Is fasting for christians

Christian fasting - what does the Bible say?

Share on Facebook Jesus says that his disciples are not fasting while he is with them. He is the Bridegroom present. But when he is gone away, he says, which he has, he has gone back into heaven, then the disciples will fast. And what that seems to indicate is that Christian fasting is a way of expressing our longing for the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ our King, to return.

That is the connection between the fasting and the second coming of Christ. One of the meanings of Christian fasting is that we are expressing our hunger for the Lord Jesus to come back and to take up his kingship in this world. The Bridegroom, the King, has already been here. We have seen him and known him.

We love him, because we have tasted of his presence. We have already tasted the presence of the kingship of Jesus. So Christian fasting is not merely hoping and longing and hungering and aching for something future. It is based on an already and not just a not yet.

The King has come. He has died for our sins. He is risen from the dead. He is gone away into heaven. We already have the down payment in our hearts of his presence and his Spirit, but we long and we hunger for the consummation of the day of his return, his coming and reigning.

So Christian fasting is unique in all the fasting of the world. It is a hunger that is rooted in, based on, an already present experienced reality of Christ in history and in our hearts.

Fasting in Need Let me give one more passage that gets at the meaning of what fasting is for Christians.

Here is what it says. Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. And God responded with an answer that totally transformed the world, because the mission Barnabas and Saul or Paul was one of the most important missionary endeavors in the history of the world, because the advancement of the gospel broke into the western Roman Empire and nothing in the world has ever been the same since that breakthrough.

One way to say it is that fasting is the hungry Christian handmaid of faith. Fasting is not a replacement for faith in Jesus.

It is a servant of faith in Jesus. Fasting is a way of saying with our stomach and our whole body how much we need and want and trust Jesus. It is a way of saying that we are not going to be enslaved by food as the source of our satisfaction.

We will use the renunciation of food from time to time to express that Jesus is better than food. Jesus is more needful than food.Amazon Music Unlimited. Listen to any song, anywhere. Learn More about Amazon Music Read Ratings & Reviews · Deals of the Day · Shop Our Huge Selection · Explore Amazon Devices.

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Fasting is one of the most powerful spiritual disciplines of all the Christian disciplines. It is a way to align our hearts with the psalmist, “My soul thirsts for God, the living God” (Psalm ).

Practiced in many religions, including Christianity, fasting is an act which is most accurately defined as an abstention from meat, drink and all natural food for a determined period. What does the Bible say about fasting?

Curtis Mitchell’s article in Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol # — Oct answers this question well. James, and 1 Peter, which were addressed to Jewish Christians.

Again, fasting was practiced in the early church. Clearly it has a place in Christian piety, but that it had a frequent place is open to. Christian Fasting - Denying something physical to glorify God and go deeper with Him in the Spirit.

A recommended lifestyle for spiritual growth. Learn the basics of what Christians believe. Cru Partnerships. When the global church comes together then powerful things can happen. Press. Your Personal Guide to Fasting and Prayer. Dr. Bill Bright How to Fast.

Your Personal Guide to Fasting and Prayer; Why You Should Fast;.