What does it take to begin a relationship with God? Do you need to devote yourself to unselfish religious deeds? Must you become a better person so that God will accept you? Learn how you can know God personally.
Learn the basics of what Christians believe.
Get the answers to frequently asked questions on Christian beliefs and practices.
Explore answers to life's biggest questions.
We all have a story. Read about individuals who have been transformed by faith.
Take the next step in your faith journey with resources on prayer, devotionals and other tools for personal and spiritual growth.
Explore resources to help you live out your life and relationships in a way that honors God.
Find resources for personal or group Bible study.
Learn to develop your skills, desire and ability to join others on their spiritual journeys and take them closer to Jesus.
Help others in their faith journey through discipleship and mentoring.
Develop your leadership skills and learn how to launch a ministry wherever you are.
View our top Cru resources in more than 20 languages.
Have some fun taking various quizzes and assessments to learn about yourself and others.
Volunteer abroad this year on a short term global missions trip offered by one of the best, most-reliable Christian missions organizations in the world.
Internship opportunities with Cru's ministries.
If you're looking for the best Christian jobs and careers, check out Cru's ministry job openings for full- and part-time missionaries and professionals.
Live in another country building relationships and ministries with eternal impact.
Would you like to give your time to work with Cru? We need you.
Find a Cru event near you.
Use your hobbies and interests to find the best place for you to serve.
Helping students know Jesus, grow in their faith and go to the world to tell others.
Reflecting Jesus together for the good of the city.
Partnering with urban churches to meet physical and spiritual needs.
Striving to see Christ-followers on every team, in every sport and in every nation.
Equipping families with practical approaches to parenting and marriage.
Reaching students and faculty in middle and high school.
Bringing hope and resources to military families worldwide.
How we seek to journey together with everyone towards a relationship with Jesus.
Answers to questions on donations, financial policies, Cru’s annual report and more.
What we believe about the gospel and our call to serve every nation.
Learn about Cru's global leadership team.
When the global church comes together then powerful things can happen.
Leading from values so others will walk passionately with God to grow and bear fruit.
Because ethnicity is part of the good of creation, we seek to honor and celebrate the ethnic identity of those with whom we serve as well as those we seek to reach.
Showing God in action in and through His people.
Hear what others are saying about Cru.
Fasting, a spiritual discipline, is a way to grow deeper in your relationship with God. Sometimes fasting means giving up a necessity, like food, but you can also fast by refraining from a pleasure, like social media. Fasting helps you to humble yourself and remember that you depend on God alone to meet all your needs. And for a time, it makes feeding your soul a higher priority than feeding your body.
So, why might a Christian fast? Here are a few great reasons. When you fast...
In Psalm 46:10, God says, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (English Standard Version).
When you deny yourself food (or other things you rely on), you humbly admit your dependence on God alone to meet your needs. As your metabolism slows down, so can you, and you can allow the fast-paced world to fade to background noise for a short time.
In John 16:13, Jesus says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth” (ESV).
One of the Holy Spirit’s jobs is to lead you into truth, but it’s hard to listen when life moves so loudly and quickly around you. Give yourself space to receive guidance from Him. You might want to journal your thoughts and prayers during the time of your fast.
In Acts 13:2-3 (ESV), Luke writes about the experience of one early church:
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
The church leaders fasted while they worshipped, and then they received instructions from the Holy Spirit. As they worshipped God for Himself, not for the gifts he’d given them, they received the guidance they needed, and they confidently sent Saul (that is, Paul) and Barnabas to preach the gospel.
In Isaiah 58:6-7 (ESV), God says,
“Is not this the fast that I choose:
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”
When you fast, you have the opportunity to look for ways to help others. Jesus commands you to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-39).
Fasting is a time to consider ways you can love your neighbor. Someone somewhere will need help. It might be inconvenient, but fasting is a time to turn from your own needs and look outside yourself. Instead of saying you don’t have time and walking away from a need, consider going out of your way to help someone. But be careful: this might become a habit.
After Jesus was baptized and before He began His public ministry, which would eventually lead Him to the cross, He spent 40 days and nights fasting in the wilderness. Like prophets before Him, Jesus, who was fully human, chose to endure the physical weakening of His body — even while temptation and spiritual attack came at Him in full force — to rely on the Word of God before launching into the most significant season of His earthly life.
Although Jesus is not recorded to have fasted often, nor to have required His disciples to fast (see Matthew 9:14), it is clear that He saw its value. Still, unlike the religious leaders of the day, Jesus clarified that fasting is a private activity meant to spiritually commune with God and not to win spiritual “brownie points” in the eyes of others.
In Matthew 6:16-18 (ESV), Jesus says:
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Fasting is a discipline. When you fast, you can come to depend upon the Lord more deeply.
Do you know Jesus as the Lord of your life? If so, might God be calling you to try a fast?
For more information, consider reading part 3 of this series: “What Does the Bible Say About Fasting?” or looking over the Fasting Starter Kit.
©1994-2023 Cru. All Rights Reserved.