I have a friend who asked about fasting. All I could quote was\u00a0Matthew 6:16\u00a0and\u00a0Matthew 15:17-20. Can you tell me where it says that all food is good for you? I can’t remember the passage. Also, could you explain Matthew 17:21? Does it mean you should fast? Is it something we should do?<\/p>\n\t
There is a passage that states all meats are now acceptable as food: “For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer<\/em>” (I Timothy 4:4-5). Perhaps that is the passage you were trying to recall. A similar passage is found in\u00a0Romans 14:20.<\/p>\n Fasting is something mentioned quite often in the Old Testament. It was used during times of deep grief, such as while mourning the death of someone (I Samuel 31:11-13;\u00a0II Samuel 1:11-12) or when people learned that God was about to overthrow them (Jonah 3:5-9). It is understandable; when your stomach is in knots because of grief, who would want to think about eating. Fasting was also used to demonstrate humility. David used fasting to humble himself while praying for his enemies (Psalms 35:12-14).<\/p>\n But most importantly, fasting was used when a believer wanted to focus completely on God. It expressed an urgency to the prayers that food wasn’t as important as an answer to one’s prayers. Thus when an army was gathering to attack Judah, the king declared that everyone should fast while they sought God’s aid (II Chronicles 20:1-4). When Daniel wanted to focus his attention on God, he fasted (Daniel 9:3). This is what Jesus was referring to in\u00a0Matthew 17:19-21. Back in the days when demons were in the land, a demon could not be expected to leave by a casual rebuke on the part of a disciple. It would take an extreme focus on God and strong faith.<\/p>\n Warnings are also given that fasting can be misused. Fasting doesn’t make God listen nor does it make the person who is fasting more righteous (Isaiah 58:2-4;\u00a0Zechariah 7:5-6). Even in the New Testament, Jesus warned that fasting should not be used to be seen by other people (Matthew 6:16-18). It is a personal matter between the individual and God.<\/p>\n Zechariah prophesied that there would come a time when the need for fasting would end, at least for a while. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace<\/em>” (Zechariah 8:19). This was fulfilled while Jesus was here on earth among men. “Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast<\/em>” (Matthew 9:14-15).<\/p>\n Fasting continued to be used in the New Testament. The disciples fasted before major events and before major decisions (Acts 13:2-3;\u00a014:23). It is not commanded that it must be done, such as saying that all Christians must fast on a particular date or for a particular occasion. However, it is still appropriate to fast, especially during times of deep grief or when you need God foremost in your mind as you make a major decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I have a friend who asked about fasting. All I could quote was\u00a0Matthew 6:16\u00a0and\u00a0Matthew 15:17-20. Can you tell me where it says that all food is good for you? I can’t remember the passage. Also, could you explain Matthew 17:21? Does it mean you should fast? Is it something we should do? Answer: There…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[545],"class_list":["post-4053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-fasting"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41728,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-matthew-617-tell-us-to-anoint-ourselves\/","url_meta":{"origin":4053,"position":0},"title":"Doesn’t Matthew 6:17 tell us to anoint ourselves?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am a member of the church in Indiana. This morning, I was studying fasting, and like always, I drifted off into another topic (I'm sure this happens to you and many Christians). That's one reason why God's Word is so good: You can never have enough. As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18082,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-kind-of-oil-should-be-used-for-anointing-during-fasts\/","url_meta":{"origin":4053,"position":1},"title":"What kind of oil should be used for anointing during fasts?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Would you please explain Matthew 6:17? It says \"But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face\" but many people say something like do not take this verse literally, anointing one's head is not really important, what really matters is his\/her attitude towards God. But I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55097,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-fasting-required-to-communicate-with-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":4053,"position":2},"title":"Is fasting required to communicate with God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding fasting: some pastors say that when you want God to communicate with you, you have to fast for three days or more, and if you want to be delivered from certain things fasting has to be involved. Is it really true? Secondly, in Matthew 17:19-21, may I ask\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63466,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-christians-fast-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":4053,"position":3},"title":"Should Christians Fast? (Sermon)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 18, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 58:1-12\u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Once in a while someone will ask if they ought to fast. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Is it something acceptable in the New Testament, or was it only a part of the Old? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Do you fast just to be doing, or does it serve some purpose? II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Purpose\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35396,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-you-chose-to-fast-how-do-you-not-let-family-members-know\/","url_meta":{"origin":4053,"position":4},"title":"If you chose to fast, how do you not let family members know?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I'm a little confused about the practice of fasting. From what I understand, we, Christians, have the freedom to do fasting and that it should be done privately. At the present time, families mostly stay at home and it is unavoidable to notice everyone's actions inside the house.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11030,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-significance-of-fasting-for-twenty-one-days\/","url_meta":{"origin":4053,"position":5},"title":"What is the significance of fasting for twenty-one days?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 9, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is the significance of 21 days of fasting? Four of us are fasting and praying for the anointing of the Holy Spirit, our families' salvation and for our friends nearby. I saw on your web site about the importance of 40 days and thought of asking you. Answer:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4053\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}