10 Benefits of Fasting

Fasting is a unique tool that we can use to deepen our relationship with God. Here, are ten aspects of fasting from a Biblical that can help you understand why you should develop this habit in your life.

1. Fasting restores our hunger and sensitivity to God

Contrary to popular belief, fasting isn’t about starving yourself; it’s about developing a hunger for God. Deuteronomy 8:3 demonstrates that God allowed the Israelites to experience physical hunger to instill in them a spiritual hunger for His Word.

It teaches us that man doesn’t live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

2. Fasting Will Result In Favor

The Biblical act of fasting is fundamentally a self-humbling experience. By humbling ourselves, we invite God’s grace into our lives. Favor is not earned by fasting but is a gracious gift from God when we humble ourselves.

If you want more favor of God in your life, I want to encourage you to go into fasting.

3. Fasting Positions us to receive the Flow of God’s grace

Fasting serves as a faucet through which God’s power flows. While the power itself comes from God, fasting prepares us to be more receptive to His power.

4. Fasting Helps Us to Exchange the Physical for the Spiritual

In the Bible, Jacob forsook a bowl of soup for a spiritual inheritance, shifting the course of his destiny. While Esau gave up spiritual blessings for momentary comfort. This is a powerful lesson that teaches us to always prioritize the spiritual over the physical (Genesis 25).

A lot of Christians give up the spiritual for the physical instead of giving up the physical for the spiritual. When you give up the physical, you’ll get something better, the spiritual blessing. 

5. Fasting Is a Soul Detox

Fasting exposes our unhealthy relationship with food and helps us confront and deal with toxic emotions.

So often, we comfort our negative emotions and boredom with eating. And when we fast, we’re forced to deal with these toxic emotions by bringing our emotions to the Holy Spirit,  instead of finding false comfort in food.

6. Fasting Is Embracing a Crucified Life

In Romans 12:1, we are encouraged to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. Fasting serves as a practice to help us lead a life of sacrifice, helping us forsake our earthly desires to focus more on God.

7. Fasting is a Response to Grace, Not a Way to Earn It

Fasting isn’t a ticket to earning God’s love or favor; it’s a response to the grace we have already received. God’s love for us is constant, regardless of whether we fast or not.

8. Fasting Is the Key to a Fresh Fire with God

Hunger for God fuels our spiritual fire.

I always like to say if you want to last in your fire, you have to fast.

I want to challenge you that if you lost your hunger or your first love for God and are struggling, choose to disconnect from the world and connect to God.

9. Fasting Reveals Purpose

A lot of people live normal, comfortable, and good Christian lives and wonder, “Why would  I fast?”

Because there is more to your Christian life than what you are doing today. There is the work you’re paid to do, and then there’s the work you were created and saved to do. When you go into a time of fasting, God can reveal that purpose to you.

10. Fasting Prepares Us for Temptation

Fasting helps us control our appetites and prepares us to handle temptation. Though fasting doesn’t make us immune to temptation, it equips us to face it. We see this as when Jesus fasted in the wilderness and overcame Satan’s temptations (Matthew 4).

Fasting is more than a religious discipline. It helps us focus on God, brings divine favor, and equips us to handle life’s challenges. If you’re seeking a deeper relationship with God, consider integrating fasting into your routine.