Fasting: Aligning our loves with God and his Kingdom

From the rhythms of our weeks to the way we approach work life, every part of life needs aligning with God and His Kingdom. If we’re going to live as Divergent Kingdom people, it must start with our hearts.

How we live and what we’re living for is connected. Our alignment with God must be personal, as well as public.

As we move into 2026 as a family across the world we are coming up to a period of 21 days of Fasting and Prayer to align our hearts, to seek God’s face and seek his power and presence in everything we do.

The difference in Kingdom living is not enthusiasm; it is alignment. Kingdom life is formed and re-formed by spiritual practices which continually align our hearts with God, and train us to live by His Spirit rather than by our own strength.

These practices are found throughout Scripture. They are the spiritual disciplines of Christian formation, shaping desire, ordering our priorities, and drawing our focus back to who God is and what He is doing in and for His people.

One of the most misunderstood and neglected (yet deeply formative) of these disciplines is fasting.

Why Fasting Matters

Fasting is one of the spiritual disciplines that has consistently accompanied prayer and focused attention on God’s word throughout the biblical story.

Fasting and prayer naturally belong together.

A fast establishes an intentional rhythm in our lives, where spiritual attentiveness is placed ahead of natural appetite.

We do this not because the physical world is bad, but because it is not ultimate. Aligning our lives with God’s Kingdom declares this truth: God is most to be desired. This was the posture of Jesus Himself:

“After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” Matthew 4:2 (NIV)

Jesus assumed His followers would continue fasting when He taught, “When you fast…”, not if you fast (Matthew 6:16).

This was also the pattern of the apostles and the early Church. When the church in Antioch sought direction from the Holy Spirit, it fasted and prayed (Acts 13:2–3).

Paul understood fasting as part of apostolic life and endurance (2 Corinthians 6:4–5; 11:27). Fasting is not a spiritual pursuit for some ‘extraordinary believers’ it is part of ordinary Christian life.

The early Christian document The Didache assumes regular fasting among believers, and church fathers such as Tertullian and John Chrysostom spoke of fasting not as legalism, but as the training of desire. Biblically and historically, fasting has never been about impressing God, but about forming believers whose lives are aligned with Him.

The Effects of Fasting

While fasting is never a technique to control outcomes, Scripture shows that it consistently shapes God’s people in clear ways.

Fasting:

• Re-centres our hearts on God as our first love (Psalm 42:1–2).

  
  

  Distraction, familiarity, and busyness can quietly dull our affection for Him.

  
  

• Cultivates humility before God. 

  
  

  David writes, “I humbled myself with fasting” (Psalm 35:13; see also Ezra 8:21).

  
  

• Creates space for conviction and transformation. 

  
  

  In humility, God reveals what needs repentance and renewal.

  
  

• Brings discernment and guidance in moments of decision (Judges 20:26–28).

  
  

• Strengthens dependence on God when facing temptation rather than relying on self-confidence (Matthew 4:1–11).

  
  

• Produces courage for obedience when faith requires costly action (Esther 4:16).

  
  

• Increases spiritual effectiveness, as lives shaped by God’s light overflow to others.

  
  

• Participates in God’s renewing work beyond ourselves — in our city, our nation, and our world.

  
  

As Scripture reminds us:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)

This verse is not about Australia, the USA or any other modern nation, this verse is about God healing his people, in the New Covenant, the Church.

This is not a formula, but a spiritual principle, humility before God creates room for renewal, for personal and community revival.

The Basics of Fasting

In Greek, the primary word translated as fasting is nēsteia. It is formed from the negative prefix ne and the verb esthiō, meaning “to eat.” At its most basic level, fasting simply means not eating.

Note, you can’t ‘fast TV’ unless you eat TV’s. Refusing TV or other material pursuits is consecration but it is not fasting. Fasting is consecration, but not all consecration is fasting. You can read more in this blog here.

Remember in this, fasting is never about abstinence for its own sake. Not eating is the means, not the goal. Fasting is a means to greater attentiveness to God, a deeper alignment of our desires with His will.

For many, a wise place to begin is simple. Start with missing one meal, then perhaps a full day, and gradually increase. Whatever form it takes, fasting should always be entered with prayer, discernment, and honesty before God.

Fasting Wisdom: Body, Soul, and Witness

Fasting is spiritual in purpose, but it is not disembodied. It involves our physical bodies, and wisdom matters.

Easing into fasting can be helpful. To jump in without preparation is unwise.

I once had a friend who as a new believer, with little wisdom fasted for seven days to see a specific breakthrough. That was amazing, unfortunately, at the end of it he went out, bought a 21-piece box of KFC and ate it all. He was violently ill. A FEAST – FAST – FEAST pattern misses the point. Long fasts broken poorly are unnecessary and unwise.

If you have questions about longer fasts or how to break them well, ask.

If you have medical conditions including pregnancy, diabetes, hyperglycaemia, heart disease, other conditions or if you are unsure, please consult your doctor and speak with us.

Hunger is normal. That should go without saying but it continues to surprise me when people contact me when fasting telling me they are hungry.

That discomfort is part of the formation. When it comes, drink water and allow it to turn your attention toward God rather than distraction.

Make it simple and follow this basic guide.

• Meditate on God’s word

• Actively love and service toward others. Take your eyes off yourself.

• Pray

Many people are surprised by how much time and energy food preparation and eating require. Fasting creates space, use it intentionally.

As physical strength decreases, mood can be affected. Be aware of this. Do not allow irritability or fatigue to shape how you treat others. A fast that produces harshness is not spiritual maturity; it is a poor witness.

Examining Our Motives

Jesus gave clear warnings about fasting with the wrong motivations:

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.” Matthew 6:1, 16–18 (NIV)

Fasting is not about appearing spiritual. If non-Christian friends ask, it is often wise to say you have other plans. Tell fellow Christians if necessary, but do not centre attention on it. The goal is not the praise of people, but deeper communion with God.

What Fasting Is Not

Fasting is not:

• A weight-loss strategy or merely a physical discipline

• A spiritual performance

• A way to manipulate God

It is easy to turn fasting into a hunger strike against heaven: “I won’t eat until God does what I want.” Scripture is clear, God cannot be manipulated in this way (see Acts 23:12). Fasting changes us, not God.

A Necessary Word to the Modern Church

Modern Christianity often celebrates passion while neglecting formation. We love intensity but are suspicious of discipline. Fasting exposes this tension.

Some Christians instinctively distrust fasting, fearing legalism or some form of elitism. However, scripture draws a clear distinction between legalism and discipleship. Grace does not abolish training; it enables it. Jesus fasted. The apostles fasted. The early Church fasted.

We live in a world crying out for alignment with God’s Kingdom. Fasting is a voluntary act of surrender that declares: God, you matter more than my appetite. Is this extreme? Perhaps. Our resistance to such a declaration may say more about us than fasting itself.

Moving Forward Together

If you have questions, we would love to help. Let us stand together as we align our lives with God and His Kingdom, attend to His Spirit, and watch the world around us be transformed for Christ.

4 Life,

Josh