As believers who have received the fullness of Christ, it may appear that there is no need to fast from food. So why would we fast?
Fasting is to be out of resting in the Lord and being led by what He is directing us to do, to spend time with Him and grow in our faith. It is not to be out of a desire to twist God’s arm to make him give something to us out of selfishness. (However, as we are righteous and freed from sin, why would we have a wrong motive in fasting anyway?) As some people rightly point out, there is an awesome scripture, in Isaiah 58:6-7, about “the fast God has chosen, to loose the bonds of heaviness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke….to deal thy bread to the hungry….” This gives us another aspect of fasting – freedom and generosity, how wonderful. There is a time for feasting, and a time for fasting, let the Lord lead you to what He wants you to do.
Although there is no command in the New Testament to fast, and so we are not to elevate its significance, there are several positive references to fasting, which show that it is still good to fast, when the Lord leads you to do that. It is obvious from the context that these are referring to fasting from food. We will examine these now.
Mt 6:16-17 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face.
So Jesus did not say “if you fast”, but “when you fast”, assuming that his disciples would fast.
Mt 9:15, Mk 2:18-19, Lk 5:34-5 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
Jesus said his disciples would fast after he was taken from them (i.e. had ascended into heaven). There is no discouragement from Jesus about fasting, our Lord Jesus says his disciples shall fast! This article explains this verse very well as follows: “Some have suggested he was referring just to the several days between his death and resurrection. They would fast just for those days. But that is very unlikely for several reasons. One is that the early church fasted after the resurrection, as we have seen in Acts 13:1–3 (cf. Acts 14:23; 2 Corinthians 6:5; 11:27). The other is that in Matthew 25:1–13, Jesus pictures his second coming as the arrival of the bridegroom. In other words, the Bridegroom is taken away until the second coming of Christ.” This article just quoted also shows that even though Jesus is now with us again we still need to fast, and gives much more information on the reasons for and benefits of fasting. Some people quote Lk 5:34 from The Living Bible, which says “Jesus asked, do happy men fast?” The obvious implication would then be that happy men do not fast and as we are happy and full of the joy of the Holy Spirit, we do not fast. But we have seen how this verse is translated, accurately, in the KJV, and therefore the Living Bible is a complete mistranslation of an important passage of scripture which teaches about fasting. Even the New Living Bible does not translate Lk 5:34 in that way. We can rightly conclude from the above that happy men do indeed fast when God leads them to do that.
Mt 17:21, Mk 9:29 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Therefore some kinds of demons will only be cast out by prayer and fasting. These people are taking fasting away and stopping people getting free from demons. What is the benefit of that? I am aware that this verse or the reference to fasting is not present in most Bible versions. However, the vast majority of Greek manuscripts contain this verse in its entirety and hence the KJV and NKJV contain this verse. For more information on this refer to http://word.spiritbodysoul.com/bible-versions/.
Even Paul encouraged married couples to fast and pray:
1Co 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
The New Testament believers clearly fasted, see Acts 9:9, 10:30, 13:2-3 and 14:23. This is an example to us to fast and evidence that it is good to do this.
In Acts 13:1–3, again as stated here, “the course of history was changed when the leaders of the church in Antioch were worshiping, praying, and fasting.”
From Luke 18:12 it can be seen that the Pharisee boasted about his twice weekly fasting and his tithing. But that is not to say we should not fast or tithe, just don’t boast about it. In Acts 27:33-34 Paul told the shipmen he was with to eat something for their health, after fasting 14 days. He did not say never to fast.
We have covered all the verses in the New Testament about fasting, and we can see that although there are only a few and none commands us to fast, there is none that discourages us from fasting and some positive benefits of fasting are presented. Rather than beating down the body, even health experts will tell you that fasting is healthy for the body. I actually have not fasted much at all, but sometimes when I am in prayer I have no desire for food as I am so feasting on Jesus.