Fasting: Hungering and Thirsting After Righteousness

Is fasting simply a sacrifice we must make to show God how much we truly want something? Or is there more involved in the transformative power of fasting? Fasting is not just a way of saying "pretty please" or changing God's will. It consists of more than just going without food and water. Our ability to follow Christ’s example and act in God’s stead is greatly magnified as we prayerfully fast for a specific purpose and humbly open our hearts to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Fasting should include an intensification of righteous ways that helps us put off the natural man and become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

Fasting that includes hungering and thirsting after righteousness is an act of faith that consecrates us to the Lord. When we fast with real intent, our hearts are changed and our desire to sin diminishes. “They did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God” (Helaman 3:35).

There are 3 main principles involved in fasting:

1. Denying the physical (abstain from food and water)

2. Denying the natural man (abstain from sin)

3. Feasting upon the spiritual (hunger and thirst after righteousness)

First, deny the physical through abstaining from food and water. A typical fast consists of going without food and water for 24 hours. We should do this willfully and cheerfully so that we “be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance” (3 Nephi 13:16). Instead of focusing on satisfying the physical hunger and thirst of the body, we should devote our efforts to satisfying the spiritual hunger and thirst of the soul. Christ has said: “Come unto me and...eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely” (Alma 5:34).

Second, deny the “natural man” through abstaining from sin (Mosiah 3:19). Priesthood holders must be worthy and "cleansed every whit" in order to perform the miracles that come "not out but by prayer and fasting" (3 Nephi 8:1, Matthew 17:21). Fasting is a time to evaluate one’s life and repent of anything that is not in harmony with God’s standards and commandments. It is a time to ask ourselves “What lack I yet?” (Matthew 19:20). As we heed the spiritual promptings of the Holy Ghost, we will develop a more Christlike nature and our capacity to resist temptation and overcome sin will expand. “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness” (Isaiah 58:6).

Lastly, feast upon the spiritual through hungering and thirsting after righteousness. D&C 59:13 talks about making your fasting perfect. Footnote 13a defines this as “hungering and thirsting after righteousness”. Perhaps the most significant benefit of a fast is the personal revelation one obtains through feeding one’s soul with increased spiritual nourishment. This is a major principle of fasting. We can't just keep doing the same things we normally do when we're fasting. There needs to be an intensification of righteousness. We need to focus our thoughts and actions on the purpose for which we are fasting. For example, if we are seeking to know for ourselves of the truthfulness of a gospel doctrine or principle, we must devote time to studying, pondering and praying about the truths we seek. Much can be learned from Alma’s example: “Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me” (Alma 5:46). Interestingly, Alma had already witnessed the appearance of an angel, and yet the source of his testimony came from the witness of the Holy Ghost, manifested unto Him through diligent prayer and fasting.

Great power and spiritual gifts are available to each of us as we apply these principles in our lives and make our fasts more meaningful. “They had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God” (Alma 17:3). As we hunger and thirst after righteousness while fasting, we will rejoice and our joy will be full (D&C 59:13-14). Our carnal natures will become transformed as the spirit begins to direct the soul toward eternal peace and happiness. “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19). This transformative process of becoming more like Christ is catalyzed by our consistent efforts to fast in all righteousness.