Matthew 4:1-2
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Who Fasted?

Moses, David, Ester, Elijah, Daniel, Paul…

It says When you fast, not if you fast:

Matthew 6:16-18
16 "And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 "But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face 18 so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

WHEN, not IF:

Matthew 6

when you give alms (donation, tithe)
vs 3 "But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing

when you pray
vs 6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

when you are praying
vs 7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

when you fast
vs 17 "But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face

He expects you to give alms, pray, and fast. You don't throw away praying and alms, so why throw away fasting?

Mark 2:18-20
18 And John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they came and said to Him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" 19 And Jesus said to them, "While the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom do not fast, do they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 "But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

Acts 13:1-3
1 Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

Acts 14:21-23
21 And after they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

2 Corinthians 6:4-5
4 but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, 5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger,

2 Corinthians 11:27
I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

The word that they translated to hunger here in these last three verses is actually fasting:

nesteia-

a fasting, fast
a) a voluntary, as a religious exercise
1.) used of private fasting
2.) the public fast as prescribed by the Mosaic Law and kept yearly on the great day of atonement, the tenth of the month of Tisri (the month Tisri comprises a part of our September and October); the fast accordingly, occurred in the autumn when navigation was usually dangerous on account of storms
b) a fasting caused by want or poverty

There are no rules for fasting outlined in the bible, so don't make any. Pray and ask God to let you know what you should do.

Daniel 10:2-5
2 In those days I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. 3 I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all, until the entire three weeks were completed.

Some examples:

• Daniel Fast
• Partial Fast
• One Day a Week Fast
• One Meal a Day Fast
• Absolute Fast (only water)

Purposes for Fasting

1. To gain control over the body - show that you are in control of your body not your body is in control over you

1 Corinthians 9:27
but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

2. To give one's self wholly to God

Joel 2:12-13
12 "Yet even now," declares the LORD, "Return to me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping, and mourning; 13 And rend your heart and not your garments. "Now return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, and relenting of evil.

Zechariah 7:5
"Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, `When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?

3. For personal cleaning and repentance

Psalm 35:13
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer kept returning to my bosom.

4. To receive divine guidance and understanding (revelation)

Daniel 9:1-3
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans-- 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. 3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

Daniel 9:21-23
21 while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. 22 And he gave me instruction and talked with me, and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.

5. To release others who are spiritually enslaved and to break satan's strongholds

Isaiah 58:6
"Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke?

6. To sharpen and to release the gifts of the Holy Spirit

7. For national repentance