God’” (Acts 10:30,31).

Daniel

Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes (Dan. 9:3).

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled (Dan. 10:2,3).

Darius

Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him (Dan. 6:18).

David

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; and my prayer would return to my own heart (Ps. 35:13).

When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that became my reproach (Ps. 69:10).

And when all the people came to persuade David to eat food while it was still day, David took an oath, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down!” (2 Sam. 3:35).

Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became very ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them (2 Sam. 12:15-17).

My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness (Ps. 109:24).

An Egyptian Servant of an Amalekite

And they gave him a piece of cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights (1 Sam. 30:12).

Elijah

So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God (1 Kings 19:8).

Esther

Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:15,16).

Ezra

At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God (Ezra 9:5).

Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he
came there, he ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity (Ezra 10:6).

Hannah

So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat. Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” (1 Sam. 1:7,8).

Jesus

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry (Matt. 4:1,2).

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry (Luke 4:1,2).

John the Baptist

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon” (Matt. 11:18).

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, “He has a demon” (Luke 7:33).

Jonathan

So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully (1 Sam. 20:34).

Moses

So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments (Exod. 34:28).

When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with
you, then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water (Deut. 9:9).

And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger (Deut. 9:18).

Nehemiah

So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven (Neh. 1:4).

Paul

And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank (Acts 9:9).

In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings (2 Cor. 6:5).

In weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness (2 Cor. 11:27).

Saul

Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night (1 Sam. 28:20).

Uriah

And Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing” (2 Sam. 11:11).

No Cereals or Grains (Feast of Firstfruits)

You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your
God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings (Lev. 23:14).

No Grapes or Grape Products (Nazirite Vow)

He shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced from the grapevine, from seed to skin (Num. 6:3,4).

Vegetarian Dishes Only (Daniel in Babylon)

“Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days. And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables (Dan. 1:12-16).

Abstaining from Questionable Foods

Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak (Rom. 14:20,21).

Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble (1 Cor. 8:13).

Anderson, Andy.
Fasting Changed My Life
. (Foreword by Jack R. Taylor.) Nashville: Broadman Press, 1977.
A testimonial of the author’s experience of fasting. Also includes testimonials of other Christian leaders.

Beall, James Lee.
The Adventure of Fasting
. Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1974.
A general book about fasting.

Bragg, Paul C.
The Miracle of Fasting
. Santa Ana, Calif.: Health Science, 1976.
A popular discussion about fasting from a medical and health perspective. Advocates regular fasting for health reasons.

Bright, Bill.
The Coming Revival: America’s Call to Fast, Pray and Seek God’s Face
. Orlando: New Life Publications, the publishing ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, 1995.
Recounts the author’s 40-day fast and exhorts others to fast and pray for revival in America.

Bright, Bill.
Seven Basic Steps to Successful Fasting and Prayer
. Orlando: New Life Publications, the publishing ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, 1995.
Tells how to prepare spiritually for fasting.

Buckinger, Otto H. F.
Everything You Want to Know About Fasting
. New York: Pyramid Books, 1972.
A popular discussion about fasting from a medical and health perspective. Advocates regular fasting for health reasons.

Cott, Allan.
Fasting: The Ultimate Diet
. New York: Bantam Books, 1975.
A popular
discussion from a medical perspective about fasting as an effective approach to significant weight loss.

Duewel, Wesley L.
Touch the World Through Prayer
. (Foreword by Bill and Vonette Bright.) Grand Rapids: Francis Asbury Press, 1986.
A practical manual focusing on various aspects of the ministry of prayer. Includes a chapter about fasting as a means of deepening one’s prayer ministry.