During Lent many Christians use the time to fast something. This is the story …
Fasting within the Old Testament
Fasting is biblical and there are a lot of accounts of individuals fasting within the Bible. Moses fasted when he was meeting with God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:28). When Hannah was desperate for a toddler, she went to God in prayer and fasting, before Samuel was born (1 Samuel 1:1–20). When King Jehoshaphat was warned of an advancing army coming to attack Judah, he proclaimed a quick throughout the land (2 Chronicles 20:3). Ezra and Nehemiah proclaimed fasts among the many Jewish exiles before their return to Jerusalem. David humbled himself with fasting (Psalm 35:13). Daniel fasted for 3 weeks as a part of mourning (Daniel 10:2). Queen Esther called upon Jews to fast for 3 days before she approached the king (Esther 4:16). After Jonah preached in Nineveh the people fasted and placed on sackcloth in penitence (Jonah 3:5). Fasting was combined with prayer, and sometimes wearing sackcloth, for urgent and essential matters.
Jesus’s teaching on fasting
In the New Testament, fasting continues to be essential. Luke’s Gospel starts telling us that the prophetess Anna was within the habit of fasting and praying (Luke 2:37). In the Gospel in accordance with Matthew, Jesus gives teaching about fasting (Matthew 6:16-18). Jesus seems to have assumed that his followers would quick. He said to his disciples “When you fast…” (Matthew 6:16), not in case you fast, but he gave no rules about for a way long or how steadily to do it. He explained that fasting was a matter for personal religion, not for religious showing off. Jesus’s disciples weren’t known for fasting just like the Pharisees were (Matthew 9:14). Jesus said that some demons can only be exorcised with prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21).
Fasting within the Early Church
Fasting was kept as a practice within the Early Church which we are able to read within the book of Acts. Many of the primary Christians were from a Jewish background, and early Christians observed Jewish fast days. After being blinded on the road to Damascus, Saul of Tarsus fasted for 3 days (Acts 9:9). At Antioch, Saul and Barnabas fasted as they sought what to do (Acts 13:1–2). When Saul and Barnabas established recent churches, they appointed leaders with prayer and fasting (Acts 14:23).
Fasting in Preparation for Easter
The Early Church established a convention of fasting in preparation leading as much as Easter. It was a forty day period focused on prayer, repentance and fasting. By the fourth century, Lent had turn out to be established as a standard tradition. The idea of forty days of preparation could be very biblical. God sent rain upon the earth for forty days and nights when Noah and his family were within the ark (Genesis 7:4). Later Moses sat on Mount Sinai for forty days when he received the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:18). Later Elijah walked forty days and forty nights to Mount Horeb when he fled Jezebel (1 Kings 19:8). The forty days of Lent, are inspired by the forty days of fasting which Jesus spent within the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11; Mark 1:13 and Luke 4:1–13), in preparation for his ministry. The term for Lent in Latin is ‘Quadragesima’, which is from the Latin word ‘quadraginta’ which implies forty.
Fasting within the Protestant tradition
After the Reformation, Lent was maintained as a practice amongst Lutherans and Anglicans, but was rejected by John Calvin, and it is just not commonly a part of the tradition amongst evangelical churches. However, many individuals value it as a useful discipline, as a matter of private selection. John Wesley wrote: “Let us watch out for fancying that we merit anything of God by our fasting … Fasting is just a way which God hath ordained, wherein we wait for His unmerited mercy; and wherein with none desert of ours, He hath promised freely to present us His blessing.” On February 6, 1756, King George III called a National Day of Prayer and fasting for the UK, in response to a threatened invasion by France. Churches were full as people pleaded with God to deliver Britain, and the expected invasion didn’t occur. In his “Studies within the Sermon on the Mount”, Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote that, “Fasting should really be made to incorporate abstinence from anything which is legitimate in and of itself for the sake of some special spiritual purpose.” In his book “A Problem of Pain”, CS Lewis wrote that “fasting asserts the need against the appetite”.
When does Lent start and finish?
Lent precedes Easter, which normally falls on a unique Sunday within the eastern and western Christian calendars. Most years eastern and western Lent don’t coincide, although they might overlap. However, in 2025, Easter Sunday is April 20 for each the eastern and western parts of the Church. When Lent starts and finishes also varies in accordance with tradition. For some people Lent is forty continuous days. However, within the Catholic tradition, the six Sundays of Lent usually are not considered fast days, which implies Lent is forty days over a 46 period. In the Catholic and Protestant tradition Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, which in 2025 falls on March 5, and ends on Holy Thursday, April 19. In the Orthodox tradition Lent includes Sundays and ends before Holy Week, so Orthodox Lent starts two days sooner than Ash Wednesday on Clean Monday, which in 2025 is on March 3.
Giving up
Fasting doesn’t necessarily mean eating absolutely nothing. Originally Lent was forty days of fasting, when just one full meal was eaten a day, and no meat or animal products were to be eaten. This led to the tradition of using leftover eggs, and fat, which were commonly forbidden during Lent. These were made into pancakes before Lent began, hence Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday. Lent has entered our culture. Not all Christians observe Lent, yet many individuals, even non-Christians, hand over something for Lent. Some people hand over chocolate, biscuits or alcohol. Rather than fasting from food, people may fast or hand over a luxury, or an addictive habit akin to smoking, watching television, using social media, clothes shopping, playing video games or using their cell phone. Some people have a whole media or digital fast. If something is bad then we must always not be doing it anyway and may really give it up completely not only for Lent – although Lent could also be a very good time to begin.
Taking up
Instead of giving something up, some people prefer to take something up, to do forty acts of kindness, or read a Bible series. Some Christians take up a recent spiritual discipline, akin to reading a each day devotional, or following forty days of prayer for a problem. Some churches do a special Bible study series during Lent. In some places local congregations may get together and do mixed Bible study groups or have a series of lectures from eminent speakers. For some people Lent is sort of a New Year’s resolution. Some people use Lent to sort out their house, or start an exercise routine or eating regimen, or hand over using their automotive and take up public transport. Some people use Lent to begin learning a recent language. For Christians being on a lenten fast is usually about putting a stop to something selfish, or beginning to do something good, with a view to help refocus our lives on God.
Conclusion
The true spirit of fasting is as a spiritual discipline. St Paul said that whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, or not, we must always do it to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31). While Lent is just not mentioned or commanded within the Bible, nonetheless the principle of fasting is biblical, and plenty of people find Lent a helpful practice. For those preferring not to watch Lent they need to respect those that consider it a sacred duty or practice (Romans 14:5-13).
