There is a difference between being hungry and being holy.
Missing breakfast may make your stomach growl, but it does not automatically make your spirit grow.
That is one of the reasons I keep asking the question:
Are you fasting—or are you just not eating?
Jesus said:
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” — Matthew 4:4 (KJV)
Notice what Jesus teaches us. Fasting is not merely about what I stop putting into my mouth. It creates an opportunity to become more attentive to what God is putting into my spirit.
You can go nine hours without eating and still spend nine hours worrying, complaining, scrolling, arguing and thinking about what you are going to eat at 3:01!
That’s not necessarily fasting. You may just be hungry with a deadline. 😊
Biblical fasting turns physical hunger into a spiritual signal.
When hunger says, “Eat,” let your spirit answer, “Pray.”
When your appetite says, “Feed me,” open your Bible and tell your soul, “We’re eating—just from another table.”
David said:
“My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God…” — Psalm 42:2 (KJV)
That is where spiritual growth begins.
Fasting helps expose what ordinarily stays hidden. Impatience surfaces. Attitudes appear. Distractions become obvious. Dependence upon comfort gets uncovered. And sometimes we discover that the greatest thing God wants to deal with during the fast isn’t around us.
It’s in us.
That brings me back to the disciples’ remarkable question:
“Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?” — Matthew 17:19 (KJV)
I love their question because they finally stopped examining the problem and started examining themselves.
“Why could not WE?”
That’s spiritual maturity.
Instead of always praying, “Lord, change them,” fasting teaches us to pray:
“Lord, examine me.”
“Lord, correct me.”
“Lord, strengthen me.”
“Lord, what are You trying to develop in me?”
Here are five things to remember the next time you fast:
1. Let hunger become your reminder to pray.
Don’t merely endure hunger. Use it. Every hunger pang can become an altar call.
2. Replace something, don’t merely remove something.
If food comes out but nothing spiritual goes in, you’ve missed an important part of the opportunity. Replace eating time with Scripture, prayer, worship, listening and reflection.
3. Ask God questions about YOU.
Psalm 139:23 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart…” A productive fast doesn’t only seek God’s hand. It opens our heart to God’s examination.
4. Write down what God reveals.
Don’t trust yourself to remember everything afterward. When you get what you ask for, you only keep what you understand. Write the lesson down. Pray over it. Live it.
5. Don’t measure the fast merely by the clock.
Six hours without food is six hours without food. What makes those hours spiritually significant is what happens between you and God during them.
This is why I wrote Are You Fasting or Just Not Eating?
I did not write it merely to convince Christians that they ought to fast. Many believers already know that.
I wrote it because we need to understand why we fast, what biblical fasting accomplishes, and how fasting can become an intentional encounter of surrender, prayer, Scripture and transformation.
Here’s something worth remembering:
Hunger tells us that we have stopped eating; surrender reveals that we have started fasting.
And here’s What God Is Showing Me…
The success of my fast isn’t determined by how empty my stomach becomes, but by how surrendered my heart becomes.
So the next time hunger arrives during your fast, don’t immediately ask:
“How much longer do I have?”
Ask:
“Lord, what are You trying to show me?”
That question can turn an empty plate into a classroom.
If this helped you, share this post with somebody who fasts—or somebody who has been thinking about beginning. Then follow this page as we continue learning together about biblical fasting, spiritual growth and living the fasted life.
And if you’re ready to go deeper, get Are You Fasting or Just Not Eating? The paperback and Kindle edition are available through Amazon, and visit FastingorJustNotEating.com as we continue building a community around the message.
Don’t just miss a meal. Meet God.
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