The document discusses the historical and biblical significance of fasting in American history, highlighting key figures like George Washington, John Adams, and Abraham Lincoln who proclaimed days of fasting for national humility and prayer. It also explores the biblical importance of fasting, citing various scriptures that emphasize its role in prayer and repentance. Additionally, it critiques superficial fasting, urging genuine spiritual engagement over outward appearances.

2. IN AMERICAN HISTORY:
 Constitution of Plymouth Colony ~ Nov. 15, 1636 “To
commence solemn days of humiliation by fasting and
also for thanksgiving as occasion should be offered.”

3. IN AMERICAN HISTORY:
 House of Burgess in Virginia ~ May 1774 following
the British embargo
passed resolution not a
declaration of war but
for the commencement
of the embargo as a day
of national fasting,
humiliation and prayer.

4. IN AMERICAN HISTORY:
 George Washington ~ (diary entry on June 1, 1774)
“went to church and fasted all day”
"I consider it an indispensable
duty to close this last solemn act
of my official life by commending
the interests of our dearest
country to the protection of
Almighty God and those who
have the superintendence of them
into His holy keeping."
1732-1799

5. IN AMERICAN HISTORY:

6. IN AMERICAN HISTORY:
 John Adams ~ May 9, 1798, on the verge of war with
France, as President, proclaimed a day of fasting and
prayer.
1735-1826
“The Christian religion is,
above all the religions that
ever prevailed or existed in
ancient or modern times, the
religion of wisdom, virtue,
equity and humanity.”

7. IN AMERICAN HISTORY:
 Abraham Lincoln ~ April 30, 1863 Nat’l Day of Prayer
1809-1865
“And whereas it is the duty of nations as
well as of men, to own their dependence
upon the overruling power of God, to
confess their sins and transgressions, in
humble sorrow, yet with assured hope
that genuine repentance will lead to
mercy and pardon; and to recognize the
sublime truth, announced in the Holy
Scriptures and proven by all history, that
those nations only are blessed whose
God is the Lord.”

8. IN CHURCH HISTORY:
 Martin Luther ~ practiced fasting on a regular basis
1483-1546
“To be a Christian without
prayer is no more possible
than to be alive without
breathing.”

9. IN CHURCH HISTORY:
 John Calvin ~ practiced fasting on a regular basis
1509-1564
“Nothing is more dangerous
than to be blinded by
prosperity.”

10. IN CHURCH HISTORY:
 John Wesley ~ “every Wednesday and Friday”
1703-1791
"God does nothing but
in answer to prayer."

11. IN CHURCH HISTORY:
 David Brainard ~ practiced fasting on a regular basis
“Once more, never think that
you can live to God by your
own power or strength; but
always look to and rely on him
for assistance, yea, for all
strength and grace.”
1718-1747

12. IN CHURCH HISTORY:
 George Mueller ~ practiced fasting on a regular basis
1805-1898
“I have joyfully dedicated my
whole life to the object of
exemplifying how much may
be accomplished by prayer
and faith.”

13. IN CHURCH HISTORY:
 Jonathan Edwards ~ fasted for 3 days prior to
delivering "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God"
which began the First Great Awakening
1703-1758
“When God is about to do a
mighty new thing He always
sets His people praying”

14. 16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not
be like the hypocrites, with a sad
countenance. For they disfigure their
faces that they may appear to men to
be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you,
they have their reward. 17 But you,
when you fast, anoint your head and
wash your face,

15. 18 so that you do not appear to men
to be fasting, but to your Father who
is in the secret place; and your
Father who sees in secret will reward
you openly.

16. IN THE BIBLE:
Biblical Terms
Greek (νηστεία nēsteia) = to abstain from eating
ne (negative prefix) + eithio (verb “to eat”)
Hebrew (‫צּום‬ tsoum) = to withhold all natural
foods from the body
Hebrew ( ‫ָּה‬‫נ‬ ִ‫ע‬‫ֶׁש‬‫פ‬ֶ‫נ‬ innāh nephesh) = affliction of
the soul; including the body

17. IN THE BIBLE:
Humbling Self - accepting responsibility rather
than blaming others
Psa. 35:13 “I humbled (afflicted) my soul with
fasting”
Psa. 69:10 “When I wept and chastened my soul
with fasting, that was to my reproach, I
made sackcloth also my garment . . .”

18. IN THE BIBLE:
Mourning
1 Samuel 7:6 So they gathered together at
Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before
the LORD. And they fasted that day, and said
there, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And
Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.

19. IN THE BIBLE:
Mourning
Joel 2:12–15 “Now, therefore,” says the LORD,
“Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting,
with weeping, and with mourning.” 13 So rend
your heart, and not your garments; return to
the LORD your God... 14 Who knows if He will
turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind
Him…? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate
a fast, call a sacred assembly;

20. IN THE BIBLE:
 EZRA (Ezra 8:21-23) given safety for a
dangerous journey after he and his people
fasted and prayed.
 NEHEMIAH (Neh. 1:3) given permission and
provisions to rebuild the walls of God's city
after fasting and prayer for several days
 ESTHER (Esth. 4:16) changed the mind of a
powerful king after fasting and praying for
three days

21. IN THE BIBLE:
 KING OF NINEVAH (Jonah 3:6-10) saved
himself and his city from God's destruction
because he repented and proclaimed a fast.
 PAUL (Acts 13:2) given clear direction for a
life work while fasting and praying with
church leaders.
 JESUS (Lk. 4:2) given supernatural power to
resist Satan's temptations in the wilderness
for forty days while fasting.

22. Isaiah 58:3–7 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and
You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls,
and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your
fast you find pleasure, and exploit all your laborers.
4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate, and to strike
with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you
do this day, to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it
a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict
his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you
call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?

23. Isaiah 58:3–7
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose
the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy
burdens, To let the oppressed go free, and that you
break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread
with the hungry, and that you bring to your house
the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked,
that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your
own flesh?

24. I Samuel 1:8 Elkanah asks Hannah "Why are you
weeping? And why are you not eating?
I Samuel 20:34 Jonathan grieved and fasted for
David because of what Saul had done.
II Samuel 1:11,12 David fasted for Saul and
Jonathan
II Samuel 3:35 David fasted for Abner
II Samuel 12: 6, 21-23 David grieved over the
life of his child; upon death "Wherefore shall I
fast?"

25. Dan 6:18 (King Darius fasted when Daniel was
in the lion's den)
Matthew 9:14,15 Then the disciples of John
came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the
Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not
fast?” 15 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.

26. Nehemiah 1:4 So it was, when I heard
these words, that I sat down and wept,
and mourned for many days; I was fasting
and praying before the God of heaven.

27. Leviticus 16:29-31 (Day of Atonement) "ye shall
afflict your souls..."
Daniel 9:3 (Daniel fasted & repented for
himself and his people for not having walked
in the Laws of the Lord.)
Jonah 3:5 (Ninevah repented in fasting)
Psalm 102:4 (David) "My heart is smitten &
withered like grass, so that I forgot to eat my
bread."

28. "Prayer needs fasting for its full growth . . .
prayer is the one hand with which we grasp the
invisible; fasting, the other with which we let
loose and cast away the visible. In nothing is
man more closely connected with the world of
sense than in his need of food and his
enjoyment of it.“
Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer,

29. Esther 4:13,16 (The Jews fasted and grieved
after King Ahasuerus)
Esther 9:31 (after God’s deliverance of the Jews
from Haman’s evil plot - fasted and prayed)
Psalm 102:4 (David) “my heart is smitten and
withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my
bread”
Matthew 17:21 "this kind (evil spirit) does not
go out except by prayer and fasting"

30. (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13)
Body
Soul
Spirit
Physical Data
Spiritual Data

31. Judges 20:26 (Israel during a civil war with the
tribe of Benjamin fasted to determine the
direction in battle after the loss of 18,000)
Acts 13:2,3 (commissioning at Antioch) "As they
ministered to the Lord, and fasted .... and
when they had fasted and prayed..."
Acts 14:23 (Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted
before choosing Elders) "...when they had
ordained elders in every church, and had
prayed with fasting, they commended them to
the Lord, on whom they believed.

32. Psalm 69:10-13 David humbled himself before
God
Luke 2:37 and this woman (Anna) was a
widow of about eighty-four years, who did not
depart from the temple, but served God with
fastings and prayers night and day.
Acts 13:2,3 Early church practiced regular
times of fasting in worship

33. A. HOW OFTEN?
Matthew 6:16 “Moreover, when you fast,
do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad
countenance. For they disfigure their faces
that they may appear to men to be
fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have
their reward.

34. B. HOW LONG?
1. 40 days (only 3)
• Moses prepares for receiving the Law the
second time (Deuteronomy 9:9f)
• Elijah after Carmel journeyed to Mt. Horeb
(Sinai)
• Christ in preparation for His public ministry
(Matthew 4:1)
2. 3 weeks
• Daniel 10:2

35. B. HOW LONG?
3. 3 days
• with Christ on the Damascus Rd
• Esth. 4:16 People fasted in preparation for
Esther's appeal
• Acts 9:8,9 Saul of Tarsus following his
confrontation
4. 1 day (most common)
• II Sam. 1:12
5. 1 meal
• Acts 13:3

36. A. FAST FOR A PURPOSE
1. Jeremiah 14:11.12 Ahab fasted for Naboth’s
garden
2. Isaiah 58.1-7 Here the people of Israel reminded
God that they had fasted but complained that
fasting had not produced the results they were
seeking. God answered by saying, "Behold, you
fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the
fist of wickedness . . . Is not this the fast that I
have chosen -- to loose the bands of wickedness,
to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the
oppressed go free, and that you break every
yoke? is it not to deal your

37. A. FAST FOR A PURPOSE
bread to the hungry, and that you bring the
poor that are cast out to your house? When
you see the naked, that you cover him, and
that you hide not yourself from your own
flesh?” In other words, God says that
ceremonial fasting means nothing.

38. B. FAST SECRETLY
Zechariah 7:4-7 “did ye fast unto Me?” Did the
fast spring from obedience or ostentation? Was it
self-imposed for your own ends?”

39. WHY DO HYPOCRITES FAST?
(Mt. 6:16-18)
 Desire for the Spiritual Benefit without
fulfilling the Spiritual Requirements (inward
development & change) so the hypocrite
mimics the superficial, physical
manifestations of those requirements.
 Desire to perform "a form of religion" &
thereby impress others, all the while "deny
the power thereof" by failing to depend upon
or glorify God. Their real focus is on self.

40. C. MEDITATE ON GOD’S WORD
(Job 23:12) "O Lord, I will esteem the words of
Your mouth more important than my necessary
food."

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