Matthew 9:14-17 NLT - 14 One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, “Why don’t your disciples fast like we do and the Pharisees do?” 15 Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 “Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before. 17 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”
I. FASTING
1. To strengthen prayer
Ezra 8:23 NLT - So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.
2. To seek God's guidance
Judges 20:26-27a NLT - 26 Then all the Israelites went up to Bethel and wept in the presence of the Lord and fasted until evening. They also brought burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. 27a The Israelites went up seeking direction from the Lord.
3. To seek deliverance and protection
2 Chronicles 20:3-4 NLT - 3 Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. 4 So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help.
4. To express grief
1 Samuel 31:13 NLT - Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.
5. To express repentance and a return to God
1 Samuel 7:6 NLT - So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.)
6. To humble oneself before God
1 Kings 21:27-29 NLT - 27 But when Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in burlap, and fasted. He even slept in burlap and went about in deep mourning. 28 Then another message from the Lord came to Elijah: 29 “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty.”
7. To express concern for the work of God
Nehemiah 1:3-4 NLT - 3 They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” 4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.
8. To minister to the needs of others
Isaiah 58:6-7 NLT - 6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. 7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
9. To overcome temptation and dedicate yourself to God
Matthew 4:1-11 NLT
10. To express love and worship of God
Luke 2:37 NLT - Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer.
II. OLD AND NEW
Matthew 9:16-17 NLT
Isaiah 43:18-19 NLT - 18 “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. 19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.