Old Testament, the prophet Daniel fasts for 21 days and does not receive an answer until the last day (Daniel 10). At that point, the scriptures say, the Archangel Michael appeared to Daniel and told him he had been heard since the first day he started to fast. But that demonic powers had stood in the way and a battle had ensued.
I have read commentaries that say this points to the never ending fight between good and evil which translates, in our case, to the struggle between the flesh and the spirit. The Apostle Paul in the New Testament calls himself a “wretched man” (Romans 7) because he says he did what he did not want to do, and often failed to do that which he knew was right.
We are not going to get into any type of theological debate here, but it appears that whatever Paul was battling did not have an evident “human” solution.
Biblical Examples of Fasting
In the Old Testament, the Jews Fasted to seek God’s help in threats or times of war (nation in general), when loved ones were sick (David), in seeking God’s forgiveness for themselves and their nation (Ahab, Daniel), and in seeking God’s protection and His will (Ezra).
Just look up the term, Fasting, in a concordance and observe the abundance of references (Lev 16:29-31; 23:26-32; Num. 29:7; Psalm 69:10; Acts 27:9).
Moses, Elijah, and Jesus all Fasted for 40 days. The Bible records that Spiritual Fasting was not just for the super leaders, rather it was practiced by most, such as during the Judges (Deut 9:15-18; Jug. 20:26; 1 Kings 21:27). (The absolute Fasts of Moses and Elijah had divine assistance Deut. 9:9; 1 Kings 19:8).
Israel Fasted at Bethel, in the war against the