Bible Study on Fasting

The Bible, including Jesus, talks about fasting as a normal spiritual exercise. The Bible may not mandate it, but fasting clearly is considered a means of greater spiritual proximity to God / receptivity of God to answer prayer, because fasting is an act of humility or demonstrates an earnestness that impresses God, etc. Here are passages to consider:

Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. (Matthew 17:21)

Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. (Nehemiah 9:1)

And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, [there was] great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. (Esther 4:3)

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing [was] sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom. (Psalms 35:13)

When I wept, [and chastened] my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. (Psalms 69:10)

My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness. (Psalms 109:24)

Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye [even] to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: (Joel 2:12)

My Spiritual Experience Proves Physical Benefits Too

I have recently tried fasting once a week, and tie it to a spiritual purpose -- to learn not to give into the flesh' desire for food. I am overweight by 12 pounds. So there is a bit of "gluttony" I wish to conquer. [Update: 2014 - I went from 190 lbs to 156 lbs. I was overweight more than I thought.] I have found that fasting directly aids my diet, and indeed makes it easier during the week to resist eating too much. So I have learned that fasting periodically has improved my physical and spiritual health. Perhaps give that a try.

But I understand that for reasons I do not yet understand, one is not supposed to fast on Sabbath. We read in "Eve of Passover," Wikipedia: "This is because it is forbidden to fast on Shabbat (except when Yom Kippur falls on Shabbat)...."

Health Benefits of Fasting

Incidentally, a June 2014 study shows that fasting for at least 3 days resets your immune system, thereby repairing it. Here is an article that appeared in the Daily Mail.