In Habits of Grace, David Mathis writes, “In that gnawing discomfort of growing hunger is the engine of fasting, generating the reminder to bend our longings for food godward and inspire intensified longings for Jesus.”3 Fasting creates space so that I can turn to Christ with my boredom, my anxiety, and my desire for control and find that “my soul [is] satisfied as with fat and rich food” (Ps. 63:5). I hunger less for food and more for righteousness—and for the righteous one (cf. Matt. 5:6).  As we sharpen our affections for Christ through fasting,4 our longing to see him face-to-face grows.

Fasting Is Worth It

When we misunderstand fasting and how to honor God in it, we’ll avoid it altogether. That’s why we need to see it from Scripture’s perspective. 

By stripping away the comforts our culture tells us are essential, we see that they’re only cheap imitations of God’s comfort. Fasting isn’t reserved for those with great self-control; it’s also for those who see their need for self-control. It’s not reserved for those who walk closely with God; it’s also for those who lament their distance from him. If you’re tired of relying on yourself, if you’ve experienced the emptiness of worldly comforts, if you desire a deeper relationship with God—fasting is for you.

And fasting is worth it. Here are a few blessings that come from this practice.

1. We Commune with God

Seeing more of God is the central benefit of fasting. Isn’t it why we practice spiritual disciplines in the first place? To come nearer to Christ, to draw strength and joy from his presence? These practices help us cultivate disciplines of devotion so we can focus on the one thing we desperately need: to “dwell in the house of the Lord” and to “gaze upon [his] beauty” (Ps. 27:4). If every other gift of fasting fell away, this would be enough. Fasting helps us see more of God because it facilitates our communion with him through prayer. That’s why John Piper calls it the “humble, hungry handmaid of faith” that prompts us to pray.1

Fasting is pointless when not paired with talking to God— it’s an empty ritual, a form of self-deprivation to show our mettle.

Consider Paul’s warnings against both trying to obtain righteousness by abstention and treating the body severely (Col. 2:20–23; 1 Tim. 4:1–4). Some claim that these verses teach against fasting altogether. But as we saw from the early church’s example, fasting is a fitting response to longing for Christ’s return (Matt. 9:15). Our goal in fasting is to commune with God, not to earn his approval or secure our own salvation. While fasting does help us teach our bodies that they’re not our masters, that’s not the main purpose. Our focus should be less on what we’re saying no to and more on the better yes in its place. All the benefits of fasting are downstream from this one: deepening our relationship with God through prayer. 

Let’s consider a few ways that fasting does this.

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