Should Christians Fast?

Fasting—voluntarily going without food (or something else) for a time, usually joined to prayer—is a practice the Bible assumes God’s people will use, but it is not commanded of Christians as a requirement for salvation or standing with God. Jesus did not say “if you fast” but “when you fast” (Matthew 6:16), expecting his followers to do it; yet he never issued it as a law, and Lutherans are clear that fasting earns nothing before God. It is a free tool for the Christian life, not a rung on a ladder to heaven.

The reformers were sharp on this point because fasting had been badly abused—turned into a meritorious work, a way to impress God and men, bound by rules of days and foods that troubled consciences. The Augsburg Confession does not condemn fasting itself but its misuse as a means of earning grace. Luther’s Catechism even commends “fasting and bodily preparation” as “fine outward training”—good and useful—“but” the person truly worthy at the Sacrament is the one who believes, not the one who fasted hardest. Fasting is helpful discipline; it is never currency.

So what is the point, rightly understood? Fasting is a way of training the body to serve the spirit rather than rule it—learning to say no to a good appetite so that a stronger appetite for God can grow. It sharpens prayer, expresses repentance and dependence, and quietly reminds us that “man shall not live by bread alone.” Emptying the stomach can be a way of turning the heart’s hunger toward the Lord.

Two cautions, straight from Jesus. First, keep it hidden: fast “not… to be seen by others” but before “your Father who sees in secret” (Matthew 6:18)—fasting was never meant to be advertised. Second, guard against pride; the Pharisee who boasted “I fast twice a week” (Luke 18:12) went home unjustified. Fasted or not, we come to God with empty hands, and he fills them with Christ. Use fasting freely and quietly if it helps you pray and depend on God—and never imagine it makes him love you more.