“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:16-18 (ESV)

Most Christians don’t know that fasting is an essential part to following God, along with praying and giving. A lot of Christians don’t even do all three. There is so much more to being a Christian than believing that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. It takes work and dedication, just like with any relationship. Most importantly, it takes trust in God. A relationship can’t work if you don’t trust the other person. However, I’m not here to talk about that today. I am here to talk about the benefits of fasting spiritually and the different types of fasting.

Spiritually speaking, fasting is very important. Muslims have Ramadan but Christians don’t have a set in stone time of the year to fast. The Christians that do fast usually do it at the beginning of the year so that God can bless them in various ways, whether it be through financial blessings, healings, loved ones reuniting, and many other things. God doesn’t usually do the same thing in the same way more than once so even if it’s similar, it’s still not the same. Fasting will even break strongholds like various addictions and demonic powers that influence people to do things they don’t want to do.

There are 3 types of fasts: one being an absolute fast, a total fast and a partial fast. The absolute fast is very extreme and involves not eating or drinking anything and should only be done for very short periods of time. Esther in the Bible did this fast for 3 days when she was going to talk to the king about reversing a decree that was going to wipe out all the Jews and got the decree reversed. A total fast is one where you go without food for a certain number of days. The longer the fast, the more likely you will need juice or broth to replenish electrolytes but otherwise, you can just drink water if you’re doing it for less than a week. Then there is a partial fast, where you cut off certain foods or drinks for a specified amount of time. The Daniel Fast is the most popular fast of the partial fasts. You can also intermittent fast, which is not eating for an allotted amount of time and having a small window (usually 8 hours or less) to eat in a 24 hour period.

I am reading a book right now called Fasting by Jentezen Franklin so there is so much more information that can be said about fasting, not to mention the physical benefits like cell regeneration and ketosis to name a few. Ultimately, fasting is a spiritual discipline that is not taught in most churches nowadays but it is one of the most crucial spiritual practices to see God’s blessings and experience breakthroughs in your life. Whether it’s fasting for 3 days or 40 days, God will see what you do in private and reward you publicly. Moreover, this is something you should really pray and talk to God about before you start doing and see what He wants you to do and what you would like from the fast, that way you have motivation to keep going when the temptation gets really hard to resist.