G12 Victorious Life Series 12
“FASTING”
LESSON 6 : VICTORIOUS LIFE SERIES
Fasting is one of the most important teachings in the Bible. However, it is not a popular teaching among many
churches and Christians because not many practice fasting. Yet, if we scrutinize the Old and New Testaments,
we can see many of God’s people fasting-Moses, Elijah, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Hannah, David, Daniel,
Anna, John the Baptist, Paul and many other servants of God who fasted. Even Jesus Christ, our Lord, fasted
for 40 days and 40 nights. (Matthew 4:2)
I. THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS ON FASTING
In Matthew 6:16- 18, Jesus taught about three very important lessons on fasting:
1. Fasting Is God’s Command
When Jesus said, “When you fast…” He hopes that we His people will fast, just as He hopes
us to “give” (Matthew 6:2) and to “pray” (Matthew 6:5). Fasting is as much a commandment as
prayer and giving are. It is important to make fasting an essential part of our Christian
life. Jesus said that His followers must fast while He is still in heaven (Matthew 9:14-15).
2. Fasting Must Be Done for God
Jesus said that when we fast, we must do it in secret. He meant that we should practice it for
God and not in order to “show off” to man. We must consider our motives why we fast. Others
may proudly do it to make others think highly of them.
3. Fasting Has a Reward from God
Just as giving and prayer are rewarded by God, so is fasting. Jesus said that our Heavenly
Father knows how to reward those who fast with all sincerity of their heart. The Bible says
that there are heavenly things that we cannot receive unless we fast, inasmuch as there are
things we can’t claim if we don’t give and pray (Matthew 6:4; 6:6).
II. THREE TYPES OF FASTING
1. Fasting with water only (Normal Fast)
35
Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath,
saying, "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before
the sun sets!"
2 Samuel 3:35
2
After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Matthew 4:2
2. Fasting without food and water (Absolute Fast)
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Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking
water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant— the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 34:28
6
Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of
Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over
the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
Ezra 10:6
G12 Victorious Life Series 13
16
"Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three
days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even
though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."
Esther 4:16
3. Abstaining from full diet such as eating vegetables only (Partial fast)
12
"Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.
Daniel 1:12
3
I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three
weeks were over.
Daniel 10:3
III. WHY SHOULD WE FAST?
1. That Heaven May Hear Us
We have some petitions that will not be heard unless we accompany it with fasting. There are two
instances in the Bible that proves this. One is from the Old Testament and the other from the New
Testament.
i. Judges 20:1-35- The passage tells about a battle between two groups-- the Israelites
versus the Benjamite clan. The Israelites had the right reasons for fighting the Benjamites.
Their chance of winning was high too; they had 40,000 able men while their enemy only
had 26, 000. But the story tells us that the Israelites lost the first battle and 22,000 of their
warriors died. In the second battle, they lost another 18, 000 men. On the third time, they
won the fight and killed 25,100 from the household of Benjamin. What’s the difference in
the third battle? In the first two battles, they prayed to win, but they didn’t fast. However
they accompanied that last battle with fasting (Judges 20:15-26). Fasting can indeed give
us victory!
ii. Mark 9:14-29- There was an evil spirit that the disciples failed to drive away. When they
brought the tormented person to Jesus, He easily rebuked the evil spirit, and it
immediately fled. The disciples wondered why they were not able to drive it out. Jesus
answered, "This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting." (Mark 9:29; Matthew
17:21 KJV). There are evil spirits we can encounter that cannot be driven away unless we
couple our prayer with fasting.
2. That We Can Immediately Destroy The Bondage of Sin In Our Lives
6
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the
yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Isaiah 58:6
We have sinful bondages in our lives that can only be removed by fasting. Fasting is the
Christian’s weapon to loosen Satan’s stronghold in our lives. Read Joel 2:12-14.
3. That We Can Easily Hear God
We rarely hear the voice of God if we don’t fast. Fasting can make our spirits sensitive to God.
Elijah heard God while he was fasting (1 Kings 19:8-18), Moses received the Ten Commandments
while he was fasting for 40 days and nights (Exodus 34:28). Saul and Barnabas heard Him while
they were worshipping and fasting (Acts 13:1-2).
APPLICATION:
1. What touched you personally in this lesson?
2. Are you ready to fast? How many days? When will you start?
