{"id":55097,"date":"2022-10-09T19:31:20","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T00:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=55097"},"modified":"2022-10-11T08:57:40","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T13:57:40","slug":"is-fasting-required-to-communicate-with-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-fasting-required-to-communicate-with-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Is fasting required to communicate with God?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

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?<\/p>\n

Secondly, in Matthew 17:19-21, may I ask for further clarification? What are those things that can go without fasting?<\/p>\n

Thank you. You’re blessed.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

And what passage will these teachers cite to prove that you have to fast for three or more days before God will communicate with you? I know of none that support the position. It is something of their own imagination. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; they speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the LORD’<\/em>” (Jeremiah 23:16).<\/p>\n

You will find throughout history that pagan religions had often claimed that a petitioner had to suffer before the gods would answer. The more urgent the matter, the greater the suffering. This is why you see the prophets of Baal and Asheroth cutting themselves (I Kings 18:28). One of the greatest offenses were those who offered children up to their gods (Jeremiah 7:31). This false idea crept into the Jewish religion. “Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?<\/em>” (Isaiah 58:3). God then states that He is not going to answer people who sin while they try to approach Him. It isn’t that fasting is wrong. What is wrong is the idea that men can somehow force God to answer them. And the same ideas creep into Christianity. “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence<\/em>” (Colossians 2:23).<\/p>\n

The third problem is that there is a denial of what God stated. God has said that prophecy would end when the Bible was completed (I Corinthians 13:8-10). See Why is it always brought up that prophecy will cease?<\/a><\/p>\n

“But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting<\/em>” (Matthew 17:21).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jesus’ apostles had been given the power to cast out demons (Matthew 10:1; Luke 9:1). They had been traveling through Israel, preparing the way for Jesus (Luke 9:2). When they returned, they gave an account of what they accomplished (Luke 9:10). About a week later, while Jesus was on the mountain where he was transfigured, the disciples who were left behind were asked to cast out a demon; yet, they failed this time (Matthew 17:16). Jesus does cast out the demon, but the disciples later ask Jesus what they had done wrong (Matthew 17:19). Jesus said they lacked sufficient faith and then noted that this kind of evil spirit required prayer and fasting. The indication is that there are demons of different strengths and some are more stubborn than others. This type required strong faith on the part of the disciples and the disciples needed help from God, so they needed to ask with their full attention.<\/p>\n

As I pointed out in Should Christians fast?<\/a>, fasting is a way to remove distractions and focus on what we are asking God. It doesn’t earn us God’s attention, it is about our giving God our complete attention.<\/p>\n

Matthew 17:21 is not about categories of things that require fasting or don’t require fasting. Fasting is never required. It is an option that a person might select when his need is great and he wishes to focus on his prayers to God.<\/p>\n\t

Response:<\/h2>\n

Thank you for the clarification. You’re blessed.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 for further clarification? What are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","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-55097","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":11030,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-significance-of-fasting-for-twenty-one-days\/","url_meta":{"origin":55097,"position":0},"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":[]},{"id":4053,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-christians-fast\/","url_meta":{"origin":55097,"position":1},"title":"Should Christians fast? (Answer)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 12, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"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\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":55097,"position":2},"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":83411,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/prayer-and-fasting\/","url_meta":{"origin":55097,"position":3},"title":"Prayer and Fasting","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edward Smith How many Christians do you know who practice fasting for religious reasons? The people who have a conviction to fast are often the very ones who also have a conviction not to do it to be seen by men - so their fasting goes unnoticed (Matthew 6:16-18).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63466,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-christians-fast-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":55097,"position":4},"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":87975,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fasting-and-sabbaths\/","url_meta":{"origin":55097,"position":5},"title":"Fasting and Sabbaths","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tommy Peeler Isaiah 58 stresses God's commandments about fasting (Isaiah 58:1-12) and the Sabbath day (Isaiah 58:13-14). Israel was called to humble themselves when fasting (Isaiah 58:3, 5) and to refrain from their pleasures on the Sabbath to do what is pleasing to the Lord (Isaiah 58:13-14). Israel was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55097","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=55097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55097\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}