In The Name of The Father and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit .  

One God .   Amen .

How to Fast

Subject Page   

Verses related to fasting 3   

Prayer 6   

Love and fasting 9   

Eating and Drinking 12   

One day Fasts :  the Day of Atonement 14   

The Miracle of the 5 loaves and the 2 fish 15   

"Phil.4:12,13 I have learned both to be full and to be hungry" 18   

Prphets :   Daniel , Anna and Ezekiel 18   

Steps of fasting , Walking , the Upper Room , Clothing and the belt 20   

Mercy and Fasting  , and , Marriage and Fasting 22   

Three day Fasts 23   

Cornelius and the People of Nineveh 24   

David Fasts for a week 25   

Oil 25   

The Numbers of Days of Fasts 25   

14 Days Fast 26   

Our Lord Jesus 26   

John the Baptist , Moses and Elijah 30   

 

Preface and Introduction

In the parable of the treasure and of the pearl of great price , our Lord said "Mt.13:44-46  the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."

So would you like to find this hidden treasure and this pearl of great price , this book will help you find them.  Moses was the prophet of God and in his time two other persons prophesied , so Joshua wanted to stop them , so Moses said to him "Num.11:29  Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!" .  So Moses liked that all the people of God would become prophets . And , here the writer of this book , wants all men to find this treasure and this pearl , and through them they may come to God the true treasure and the true pearl.

The subject of fasting includes a lot of details , but here we are going to speak briefly about the important stories and verses in the Holy Bible , and write some comments and notes about each of them . I shall write briefly but at the same time , I must give useful information to the beginners and to those who have good experience .  This book is only about how to fast , not about the spirituality of fasting nor … . And because there must be a lot of prayers during every fast , so there  will be a little about prayer .  There will be many questions left without answers , every one will answer to himself , because many things are spiritual , not subject to logic , and also , because many things differ from one person to another and differ for the same person from time to another .

+ We have two kinds of fasting :  1] Absolute fasting , which is without food or water .   2] And partial fasting , in any way or any details.

Some sick people who have certain diseases are not able to fast , so they may learn from this book how to control or regulate their eating and drinking , or make certain system in their life  , so that they can , without fasting be , spiritually , better than those who fast and then after they finish the time of fasting eat more than usual .

He who wants to be well advanced in fasting , should : 1] first pray much to God that He may help him and guide him in all his fasts and all his life , because fasting much changes the style of all the life.  2] And should have many guides in different fields , like from among those who have good experience in fasting and a physician or a pharmacist.   3] And also should read other books .   And after all this , he sees what is suitable for him , for his physical and spiritual health and for all surrounding circumstances .    There are many ways and degrees and kinds of fasting , what suits you now may not suit you in another time.

And if at any time you fast , you got a headache or became tired or you had any strange feelings whether physical or psychological , don't worry , most probably you will recover in a few minutes or maximum by next day , but , if it continued with you , ask one of your guides.

It is well known that the best among all who fasted in all generations , is our Lord Jesus , then Moses and Elijah , so at the end of this book , we shall have some information about them .

Fasting benefits us much in many things , it makes God forgive us our sins , it fills us with many virtues that can never be gained by any other way without fasting , and it makes us spiritually stronger  , and … a lot more .

Most of the saints in the Holy Bible , and may be all of them , fasted for different purposes , as we will see . And even the wicked , fasted , someone like King Ahab fasted asking God to Have mercy on him . So we need to know , that we don't fast because we are righteous but to become righteous and to become close to God's heart .

+       Two ways to Fast :

There are 2 main ways to fast , although the details are much in each of them , but still these 2 ways can be our main guide . We understand this from what our Lord Jesus said  "Lk.7: 33,34  John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, … The Son of Man has come eating and drinking …" . From this verse and from the Holy Bible in general , we can conclude that the 2 main ways for fasting are :     1] to live all your life eating very little and few amount and kinds of food , this was the way of John the Baptist [and Elijah] , but this way suits a few people .  2] to fast a big hard fasting for some days , and then after you finish it , you eat as you want but not much , this was almost the way of Jesus [and Moses] , for He fasted forty days and forty nights without eating or drinking , but then in other times He ate with others , and even with tax collectors and sinners .  This way suits most of us , specially is the style of life we now have , which changes every minute .

Also someone can fast the first way for a year or so and the rest of his life practices the second way . 

Verses Related to Fasting 

We are going to right them here , but every one should contemplate and meditate in each of them according to what the Holy Spirit gives him and according to his degree and experience.

+       In the Old Testament

"Gen.1:29-30 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.

"Gen.2:16,17 and the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat , but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

"Gen.3:18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.

"Gen.9:3,4 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs, but you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

"Deut.8:2,3 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

"2Sam.3:35 when all the people came to persuade David to eat food while it was still day, David took an oath, saying, "God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down!"

"2Chr.20:3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

"Ezra8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.

"Ezra10:6  Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity.

"Ps.35:13  But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart.

"Ps.109:24 But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart.

"Prov.24:13 My son, eat honey because it is good, And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste;

"Prov.23:1,2 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you; And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite.

"Ecc.12:12 much study is wearisome to the flesh.

"Joel2:12,13 Now, therefore,  says the Lord : Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm."

"Zec.7:4-6 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying , say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me for Me? Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me for Me?

"Zec.8:19 Thus says the Lord of hosts , the fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts For the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.

+       In the New Testament

"Mt.4:4 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God

"Mt.5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 

"Mt.6:16-18 Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly

"Mt.9:15 Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast

"Mt.11:18,19  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, he has a demon.  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children"

"Mt.15:11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."

"Mt.17:21  this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

"Lk.2:36,37  Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day

"Lk.4:1,2   Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. 

"Lk.6:21 blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh

"Lk.18:12  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess

"Acts9:9  And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 

"Acts14:23  So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed

"Acts23:12:29  [read it]

"Rom.8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

"Rom.14:6 He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

"Rom.14:21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. [the whole chapter is good]

"1Cor. 6:19,20 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? or you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

"1Cor.9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

"2Cor.11:27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness 

"Eph.2:8,9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

"Eph.5:29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

"Phil.3:19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame who set their mind on earthly things.

"Phil.4:12,13 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer needs can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

"Jam.4:1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?

Prayer 

Prayer is very important in all kinds and degrees of fasting , whenever you fast , you must pray as much as you can, and as much as you bear . And so , here are some verses related to prayer , that you also may contemplate and meditate in them as the Holy Spirit gives you . As I said in the introduction of this book , when talking about fasting or prayer , it is not good to go through details , because there is nothing right and nothing wrong , it is not a physical subject , no , we are dealing now with something spiritual , unseen , and we don't have enough information about it in the Holy Bible.  And now , here are some verses .

"1Sam.2:1-10 [the song of Hannah , read it]

"1Kings18:42 And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,

"Nah.4:1-11 [read it]

"Ps.55:17 Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud , and He shall hear my voice.

"Dan.6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

"Dan.9:3-8 [read it]   /   "Dan.9:16-19 [read it]

"Mt.5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you .

"Mt.6:9-15 Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom … . 

"Mt.6:33 seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

"Lk.11:5-8   And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, "Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him, and he will answer from within and say : Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs

"Lk.11:9-  So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" 

"Lk.18:1  Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,

"Lk.18:13  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me a sinner! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." 

"Jn.4:24  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." 

"Jn.14:13  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

"Acts3:1  Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour

"Acts10:9  The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour

"Rom.8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

"1Tim.2:1-3  Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

"Jam.5:16 pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much

- We can pray and ask God to teach us how to pray and how to fast , and help us in both our prayers and our fasts

+   What is prayer?    Prayer is talking to God , spend some time with God . And so prayers include :

1] Giving thanks to God .    2] Praising God  .    3] Humble your self before God .    4] Show your love to Him .    5] Repent and confess your trespasses before Him .    6] Ask things you need from Him .     7] Pray for others , and even pray that He may glorify His holy name .

+   Also , and again , because we should always pray , let us see how we can pray every time [this part exists also in the book of "It is written … , it is also written …"].   Or , in other words , if anyone asks saying : How can I always pray [pray every time]? And how can I pray good prayers?  We briefly say :

1]  First , we need to do as Jesus our Lord did , pray whenever we can according to our circumstances , if we are busy in the morning , pray at night , if we are tired and to sleep much at night , we pray when we wake up , in the morning at noon … , when we are busy or driving a car or at work … we pray in [with] our hearts , we pray at home and in the church and we pray whenever it is possible .

2]  We pray we joy and with tears , we pray with a loud voice and calmly with our hearts , we pray with the spirit and pray with the understanding "1Cor.14:15" , which means that we have to understand what we pray for or what we say as much as we can , although we shall never get perfect understanding and the Holy Spirit intercedes for us "Rom.8:26 he Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" , but still we have to do our best . This is a general rule with God in all things in our life , He always wants us to our best [our human role] and then He does all what we can't do .

3]  We pray to the Holy Trinity as one God , and we pray to each hypostasis [person] , according to His role with men . For instance we pray to the Holy Trinity saying "O Holy Trinity , please , Have mercy on us" and of course any pray can be said to the Holy Trinity as one God . And we can pray to Father saying "Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be Thy name …" , we can pray to the Son saying  "Lord Jesus , please give us Your peace ,as You gave it to Your holy disciples …" , and , we can pray to the Holy Spirit saying "O heavenly King our God , please , Help us , comfort us , guide us into all truth and glorify our Lord Jesus [Jn.16:7-14]"

4]  In our prayers we can make good relations with the saints and angels of God , ask their pleading [intercession l that they ask from God for us] and that they may help us .

5]   We pray for ourselves and pray for others , for our parents , for our families , for our church , for our government and nation , for all believers and even for unbelievers that God may bring them to His right way , to be in this like our Father in heaven who makes His sun shines on the righteous and the evil and sends rain on the just and on the unjust..

6]  We pray kneeling down on the ground while our face is between our knees as Elijah did "1kings18:42" , and pray while standing , we pray while kneeling as Daniel did "Daniel 6:10" and pray while sitting if we have to .  In other words if I want to always pray , how can I keep standing for many hours , it is impossible , so for sure I'll have to change my position every now and then , for I while I stand then I kneel and then I kneel down and then I sit for a while … and so on . And of course with all this , I need to rest , have some time to walk , to take a nap , to read the Holy Bible or any good book , or , do anything I like .

7]  We ask God to forgive us our sins , and , to forgive those who trespass against us.

8]  We pray according to circumstances , we repent of our sins , we give God thanks , we ask Him to give us what we need , we ask honor for His angels , we praise Him and glorify Him and even pray and ask Him that He glorifies His glorious name in all Heavens and on all the earth "Ps.72:18-20"

9]  We repeat the prayers that should always be repeated , like those in our churches , and , we pray new prayers according to the new circumstances that may occur.

10]  And , we pray persistently and every time as we said in this part of the book.

-- So now if we know all this and do them , we can always pray with joy , and for sure we will bring forth much fruits and receive a lot of good things on earth and in heaven .

Love and Fasting

 As we all know , love is the greatest commandment , as Jesus said "Mt.22:37-40 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it . You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.  And St. Paul says , "1Cor.13:3 and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing" and  "Rom. 14:15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.

So , love is much better than fasting , we need to always keep this in mind , and be careful , because if I fast without having love , fasting will make me more wicked , and may make my last status [my eternal life] worse than the first [than what it could be without fasting] . Don't let this frighten you , I just want to let you always do your best to fill your heart with love toward God and to your brethren , all mankind .

+   It may be a good idea to write here a  small article , about love 

It is clear in the bible that love is the greatest thing , so I hope that God grants us to come to the perfect love , to love Him and love each others with true love .

Our Lord Jesus confirmed that we can sum up the Holy Bible in the two commandments of love , love God and love all men "Mt.22:35-40  ,  Mk.12:28-31 ,  Lk.10:25-28  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying , teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?    Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind . This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it , you shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." .  This is what is written in Matthew , and from   "Mk.12:28-31 ,  Lk.10:25-28 " we can add "with all your strength"  and from  "Deuteronomy 6:5" we can add "with all your power" , so if we bring them all together , we can conclude that God really wants us to love Him with all what we have and all what is in us .

Love is the greatest commandment in both Testaments . St. John the beloved speaks about it much in his gospel and in his epistles . St. Paul and all other disciples spoke about it in their epistles . And for sure , they all learned true love and the importance of love from our Lord Jesus .

Love should not omit respect , many fall in this mistake , they think that to express their love to each other they forget everything about respect or about submission , but that is not right , for after they do this , they differ much ,and they cause trouble to each other and so their relationship is destroyed . I know that everything is relative , and there is no limits to anything , but still I just want to say that both , love and respect , should exist together whatever the ratio is.

The love of the Holy Trinity is infinite , because God is infinite so His attributes are infinite and so His love is infinite , He loved us from eternity before He created us , when we were in His mind , He loved us so He prepared every good thing for us, we who love Him , obey Him and do His commandments .  About the love of the Father , it is said " John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life"  ,  "1 John 4:10  in this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" , and because He loved us He granted us to be called the children of God  "1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God" and will give us all things with His Son "Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

And also the Son , His love to us is infinite , for He " Philippians 2:7  made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men" , He did this for our sake , to save us "Jn15:13" .   While we were still sinners He died for us "1Cor.15:3" .  He asked the Father to give us many things "Jn.17" and He Himself will give us many things in the eternal life "Rev.2,3". 

And the same also with the Holy Spirit , His love to us is infinite , it appears in all what He does for us , He always works without being seen , He gives us good work and honor , and no one notices that He is the real doer , like for instance , He led Peter in His sermon in the day of Pentecost , all people there gave Peter the honor without praising our Lord the Holy Spirit , because they didn't know that it was He who spoke through Peter . He also works in all ministries , sacraments and in every one of us in every time , but rarely when any one thanks or praises Him . I hope the day will come when all Christian denominations praise Him and sing to Him great spiritual songs , that are proper or that are in accordance with , his great works for us. It is very important to do this , first because He is worthy , for He is God and He is equal and one with the Father and the Son . Second because if we do this , it will prevent Christians from following the false christ , who , says nothing about the Holy Spirit .

--       Our love to God : 

we should love Him as one God , and love every hypostasis [person] , and so we should praise Him , thank Him and glorify Him , and ,  we should respect Him , obey Him and do His commandments .

It may be good here to see some good examples of the saints who loved God with all their hearts :

Abel loved God , and offered to Him the best he had , but because of this his brother murdered him , and so Jesus considered him a martyr "Mt.23:35".

Enoch loved God and walked with Him 365 years until God took him "Genesis 5:24 and Enoch walked with God , and he was not , for God took him"

And Noah was a righteous man and walked with God , and so he found grace in the sight of the Lord , and so God made a covenant with him and his descendents "Gen. 6"

By his love to God , Abraham obeyed Him left his land and his family and went to a land he had not known before "Gen.12" .   And he also offered his beloved son as a sacrifice to God . And also Isaac obeyed God and his father .

By his love to God , Joseph refused to sin [Gen.39:9] , so God made him head [and ruler] in the land of Egypt

By love and faith , Moses , when he became of age refused to be called son of Pharaoh's daughter choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the love of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. And he also lived forty years waiting for the salvation of God , fasting and praying , and again lived forty more years in the wilderness of Sinai.

And David loved God , and always praised God and sang to Him many great psalms and spiritual songs , And always glorified Him saying "glorify Your holy name" .

Samuel the prophet , always called in the name of the Lord , and prayed much and his prayers was the most acceptable to God .

Elijah left everything and lived with God alone on mount Carmel .

And the same was with John the Baptist , who also said "He -Christ- must increase" , he wanted all glory for God . 

And the same was with all those who lived in the mountains , in caves and in wilderness "Heb.11"

Mary loved God and sat at His feet, and Martha loved Him and ministered to Him .

The disciples and apostles preached all nations and taught them everything about Him , and bore persecution and much evil for His name.

They all , and all other believers , loved God the Holy Trinity , and everyone of them did what He could for the glory of God. 

--      Our Love to others

This commandment did exist in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament , it has been fulfilled or perfected now through the teachings of the Lord Jesus , for He said "John 13:34  a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another" ,  now , in the New Testament , we should love each others as He loved us , and gave Himself for us , so we also have to minister and serve each others and have mercy on each others as the good Samaritan did "Lk.10:30-37" and as Jesus said to us "Mt.25:35,36   I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in ,  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'

It may also be good here to take some examples of the saints who loved their brethren much and did a lot for them.

Like Jacob who loved Rachel and worked 14 years to marry her , and of course his love to her didn't affect , negatively , his love to God.

And Joseph who loved his brothers and forgave them all their trespasses against him 

And also Stephen forgave those who stoned him .

By his love to God and men , Tobith served [ministered] all his brethren who were in the captivity , and did many good things for them .

And also , briefly , all apostles and ministers everywhere loved God and men and offered themselves and gave much of what they had for the glory of God and the salvation of as many as possible. And so we all should do the same as much as we can .

--      "As yourself"  [how to love yourself] :   

Everyone should also love himself , but how can this be :   "John 12:25 "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."   ,     "Luke 9:24 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it."

From these 2 verses we conclude that, to have good eternal life and to save ourselves we should give our lives and ourselves to God , or in other words , he who loves himself should give himself to God , love Him much and be always with Him .

- Briefly, it is good to always keep in mind the verses  "Mt.22:35-40, Mk.12:28-31,  Lk.10:25-28  you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.     On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

Eating and drinking

Before we start contemplating on fasting , we need to know some things about eating and drinking , which are sometimes more useful than fasting . Like for instance the lust [craving] of food , can be very bad, if someone fasts then he lusts eating certain kind of food so that he harms himself or harms others , then for sure he has sinned against God , against those people and against himself , it would be better for that man if he did not fast , but this doesn't mean that this man , never fasts, for if he knows that his lust is bad , but still he wants to improve himself , then he must try and keep trying , and those who can help him should help him and pray for him , because as we all know the way of fasting is long and hard.

About this bad lust , see what happened to Eve and Adam "Gen.3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate" . And because of this they both [and we all were in them] , were sent out of the garden of Eden , and God punished them .

- And Esau , just because of one meal [of lentils] he lost his birthright  "Gen. 25:32-34 And Esau said , look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me? Then Jacob said , swear to me as of this day . So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob , and Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

- And also the children of Israel who preferred food than being with God  "Ex.16:3 And the children of Israel said to them [to Moses and Aaron] , oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." ,  "Num.11:4-6 Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: "Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!" , "Num.21:5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread."  And David spoke about this saying  "Ps.78:29-31 So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire. They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths, the wrath of God came against them, and slew the stoutest of them, and struck down the choice men of Israel"

-  And Even more this lust was in the house of Eli the priest , so , God said to him  "1Sam2:29 Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?'

-- Please notice that , I here , speak about the bad desire [the lust or the craving] which lead to sin , or which is against the commandments of God . But of course there is a good desire which God created in us , we desire every good thing to live the best way and to be able to obey God . About the good desire of food , Jesus Christ Himself said to His disciples "Lk.22:15 With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer" , but still , we should say here something , Jesus , glory be to Him , did not desire the food , but He desired to eat with His disciples , and He desired to eat the food which was a feast given by God from the old , and which symbolized Jesus Himself , it was the lamb of the Passover . Yes , it was meat , but meat is not profane , and no food is defiled . 

So to sum up , we can desire to eat , and eat any kind of food and even eat much if we do much effort , but the bad thing is , if we sin or make others sin , or be an offence to others , because of food , or because of our fasting.

And always keep in mind "Rom.4:6 He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks"   and  "Mt.15:11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."

--   Another point , it is that we must abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.  "Acts15:28,29  it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us … that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality" 

But here , someone may say , Jesus said to His disciples when He sent them , "Lk.10:8, eat such things as are set before you" , so all kinds of food are lawful.

Yes , that is right , but these things are not kinds of food , but are mainly , blood and spiritual fornication .

--   Another point is , to have joy eating and drinking with family and friends , as we have just seen , that even Jesus liked [desired] to eat with His disciples , so it is good to do so with your beloved . It shows your love to them , and it is not against fasting nor against spirituality .   See what is written in Ecclesiastes , the best book of wisdom [after the words of Jesus]

"Ecc.2:24 Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God  [see also 12:3,13]

"5:18-20 Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor , this is the gift of God .

"9:7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already accepted your works

---         Some Notes about Eating and Drinking:

-- Train yourself that when you eat ; 1] don't eat nor drink between meals .   2] eat as less kinds as you can in each meal.   3] lessen the amount you eat . But , surely if you do much effort and work hard you must eat sufficient amount.

--  Try to collect as much information about each kind of food as you can .  From the useful kinds of food, bread , salt , olive oil , fish , honey , milk , some beans , some vegetables and some fruits .

-- And know that eating much is very harmful.

---  Now, before we start talking about the stories of fasting, here are 3 more verses:

"Lk.6:25 Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger"

"Lk.6:21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled"

"Phil.4:12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need"

+++     Now , I'll go step by step through the stories of fasting according to the duration of the fast itself , day then 3 days … and so on till we come to the 40 days fasting of our Lord Jesus , of Moses and of Elijah .

The first step is one day fasting , and it is the only fasting which God commanded His people to fast in the Holy Bible. It is the Day of Atonement .

One Day fasting

The Day of Atonement :

It is only one day in the year  , in which they fast , they don't do any work and they offer sacrifices and offerings 

"Lev.23:26-32 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. … It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your Sabbath."

"Lev.16:29-34 This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.

And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father's place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments , then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.  This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year." And he did as the Lord commanded Moses.

Notice the following : 1] this fasting is to eat only once [one meal] in that day .   2] It should be eaten in the evening , the last meal in the evening , then the meal in the day of atonement [the day of fasting] is also in the evening in the same time .   3] it is a holy convocation , and they have to afflict themselves before God.   4] they must not do any work .   4] all had to do it whether an Israelite or a stranger .  5] they should rest in it as they rest in the Sabbath.  6] Also notice that the priest should put on the lines clothes . Yes , it is very important when you fast to wear 100% linen or cotton clothes , for they make you feel much better specially when you fast.

- Some may say , it is not mentioned that this day was a fasting day . But , for sure it was a fasting day , because , God said to them to eat in the evening then eat the next evening , and , always in the Old Testament when they afflicted themselves , they fasted , absolute fasting , which meant they abstained completely from food and drink.

The Miracle of the Five Loaves and the two Fish

"Mt.14:13-23 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."  But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."   And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."    He said, "Bring them here to Me." Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. 

   Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there

"Mk.6:30-47 Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.   But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat." 

   But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men. 

"Lk.9:10-17     And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here." 

    But He said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people." For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty." And they did so, and made them all sit down. 

    Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. 

"Jn.6:1-15      After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. 

    Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.     Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."     One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, there is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" 

Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." 

+       After we have read the story from the four gospels , we can notice the following :

1] The gospel according to St. John , mentions that it was on a mountain and near the sea of Galilee , which is the sea of Tiberias , that is , a nice , beautiful and calm place , with wonderful natural views , helps the one who fasts to contemplate and meditate in God's words [in Jesus' teachings], there was no pollution , no noise and no bad smell . Of course all this makes this fast and any fast a perfect one .

2] We all know , that Jesus Himself , Moses and Elijah [and a lot of saints] fasted on mountains and spent much of there times on mountains praying and praising God.  

3] St. Mark says that Jesus taught the multitudes for hours , and St. Luke said He taught [preached] them on the kingdom of God . So it is very important to contemplate much , while fasting , on God's words and on His kingdom .

4] St Matthew says , they went walking on their feet , and it is said that the distance between that mountain and their cities was about an hour walking , so we conclude from this , and it is also well known , that walking is very important during fasting . And of course walking in general is important .

5] While teaching and during this fast , He healed many from various kinds of sicknesses and diseases. It is also known that a good and right fast enlightens the mind , so this also confirms that contemplating during fasting is good . But here it is important to know that "Ecc.12:11 much studying is wearisome to the body" , so during your fasting , don't study much , just a little ., but contemplate calmly as much as you like, but also try to relax as much as you can . You will sometimes feel that you are tired and some other times you will feel that you have much energy to do much effort , be very careful , be moderate , and don't be deceived by false feelings.

6] Jesus , after the miracle , spent some time by Himself praying .

If you like to read more about one day fasting , see "Judges 20"  and  "1Sam.7"

+   Evening :  The word "evening" is repeated many times in the stories of fasting and in the Holy Bible in general , so , we needed to know , when it exactly begins and ends!  Briefly after searching and studying many verses , parts and stories in the Holy Bible , it means :  from before sunset till around sunrise , so any time or any minute within this period is considered evening .   See Ex. 16:4-12  , 16:8  /  Lev.22:6,7  /  Deut.23:11   /  Num.9:15,16  / and also see the previous story of the five loaves and the two fish , [compare Mt.14:15  ,  14:23   together with    Lk.9:12]

- In the days of creation , the day was divided in 2 , evening and morning .  So again all darkness is evening and a little time before and after darkness , can be added to the evening , or , can also be called evening , as we have just proved.

+   General Notes :  1] When you fast , and in all your life , never stop having some salt in your food , that was God's commandment in "Lev.2:13"  , but also don't eat much of it , because it may harm you , and if you fast , it will make you thirsty.

2] Take care , when you break a fasting , you will feel tired  and you may become nervous … . 

3] Now , it is easy to fast day by day whenever you want , with your church , with a friend or a group of people , or by yourself . But if you like to fast more, first pray, and know that many things in your life may change , and , if you have decided , May God help you .

+++       Now let us contemplate on one verse of the many verses we wrote in the beginning . The following verse is  very useful , and I think it will benefit every one of us , it is :

"Phil.4:12,13 Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry"

"I learned and trained myself to be hungry" , means learned and trained myself how to fast .  As for "to be full" , I also spoke about this , but again , someone may need to eat with others to express his love to them , another may need to eat much because he works hard and does much effort . So to eat much is not a sin .  Okay, what then did Paul learn, or what do I need to learn concerning eating and to be full with food?  Simply , I need to learn how to eat much without harming any one , without being an offence to anyone and without putting a stumbling block to anyone . This is the heart of all the Holy Bible , do what is good for you without disobeying God and without harming any one .  I also need to learn how to be full , gradually , after I fast . Also if I kept fasting for a long time , when I want to break my fasting , I may have no appetite, so I need to know what appetizers suit me and are not harmful after fasts . And so on , as we said details in everything related to fastings are much , so everyone should write notes for himself .

Prophets

+  Daniel the Prophet  :   Daniel was one of the best prophets in his age , he fasted a lot , and regulated and controlled his eating and drinking , he had a great relationship with God and His angels , he was called "beloved" three times , he had much good wisdom , knowledge and understanding , he received many visions and he had a great authority.  So let us see what about his fasts .  Read chapters 1 , 9 and 10 in his book , and here are some verses from these chapters :  1] "Dan.1 [read it all]".     2] "Dan.6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.    3] "Dan.9:2,3 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.   4] "Dan.10:2,3 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

Notes : In the first chapter we read that Daniel , for three years , ate only beans [and may be vegetables] , and drank water only "1:5-12" , and mostly , he also did the same before those three years . And this benefited him much , spiritually , mentally and physically , for he gained much wisdom , knowledge and understanding "1:4, 17 , 20"  ,  and his countenance appeared better and fatter in flesh than all other young men "1:4 , 15"

- In "6:10" we see that he had an upper room , its windows open toward Jerusalem, he used to pray in it three times a day .

- In "9:2, 3" he was studying the Holy Bible [the book of Jeremiah] , and prayed and fasted , and so he got a vision and the archangel Gabriel explained it to him .

- In "10:2,3" , He fasted again for three weeks , didn't eat pleasant food , no meat or wine … . Notice that the longer the fasting is , the more benefits we may get . From the time he started fasting , archangel Gabriel started going to him, but one of the evil spirits withstood Gabriel , but because Daniel continued fasting , God sent His archangel Michael to help Gabriel , and so he could go to Daniel.  Notice that he did not anoint himself , but now , Jesus commanded us that we fast we should anoint our heads [with olive oil].

The whole book of Daniel is very good , it is just 12 chapters.

  +  Anna the Prophetess : She bore witness to the Redeemer .  She is a great saint, she lived like St. Judith for 84 years .   The Bible says about her :  "Lk.2:36-38   Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem"

See , she was a prophetess , she did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day, and , she prophesied and spoke of Jesus to all who were there.

+  Ezekiel the Prophet  :   Read "Ezek. 9:4-12" , you may first think it is not a fasting , but it really is a very good fasting , and there is an opinion that they are 2 different fasts , the first from 4-11 and the second in verse 12 , but I see that they are one fasting . In it God commanded Ezekiel saying :  "Ezek.4:4-12  lie also on your left side … 390 days … and when you have completed them lie again on your right side …forty days … also take for yourself wheat , barley , beans lentils , millet and spelt, put them into one vessel and make bread of them for yourself … .  And your food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it. You shall also drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; from time to time you shall drink. And you shall eat it as barley cakes;

Notes :  1] Ezekiel , fasted for 390 days , eating only bread and drinking water only.    2] his bread was made of 6 kinds of beans , they were wheat , barley , fava beans , lentils , a certain kind of corn called spelt and millet which is mostly similar to lentils , and for sure he added salt and he made it as leavened bread , because in all the Holy Bible when it says "bread" only , it meant leavened .    3] He ground them all and made his bread for himself .   4] everyday , and at the same time , he ate the same amount of food and drank the same amount of water.   5] Medical theories say that all these things are very healthy , it is healthy to eat same amounts , and at the same time .    6] Then he made this bread as a cake , which means , he added honey and oil [olive oil]      7] This meal was from time to time , he didn't say from evening to evening , but just from time to time , so , that time might have been , noon , after noon …. I don't know , but if it was for instance 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon , he always ate at that same hour .   8] notice that he always slept on his left side for 390 day , please take care not to do the same , for he was an exceptional case , but we better sleep as we like to get enough amount of rest .

+  General Notes  :  "Ps.63:4,5 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips".  Notice that this complies with the Lord's saying "Mt.4:4 , Lk.44 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

- You can walk longer distance while fasting than if you eat much.

- Know that even if you fast 40 days , you will not be infallible , and even more , evil spirits will war you more and in new ways . So , the more you fast : 1] the more you must be full of love , humbleness in heart  meekness and all other virtues.     2] the more you need to gain knowledge , wisdom and understanding.      3] And , the more you need to pray to God.

- So we do not fast , pray and study the Holy Bible , because we are righteous , but we do all these things because we need to be righteous .

Steps of fasting 

To advance in fasting , you can go through these steps :     1] eat three meals as usual , but with less amounts , and don't eat nor drink between meals .     2] then try two meals , for one day then for 3 days then for 7 days , then 10 , 14 , 21 days , and then try to fast for 40 days eating only two meals every day.  And also and again don't eat or drink between meals.       3] try the same thing with one meal a day .     4] and then see what you want to do more , you may like to fast absolute fasting for three days , or like to do the same previous things but for longer days … you choose for yourself , but with your guides and of course through God's guidance.  Always be very careful , do not go any further until you are sure it is God's will and it will cause no harm to you .

Notes :   The bad feeling you may get during your fasting , may not be because of the fasting but because what you ate or what you did before this fast .

- Remember that the heavenly seed , the seed of fasting , the seed of knowledge and all other seed, sprout and grow day and night and you don't know how , for the earth yield crops by itself … and then you will reap the best fruit "Mark4:26-28".

- Try to always stay in fresh air during fasting  . And drink enough amounts of water before fasting .

- You better write notes for yourself in each fasting , that you may remember them the next time you fast , and the more you contemplate on what you write , the more you get better conclusions .

- It is good that in the beginning of each fasting , when you pray , you kneel down and put your head close to your legs [your knees] , as Elijah did "1Knigs 18:42" . It is useful , but I say that it is useful in the beginning of each fasting, not at the end , if you do this at the end of a big fasting , you may feel dizzy or you may faint , so be careful.

- You better memorize all your prayers and study them by heart , that when you pray much while fasting , you don't harm your eyes or your mind.

- Be very careful when you break a fast , specially big fasts , do not eat much after a big fast , eat very little even if you feel hungry , take your time .

- Sleep as much as you  can , don't worry , it is not against God's commandments

- Be careful  :   Don't vow any thing that you will not be able to do , "Ecc.5:5 It is better not to vow than to vow and not pay" , you can never vow , but if you vow and don't do , it is a sin against you .

- Don't fast absolute fasting until you are sure you don't have any sickness that prevents you from fasting .

Walking

"Prov.4:12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered,

"Prov.19:2 And he sins who hastens with his feet.

So I think , in general , it is better when we walk , we walk with moderate speed , not fast nor slow , because it is boring to walk slowly , and to walk fast is not good during a big fasting .  But still , for sure , it is sometimes good to walk fast to do exercises and sometimes good to walk slowly to contemplate on some verses .

The Upper Room

It is important for fasting and prayer .  This is mainly , to be in calmness , and to have fresh and clean air , And it may have certain spiritual concept that I don't know exactly and that is not clear in the Holy Bible . But if your house is from concrete and you don't have air condition , your upper room may be very hot in summer and very cold in winter , and for sure this will affect you negatively in your fasts . It is very important to always consider weather in your fasts , the better the weather is , the more successful your fast will be .

Many great Saints , lived , fasted and prayed and raised dead persons in upper rooms , see "Daniel 6:10" , "Judith 8:5" ,  Elijah "1Kings 17;19" ,  Elisha "2Kings4:8-37"  , Peter "Acts 9:37"  .  Also our Lord Jesus made the last supper and the first holy communion in an upper room "Mk.14:15  ,  Lk.22:12"  .  And may be  , the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles while they were in an upper room .

Clothing [100% , Linen or Cotton]  

 Our Lord commands us saying : "Lev.19:19 Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.

"Deut.22:11 You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together.

"Lev.16:1-4 He [Aaron] shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments".   [Also all the priests had to wear everything of linen . see "Lev.:16:1-4"]

Notes :   Notice here that we should not wear 2 kinds of cloths  /   God considered linen , as holy , as He also considered salt in food as holy , for God always wants every thing good for us , as salt is very important for health , also linen is very healthy , healthier than all other kinds of cloths . Those who fast much , say that they can fast better when they wear linen , and our Lord Jesus who fasted 40 days wore linen   /  it is better to wear white linen  /  if you can't get linen , 100% cotton is also very good .

The Belt Around the Waist 

Many of the saints who fasted much had belt around their waists , like , John the Baptist , "Mk.1:6" , Elijah "2Kings 1:8" ,  Judith "8:6" ,  Paul "Acts 21:10,11" ,  Peter "Acts 12:8" . And also in the Old Testament , God commanded that all priests should wear belts [of linen] "Lev.16:1-4".

This belt helps you to lessen the amount of food you eat , it warms the 2 kidneys , and there are some other benefits  .  Its width should be between 4 and 20 centimeter [2-8 inches]  / and it should be from linen or cotton or leather  .

Notes :   Fasting and prayer help casting out demons "Mk.9:29 This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." And if we can cast out demons from others by fasting and prayer , how much more will fasting and prayer help us defending ourselves from all evil human and spiritual powers 

- Don't forget that fasting and prayer may cause you yourself to sin against God , against others and/or against yourself , you may become very angry , you may have bad lust …. .

- Remember that much study is wearisome to the flesh , so , while fasting although it is good to contemplate, but it may be harmful to keep studying more than enough .

- The manna was like wafer with oil and honey "Ex.16:31 it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey"      "Num.11:8  its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil".   The people of Israel lived , mainly , on it for forty years [of course with other things] , so will it be a good idea to have it as our main food : (flour with olive oil and raw pure honey , all made as a cake in the oven) , I think it will be a delicious , easy to make and the most healthy meal [dish].

- Always remember and keep in mind , that everything should be for the glory of God our Holy Trinity, and for your salvation, and, the salvation of others if possible.

Fasting and Righteous Deeds [Deeds of love and mercy]     

+ Read Isaiah 58  :   It is a very good chapter full of all kinds of mercy , if we do them our fastings will for sure be acceptable to God , and also He will take us in His heavenly kingdom.

Remember , in the New Testament He said "Mt.9:13 , 12:7  I desire mercy and not sacrifice" , and He had said it before in the Old Testament in "Hoshea 6:6" . Although when I fast I sacrifice my own body to Him , but still I must have mercy on others , that God may also have mercy on me

In this chapter when you read , notice why your fast may not be acceptable to God and notice the many and great blessings that you may receive if your fast was accompanied with all merciful deeds.

Fasting and marriage

Here , I think I better don't comment , for the following verses are clear . "1Cor.7:3-5 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment".

-  No comment .

Three days fastings

1] In "Acts9:9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank" . We see that Saul [St. Paul] fasted 3 days 

2] In "Jonah1:17  And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights". We also see Jonah fasting 3 days .    Someone may say "but Jonah didn't intent to fast , can God accept such fasting" , yes , God may accept it . 

3] And also in "Esther4:16 Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!" . We see that Esther and Mordachai and some others with them fasted three days . 

4] There is also another story in "1Sam.30:1-25" [read it] , where we find a young man who was three days without food or water , he had been in a war , fighting , but because he became sick with serious disease , so they got rid of him in a deserted place where he remained 3 days until David found him . The good thing here is that the 3 day fasting healed him, his health was restored and he went with David to war with him.  That is what we call "therapeutic fasting"

5] A fifth 3 day fasting story, is when the multitude [4 thousand] fasted with Jesus on the mountain:

"Mt.15:29-39      Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.     Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.     Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?"     Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" and they said, "Seven, and a few little fish."     So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

"Mk.8:1-9     In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."   Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"   He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven."   So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away

Notes  :  - most likely , this story was on the same mountain where the first fast was , when they fasted for one day, the miracle of the five loaves and the two fish .

- and it looks like it was right after the first one , so they both were at the end of the spring or in summer 

- In both miracles [in both fasts] , they didn't eat except bread and fish . Remember when we said it is good to lessen the amount and kinds of food you eat .

- Jesus said "lest they faint' , so you also , if you fast like them , be careful lest you faint.

- Notice that all the multitude fasted , men , women , young , old , the healthy and even the sick [to be healed]

You can also contemplate much on each story and on each word . I just write few notes .

+++    General Notes :    Till here [until this step or this degree of fasting] , everything can be easy and wonderful with every one , but then after this , things are completely different .   

- In the Holy Bible , there isn't any story about any woman or child who fasted absolute fasting for more than three days , as for men we still have to go till 40 days.  But still women can fast 3 days and one day as many as they ca , often repeat them , and they will be like Anna , Judith , Esther and the Virgin Mary 

- Remember that every good thing you have and every good deed you do is a gift from God and it is by His grace , not because of our righteousness but because of His love and mercy toward us .

Now let us talk about fastings that are more than 3 days : 

Cornelius

"Acts 10 [read it]  :  Cornelius was not from the people of Israel , He fasted much and did a lot of charitable deeds, and so his good deeds was acceptable to God , and while he was fasting , in the fourth day, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him to call for Peter and receive the good news from him, Peter came and preached him and all his household , and they all were baptized and the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke with tongues .

The fasting of the people of Nineveh

After Jonah warned them , they believed God and proclaimed a fast from the king to the least and even the beasts , they all neither ate nor drank and so God forgave them , relented and did not punish them "Jonah 3:5-10" . there was no determined number of days , but most likely every one fasted as he could within the forty days .

David Fasts 7days "2Sam.12:1-29" [read it]

We know that David fasted much and was one of the most beloved saints to God . He said about himself  "Ps.35:13  I humbled myself with fasting"  , "Ps.69:10  I wept and chastened my soul with fasting,  But as we all know , no man is perfect , "we all sinned and fall short of the glory of God" . David also committed adultery [sexual immorality] , with a woman and she became pregnant and gave birth to a child , and this child became very ill and was about to die , and David knew from God that this sickness was because of his sin , so he started fasting , and said that he would not eat till God would heal his son , he continued fasting until the child died in the seventh day .

Here the child died although David fasted , yes the child died but after this fasting David knew that women who had become his wife and he begot Solomon , so , God took the child who was a fruit of sin , but gave David , Solomon, the very good son , as a fruit of that fasting for seven days  /  although God was punishing David , but for sure , God's mercy always work together with His justice , He let the child die on the seventh day , so as to let David continue fasting for seven days , because 7 days is a very good number to fast [in fasting]  /  If Solomon who was born as a result of 7 days fasting was a great and wise man , so , does fasting makes healthier and wiser generations? I don't know , may be physicians and scientists can answer. /  In his fasting, David was very sad. He slept on the floor , and didn't do anything  / when he ended his fasting , he took a shower , anointed himself , changed clothes and prayed in the house of the Lord 

Oil 

I am going to speak here about two small points, but they are important and useful:

1]  Our Lord Jesus says in "Mt.6:17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face" , when you fast you should anoint your head with oil . But with what should I anoint my head? In the story of Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman , Jesus said "Lk.7:46 You did not anoint My head with oil …" , so , you should anoint your head with oil . Ok. , What kind of oil? The answer is "with olive oil , because olive oil is the only oil mentioned by God in the Holy Bible in offerings "Ex.27:20" and "Lev.24:2" 

2] Notice that in "Lev.2" all offerings were made with olive oil , anointed and/or mixed [poured]. Also when Elijah was living with the widow of Zarepheth of Sidon, they lived many days only on cakes made of flour and oil only . So I think , like we said before , cakes made of flour , oil [and honey] are very good and healthy and for sure have spiritual benefits too .

The Numbers of Days of Fastings 

They are 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 14 , 21, 40 , 390 days , and , three and half years

- 1 Day : the Day of Atonement , and the miracle of the five loaves and 2 fish

- 3 days : see that part here in this book , they are : Paul , Jonah , the young man and David , Esther and Mordochai, and the people with Jesus in the miracle of the seven loaves and some little fish .

- 4 days : Cornelius 

- 5days : Esther , and some churches fast 5 days a week .

- 7 days : King David , and , all the people when King Saul died .

- 10 days : Daniel "Dan.1:12"

- 14 days : St. Paul , St. Luke and others 

- 21 days : Daniel "Dan.10:2,3"

- 40 days : our Lord Jesus , Moses and Elijah the prophets .

- 390 days : Ezekiel

- About the 3.5 years : 1] Elijah , before he fasted the 40 days , had been on mount Carmel and with the widow eating just little things for 3.5 years , so it might have been a period of preparation to him .   2] Judith when she saved her people , she had been a widow fasting and praying for 3.5 years.   3] And our Lord Jesus, after He had fasted the 40 days He lived for 3.5 years .   4] There is a medical theory , that says, that the whole body changes all its cells once every 3.5 years.

-- Concerning the numbers of the days of fasting , there are 2 theories [2 opinions], the first says "the more days you fast the more benefits you get , but the second says that , to get the best benefits you should fast any of these previous numbers 1, 3 , 7, … . For instance , you better fast 7 days , if you fast 8 days you will become more tired without more benefits , if you fast 6 days you will get the benefits of 5 days only .   So , you , see what opinion is better for you .

Paul , Luke and others fasted 14 days 

"Acts 27 and verses 1and 2 in chapter 28 [read them] :

Notes :  They fasted that God may save them , and He saved them .

- They were in the sea . It was in winter , they didn't see the sun at any time in all the 14 days . Remember when David fasted he was in his house , and when the multitudes fasted with Jesus they were on the mountain and that was in summer .

- They ate [broke their fast] , some time between mid night and before sunrise .  Paul ate bread only but the people with them ate food.

Here, You must come to a complete stop

To my knowledge , no one fasted absolute fasting more than 14 days , except St. Antony and St. Reweiss. It took them many years but actually all their lives to reach this degree . for sure God helped them much , as He does with all those who ask Him to help them in their fastings

Now , with the greatest of all our Lord Jesus and His great saints, the heroes , John the Baptist , and , Moses and Elijah who also fasted like Him forty days and forty nights without eating or drinking :

Our Lord Jesus

Our Lord Jesus Christ : Of course Jesus is the best in all good things. The Bible says about His fast :

"Mt.4:1-11      Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."     But He answered and said, "It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."     Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: "He shall give His angels charge over you, and, in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone."    Jesus said to him, "It is written again, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."    Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve."'    Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. 

"Lk.4:1-14  Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry … [the temptation]  …  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. 

"Mk.1:12,13    Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. 

Notes :  Satan fought Him , while He was fasting and at the end of His fast , he tried with Him many times and in different ways , but what we know is only three things :      1] to eat , mostly he wanted Him to break His fast before the 40 days ended , or , he wanted Him to eat with lust , but our Lord , the conqueror in wars , could not be defeated or beaten any way , so , He refused Satan's offer and at the same time taught us something knew , using verses from the Holy Bible , which is , Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." , this means that when we fast , we can be full by reading the words of God in His Holy Bible and by praying as much as we can . /   2] He wanted to see if Jesus had become pride [proud of Himself] after that fasting , so said to Him to throw Himself from the pinnacle of the temple , but our Lord showed us that He is humble in heart , He submitted Him self to god and didn't tempt God , and so He was submissive to all natural laws  /     3] When Satan saw that he had used verses from the Bible , he tried to do the same , but of course , Jesus , if we can say , is the author [the writer] of the Bible and He is the wisdom of God , so how can any creature deceive Him .  Satan tried to lie to Jesus telling Him that he could give Him everything He wanted in this world , but surely , Jesus is God the creator of this world , and He has much better things in the whole universe and in His kingdom in heaven , so of course He does not want anything from this world  .

+++   Now Let me speak about this in details , with some contemplations , as it is written in my book , "It is written … , it is also written …" , because it will be helpful to us in our fastings , if Satan or any evil spirits war us with their evil spiritual wars. 

+ If someone says , it is written: "He shall give His angels charge concerning you, and, in their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone" (Mt. 4: 6 / Lk. 4:10-11)

You should say , it is also written: "You shall not tempt the Lord your God" (Mt. 4:7 / Lk.4:12)

Our Lord Jesus overcame Satan in all temptations, not only after He had fasted forty days, but also during His fast (Lk. 4: 1, 2), and even more in all His life on earth, for He was always without sin, as He said it plainly "Who can convict me of sin", and no one could accuse Him of a sin or charge Him with an offence.

The Lord overcame Satan by using God's words; He used the right commandment at the right time and with the exact meaning and understanding.

+   +   +

Satan tempted our Master during His forty days fast as we read in (Lk. 4: 1, 2), but surely our Lord triumphed over him, then at the end of the fasting Satan thought that He may be proud of Himself and that because of His hunger and tiredness He could easily fail, so he tempted Him with food and pride by doing a miracle in which He changes stones to food but our Lord said "Man shall not live by bread alone" (Mt.4: 4).

So the devil started to use God's words, but falsely and deceitfully saying "It is written", but Jesus knowing his deceit answered saying "It is also written", for Satan took Jesus onto the pinnacle of the temple in the holy city and said to Him "If you are the Son of God , throw Yourself down, for it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge concerning you, and, in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.' " (Mt. 4:4-6).

This verse is originally written in (Ps. 91:11,12), and if we contemplate on this psalm we shall find that this verse was said to the one who had been in trouble and surrounded by evil and so to comfort him and make him feel safe, being certain that the angels of God will keep him and deliver him. So for sure this verse that the devil used does not mean at all that one puts himself in trouble or in an unordinary situation waiting for God's miracles.

It is also good to mention here that this psalm 91 is against Satan himself, for the verse that is next to the verse he used says "You shall tread upon the lion  ... and the serpent ..", and Satan is  that serpent (as in Rev. 20: 2) and that evil lion (1Pet.5: 8)

Anyhow, Satan wanted to deceive our Lord Jesus and let Him throw Himself down, but of course no creature could ever deceive the Lord, for Jesus is God, He is the Word of God and the Wisdom of God , He is, if we may say, the writer of the holy bible, He knows every verse and every word in it. So Jesus answered the devil with a brief and clear answer which no living being could contradict or resist, saying "It is also written 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God'." (Mt. 4:7).

+   +   +

What is meant by "You shall not tempt the Lord your God" ? 

1) Here in the way Jesus used it, it means not to tempt God by getting yourself into temptation or trouble or by bringing evil upon yourself, but we should be away from every evil as much as we can and pray saying "Lead us not into temptation", and if it happened that any evil came or was brought to us against our will, then God will send His angels to save us.

2) This verse was said for the first time in (Deut.6: 16 /Ex.17:2), when the people murmured against God and against Moses because of the lack of water in Massah.

3) And In (Acts15: 10) St. Peter considered the minister who puts a heavy burden or yoke on believers is tempting God, saying "Why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?". 

+   +   +

+   Satan the Tempter

Still Satan uses the same ways to tempt us, he lets people murmur against God, lie to God or put hard burdens on others. Someone may unwisely fast over his strength thinking that God certainly will help him because fasting is one of His commandments, forgetting or ignoring or misunderstanding all other commandments of God related to humbleness, discernment and wisdom that should exist with all virtues and righteous deeds. Someone else may exceedingly stuffy the holy bible and other books without rest not knowing that the commandment of rest is the forth commandment in the Ten Commandments and not knowing that the holy bible itself says "Much stuffy is wearisome to the flesh" (Ecc.12:12).

Thus, we must always bear in mind the verse "Do nor tempt the Lord your God", knowing that God does not perform miracles or supernatural powers with the one who tempts Him or who challenges the natural laws that He Himself Has made, and knowing that Jesus himself during His life on earth was subject to these natural laws and did not perform miracles just for fun but for good and righteous reasons and purposes.

The bad point we need to be aware of, is that the devils tempts the children of God everywhere, even in the holy places, as Satan tempted our Lord Jesus in the holy city and on the pinnacle of the temple. It may be surprising to know that it was Satan who chose that place and took Jesus onto it, as we understand from (Lk.4:9 /Mt.4:5).

The devil and his followers in their war against God's children choose the seminarians, those who study God's word, those who fast, those who minister in the church and those who try to be righteous in the sight of the Lord.

+   +   +

+   Opposite Use of the Verse:

A devil may come one time to a person who, for instance, pays his tithes or fasts or does any good, giving him any evil thoughts and saying to him "It is written 'Do not tempt the Lord your God'.", but we should be able to answer him with other verses or stories from the holy bible that suits the situation and proves what is write.

+   +   +

+  To Sum up, we need to know, understand and perceive every verse and story in the holy bible as much as we can, be able to do God's will wisely, stay away from every evil and pray to God to deliver us from all the evil powers, and must have faith that the word of God, if used correctly, is powerful and sharper than any two edged sword. 

+   John the Baptist : I think Jesus' testimony , that he is the best among all men , is sufficient for Him .  It is he who baptized Jesus  and prepared His way , and , it was said about him that he is the angel of the Lord . About him the Bible also says :  "Mk.1:2-9 As it is written in the Prophets , behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You. "The voice of one crying in the wilderness , prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight."       John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.        Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."     It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan" .

So , he baptized Jesus and many others ,  he was the angel of the Lord who prepared His way , he lived all his life in the wilderness fasting and praying , he was very humble in heart and , he is the greatest after our Lord.

+   Moses [and Joshua]  :  "Ex.13:4  On this day you are going out, in the month Abib.

"Ex.19:1,2 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.

"Ex.24:12-18  …  So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

"Ex.32:7-19 [read it]   /   Also "Ex.34:1-35"  

From all these verses , we see that Moses fasted at least 2 times , each was for forty days without eating or drinking. In both times he was on mount Horeb [mount Sinai] with God and the clouds covered the mountain . 

--   We might also understand that Joshua also fasted 40 days.   

Also from "Deut.9:7-26" , we may understand that he fasted a third time .

Read the story of Moses and his miracles in the first few chapters in Exodus , and the story of Joshua and his miracles in his book "Joshua"

+   Elijah :  "Read his story which starts from "1Kings 17" , and the story of his fasting in "1Kings 19" . Don't miss it. In it we find that for 3.5 years he ate only bread and meat coming from God two times a day , then for many days he ate cakes made of flour and oil only . And after that he fasted 40 days without food or drink . Read the miracles he did.

+++      Dear brothers and sisters ,    I hope I have presented to you some thing good, as I said in the introduction , it is of the best I have together with my other books , they are , in my opinion , the most expensive pearls and treasures and the most useful things , on earth and in heaven .

+   Please always pray for me .  And don't forget , we all have taken freely , so we all must give freely . 

+ May God have mercy on all of us , bless us and help us in our ways to Him . 

+ And may He glorify His holy name in all heavens and on the whole earth . Amen .