The spiritual disciplines are not the focus; we cannot reduce Christianity to regular practices. Spiritual disciplines are aimed at getting the Jesus follower into Jesus’ presence. Through spiritual disciplines we are not trying to optimize our Christianity; we are abiding in His presence. Each discipline is a way of sitting at His feet like Mary (Luke 10:38-42); the discipline is merely a context for being with Christ and receiving desperately-needed grace.

The focus is not the discipline. When we are busy with the business of spiritual disciplines we are Martha — more concerned with performance than the Presence that makes it possible to serve well. Discipline-centered living will have us scurrying around Jesus but not enjoying His fellowship or hearing His words. Focus on the disciplines leads to pride over our regular praying, ritual fasting, meditation routines, and visible acts of submission. It leads to an attitude of disdain for the sad folk who ain’t doing what we do.

We need to focus on Christ through the discipline. Praying is pressing into the presence of Christ to acknowledge His worth, admit our need, and seek His help. When the goal is not God Himself, the discipline of praying becomes a practice that makes us smug.

He wants us to draw near. He has revealed how to do that in the Scriptures through the explanations and examples of Jesus and others; the means of drawing near as revealed in the Scriptures are spiritual disciplines.

Old Testament — Fasting Passages

Pentateuch

• Exodus 34:28 – Moses fasts 40 days and nights on Sinai
• Leviticus 16:29–31 – Day of Atonement: “afflict your souls” (understood as fasting)
• Leviticus 23:27–32 – Day of Atonement reiterated
• Numbers 9:6–13 – Indirect fasting context tied to mourning
• Deuteronomy 9:9, 18 – Moses’ second 40-day fast

Historical Books

• Judges 20:26 – Israel fasts during national crisis
• 1 Samuel 1:7–8 – Hannah’s grief and fasting
• 1 Samuel 7:6 – National repentance at Mizpah
• 1 Samuel 14:24 – Saul’s ill-advised fast
• 1 Samuel 31:13 – Mourning fast for Saul
• 2 Samuel 1:12 – David fasts for Saul and Jonathan
• 2 Samuel 3:35 – David’s mourning fast
• 2 Samuel 12:16–23 – David fasts for his sick child
• 1 Kings 21:9–12, 27 – Ahab’s (external) repentance through fasting
• 2 Chronicles 20:3 – Jehoshaphat proclaims a fast
• Ezra 8:21–23 – Ezra calls a fast for guidance and protection
• Ezra 10:6 – Ezra fasts over Israel’s sin
• Nehemiah 1:4 – Nehemiah fasts and prays
• Nehemiah 9:1–3 – Corporate fasting and confession
• Esther 4:3, 16 – National and personal fasting for deliverance
• Esther 9:31 – Fasting remembered in Purim context

Poetic & Wisdom Books

• Job 1:20–22 – Mourning actions (implicit fasting)
• Psalm 35:13 – “I humbled my soul with fasting”
• Psalm 69:10 – Fasting linked with reproach
• Psalm 109:24 – Physical effects of fasting
• Daniel 9:3 – Fasting with prayer and confession

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Major Prophets

• Isaiah 58:1–12 – True vs. false fasting (key theological text)
• Jeremiah 14:10–12 – Fasting rejected without repentance
• Daniel 1:8–16 – Partial fast (vegetables and water)
• Daniel 10:2–3 – Daniel’s extended fast

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Minor Prophets

• Joel 1:14 – Call a sacred fast
• Joel 2:12–15 – Fasting tied to repentance
• Jonah 3:5–10 – Nineveh’s citywide fast
• Zechariah 7:3–5 – Questioning the heart behind fasting
• Zechariah 8:19 – Fasts transformed into joy

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New Testament — Fasting Passages

Gospels

• Matthew 4:1–2 – Jesus fasts 40 days
• Matthew 6:16–18 – Instruction on how to fast
• Matthew 9:14–15 – Fasting after the Bridegroom departs
• Matthew 17:21 (textual variant) – Fasting and prayer
• Mark 2:18–20 – Fasting in relation to Jesus’ presence
• Mark 9:29 – Prayer (and fasting, textual variant)
• Luke 2:37 – Anna fasts and prays
• Luke 4:1–2 – Jesus’ wilderness fast
• Luke 5:33–35 – When disciples will fast
• Luke 18:12 – Pharisee’s boastful fasting

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Acts

• Acts 9:9 – Paul’s fast after conversion
• Acts 10:30 – Cornelius fasting before divine guidance
• Acts 13:2–3 – Church fasting before mission commissioning
• Acts 14:23 – Fasting when appointing elders
• Acts 27:9 – Day of Atonement (“the Fast”) referenced

Epistles

• 1 Corinthians 7:5 – Temporary fasting for prayer
• 2 Corinthians 6:5 – Fasting as ministry discipline
• 2 Corinthians 11:27 – Frequent fastings

Theological Summary

Across Scripture, fasting is associated with:

• Repentance (Joel 2; Jonah 3)
• Guidance & decision-making (Ezra 8; Acts 13)
• Mourning & humility (2 Sam 12; Ps 35)
• Spiritual warfare (Matt 4; Acts 14)
• Preparation for divine encounter (Exod 34; Dan 10)

Importantly, Isaiah 58 and Matthew 6 anchor fasting not as ritual performance but as heart-directed humility before God.