Why fasting matters: Ronnie Floyd highlights the power of forgotten discipline

January 29, 2025

The former president of the Southern Baptist Convention is urging Christians to rediscover the transformative power of fasting in overcoming personal and communal challenges.

The Christian Post reports that Pastor Ronnie Floyd has recently released a book titled The Supernatural Power of Prayer and Fasting. which teaches about the physical and spiritual difficulties that come with fasting.

Floyd told the Christian Post, “Fasting makes you much more sensitive to the Holy Spirit the longer you go. Do I understand all that? Absolutely not. I think it’s a mystery. I think that’s where the supernatural power of God steps in and begins to speak to you in a way that most often is not done.”

According to Floyd, the Bible references fasting 57 times with 69 mentions of the oft-overlooked spiritual discipline which he says means to “shut mouth, not eat.”

Floyd explained, “I believe that fasting is abstinence from food with a spiritual goal in mind. When God places something on your heart, whether it is a burden, whether it is a decision, whether it is a real problem going on right at your job or your family or finances, or whatever it may be, there may be three or four things God has on your heart, and He may choose to use fasting to call you into addressing those things.”

According to the Christian Post, Floyd strongly recommends that churches and pastors embrace the power of fasting to unify and strengthen communities as a response to societal and spiritual crises.

Pastor Floyd differentiates between spiritual fasting and modern cultural trends like intermittent fasting for weight loss, saying, “Our goal is not to lose weight on a spiritual fast. Your goal is to pursue God in Heaven. … Someone who is walking with Christ could even use intermittent fasting … but make it a spiritual journey for yourself by looking at it in relationship to self-control.”

Photo: top, Credit: Marc Ira Hooks