Language constantly evolves, influencing not only how we communicate but also how we perceive the world around us. Semantic changes occur over time, causing words to take on meanings entirely different from their original definitions. For example, “silly” once meant blessed while “nice” originally meant foolish. Similarly, “awful” used to mean inspiring awe or wonder but now refers to something terrible. Our language also reflects unconscious gender bias, as people often assume that doctors, pilots, or pastors are men, while professions like nursing, teaching, and childcare are associated with women.
Our perception of everyday items has evolved over time. For instance, many people think of a
sponge as a household cleaning tool, unaware that it is actually a living marine organism.
Sponges are simple aquatic animals that have existed for over five hundred million years.
Similarly, today, chewing gum is often associated with brands like Trident and Chiclets. However, it
was originally made from the natural sap of the chicle tree.
Just as language has evolved over time, so has our understanding of certain concepts in the Bible. For example, there is no mention of a female angel in the Bible, yet today, if a man is named Angel, people often question why he has a name perceived as feminine. Similarly, early Christians were once referred to with a derogatory term, but today, Christianity has grown into the world’s largest religion, resembling the other religions of the world with special days, a holy month, and a period of fasting.
The Perception of Fasting
Why do we fast, particularly during the Lenten season? For some, Lent is a time for self-evaluation, a season of reflection and repentance leading up to Good Friday. This monthlong fasting practice, where many choose to forgo at least one meal, raises an important question: Did Jesus ask us to fast during this period? If not, why do we do it?
The practice is perhaps inspired by Jesus’s experience in the wilderness, where he did not go with the intention of fasting but, while being tested, simply did not eat. As recorded in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus, immediately after his baptism, was led into the wilderness to be tempted. His purpose for being there was not specifically to fast but to undergo testing before beginning his ministry. And while he was fully engaged in obeying his Father, he simply did not eat.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. – Luke 4:1-2 (NIV)
Then why do we fast? Is fasting merely a tradition for us? For some, it is a habitual practice passed down through generations. They fast to honor their ancestors, continuing the tradition without necessarily reflecting on its significance. For others, fasting is an integral part of their religion. Some believe it serves as a means to attain righteousness, thinking it helps them earn God’s grace. Many religions prescribe fasting as a way to gain favor with God, including Christians.
Sometimes, fasting often resembles a hunger strike, much like that of a stubborn child—a means of persistently demanding that God should fulfill our desires. Those who adopt this approach acknowledge God’s love but see fasting as a way to pressure Him, believing that their self-imposed deprivation will compel Him to grant their requests.
What happens to us when we fast? Often when we fast, we experience uncontrollable hunger, which preoccupies our thoughts more than God does. Communal fasting, intended as a shared spiritual practice, can turn into a mere activity that culminates in an afternoon meal. When our prayers are answered soon after fasting, we may mistakenly believe that our fasting compelled God to respond to our demands. Conversely, if our prayers remain unanswered, we become dejected and question what more God wants from us, overlooking the fact that He never asked us to fast in the first place.
The LORD Will Provide
God does not ask us to do something without providing the necessary support. When God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son, He also provided a ram as a substitute. When He anointed David to rule over the kingdom of Judah, He endowed him with the necessary wisdom and tact. When Jesus told Peter, “I will build my Church on you,” He gave him everything needed to fulfill this mission.
So, if we believe that God has called us to fast, why wouldn’t He also equip us with the willpower to resist food and pray continuously? If God desires us to remain in prayer, He will alleviate our hunger so we can focus on His Word without interruptions. However, if we fast based on our own desires, our thoughts will likely be consumed by food and other worldly concerns.
We often understand things in an opposite way to what God intended. If we first seek to connect with God and grow closer to Him, He will sustain us even in our weakness. However, we tend to fast and weaken ourselves, believing that this will compel God to draw near to us and answer our prayer requests.
In the Wilderness
Let’s examine what satan offered to sustain Jesus. First, he tempted Jesus with food when He was hungry, offering it in exchange for loyalty, not understanding that, for Jesus, doing the will of God was the true sustenance. Next, as the prince of this world, satan offered wealth, asserting his ability to make such an offer. Finally, he challenged Jesus to prove His authority, a test where many of us would falter, feeling the need to validate our credentials to others. Jesus, however, rejected all three offers and stood firm on the path that God had set for Him.
“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.’ Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water…” – Exodus 34:27-28 (NIV)
On Mount Sinai, the Lord instructed Moses to write down His words as part of His covenant with Israel. Moses remained there for forty days and nights without eating or drinking, completely immersed in God’s presence. When he returned down to the people, his face shone so bright that the people were afraid of Him. Moses spent so much time with the LORD that he started reflecting the glory of God. When we are deeply engaged in serving God, we become so focused that our physical needs fade into the background.
“I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.” – Mark 8:2-3 (NIV)
When Jesus delivered his now-famous Sermon on the Mount, crowds from all over Israel gathered to hear him speak. The mountain was in a remote location, leaving them with no access to food. Yet, for three days, they remained unfazed by hunger, not concerned with what they would eat. They were deeply engrossed in the words coming from Jesus’ mouth, which became their sustenance. Instead of fasting, they were feasting on the heavenly manna as they followed Jesus to that secluded place.
Our Response
Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves and you have not noticed? – Isaiah 58:3 (NIV)
Many fail to recognize that true fasting is a natural outcome of deep communion with God, not a means to achieve it. When we are truly close to Him, we may go without food simply because we are immersed in receiving His word, as seen in the crowds who gathered to hear Jesus’s words. Like Moses, who, forgetting his own hunger, stayed on the mountain of God doing what he was commanded. However, if we fast thinking that it will draw us closer to God, it is simply a hollow ritual. Instead of forcing ourselves to fast as a way to seek God, we should ask Him what is His will for us.
As Isaiah 58 warns, treating fasting as a mere formality leads to hypocrisy—we may seem eager to hear God’s voice yet remain unwilling to follow His guidance. Instead of seeking spiritual growth, we risk using fasting to gain attention or evoke sympathy by appearing humble. We must submit ourselves fully to God, seeking His will for our lives. Fasting should be a deeply personal and spiritual act, not an empty tradition or a display of false humility. Instead of treating fasting as a ritual, we should connect with God, forgetting not just food but everything around us.
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” – James 4:7-8 (NIV)
When people questioned Jesus why his disciples did not fast, he told them that they did not need to fast when he was with them. Jesus was filling them with His new word every day, and they traveled with him everywhere. Imagine what would have happened if they had fasted twice a week. Jesus’ ministry of three years would have been much shorter. They would not have reached Jerusalem and might have collapsed on the way due to hunger. The disciples submitted themselves to Jesus, and he gave them strength to go on that journey with him.
Turning Fasting Into Feasting
We often go on diets but eventually break them or have cheat days in between. Imagine that during our diet, we limit our intake of things that are of nutritional value to us but feast on fatty foods. What would happen? That is exactly what we are doing in our spiritual lives. Our intentions may be to grow closer to God, but our actions are leading us elsewhere.
Where we should be fasting, we are cheating on our diet; where we should be eating, we are taking a light diet. If we truly want to grow closer to God, we should forgo our traditions, yet instead, we keep adding tradition upon tradition. We should be feasting on His Word, but when it comes to Scripture, we prefer a light diet—reading a verse from our calendars, a promise verse, or an Instagram post, thinking, That should be enough for today.
Instead of trying to fast, we should be feasting, feasting on his heavenly manna—God’s word
—nourishing our souls just as we do our bodies. Many have adopted the popular keto diet these
days that lets them eat as much as they want, and by simply avoiding carbohydrates, they are actually achieving their weight loss goals by feasting on food they love and avoiding foods that absorb that fat. Similarly, in our spiritual lives, we should feast on things that build our souls and avoid the things that destroy our souls.
However, when it comes to spiritual nutrition, many of us settle for a light diet, turning to God only in times of trouble. Imagine if we treated our physical bodies the same way—eating only when we were about to faint or drinking water only when we were on the brink of collapse. In reality, we eat whenever we feel like it—when we are alone, with friends at the mall, or sharing a meal after church. Yet, how often do we feast on God’s word with the same eagerness?
Jesus continually feasted on God’s word, Moses clung to Him, and the crowds that followed Jesus held onto His teachings—that is why they fasted, not the other way around. Fasting was a natural outcome of their deep communion with God, not an empty ritual. It is time we understand the true meaning of fasting and stop participating in it as a mere tradition. Instead, let us draw closer to God each day, feasting on His word consistently. When we do this, our physical needs will no longer be our primary concern, for we will be sustained by the life-giving manna of God.
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. – Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV)
The Jordan Valley 
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