What does Tribe teach about fasting benefits?
Drawn from the message where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At Tribe, the teaching on fasting starts with a simple observation: fasting has largely disappeared from the Western church, even though Jesus assumed his followers would practice it as a regular rhythm alongside prayer and giving. In Matthew 6 he does not say 'if you fast' but 'when you fast,' and Joy's teaching builds on that assumption rather than treating fasting as something reserved for especially devoted Christians. She drew a clear line between fasting and other forms of self-denial. Giving up social media, cutting sugar, or following a restricted diet all have value, but they are not fasting. The Greek root of the word simply means 'not eating,' and the model Jesus demonstrated in Matthew 4 before beginning his ministry was no food, water only.
Joy laid out five reasons to fast. The first is that following Jesus means doing life the way he did, the way an apprentice mirrors a master. The second is that fasting is one of the most direct ways to offer yourself to God bodily, not just spiritually. Romans 12:1 calls believers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, and fasting makes that sacrifice physically felt. As Joy put it, 'Our motive in fasting is always to offer ourselves to God. It is an act of worship.' A third reason is growth in holiness, where she spent considerable time in Deuteronomy 8, tracing how God used hunger in the wilderness to reveal what was in Israel's heart and to teach dependence on him.
The teaching also connected fasting to a broader concern about pride and comfort. 'Pride and a full stomach are bedfellows,' Joy said, pointing to the way a full life can quietly crowd out dependence on God. The session was given as Tribe prepared for twenty-one days of prayer for Israel, and Joy framed fasting as one of the primary ways to make room, to deny yourself something so that your heart has space for what God is doing. She described it as a weapon, not a burden, saying, 'I am taking one of the best weapons God has given us, and I'm about to hand it off to you guys.'
Taught from Matthew 6:16-18 · Matthew 4:1-11 · Romans 12:1 · Deuteronomy 8:2-3 · Isaiah 58
“Pride and a full stomach are bedfellows.”
From When You Fast
The passage taught · 1 Corinthians 6:19
19 Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
World English Bible
Messages that go deeper
- August 28, 2023 When You Fast Joy Hunter teaches Tribe fam why fasting matters, what it does to body and soul, and how it connects to 21 days of prayer for Israel.