Why Should I Fast?

Today, the church seems to have forgotten about the spiritual discipline of fasting. Most of us have never heard a sermon about it, and few of us have ever practiced it. We think of fasting as an antiquated relic of the past. So why should we fast in an age of fast food? Pastor Daniel R. Hyde argues that “fasting is actually a basic biblical teaching and practice, one that is vital to cultivating godly living in an ungodly generation.” Fasting is a means to the end of abiding, deep, and personal communion with the triune God through prayer. The author explains what fasting is, provides biblical examples of it, reminds us of what Jesus taught regarding it, and tells us how to go about it. What Is Fasting? What are the Biblical Examples of Fasting? Did Jesus Address Fasting? How Should I Fast? Daniel R. Hyde is the pastor of the Oceanside United Reformed Church in Carlsbad/Oceanside, California. An author of several books, he serves as an adjunct instructor of systematic theology and missions at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. “If you like a lazy and complacent Christian life, this book is dangerous because it shows in a convincing way that fasting belongs to Christianity. Danny Hyde shows from the Bible, the words of Jesus, the early church, the Reformers, and the Puritans how and why Christians should fast. This message is an appeal to Christians that while our old nature would prefer feasting to fasting, our new nature will experience spiritual feasting by fasting.” — Dr. Willem van Vlastuin, professor of theology and spirituality of Reformed Protestantism, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam