Try adding some of these passages to kind of fill it out and provide something more than personal opinion: Hebrews 13:7, 27; I Thes 5:12-13; and I Tim 5:17-20.

I can’t imagine that fasting is bad. But I’m still on the fence on whether it’s commanded, or even terribly beneficial.

Sort of like tithing

Even under the Old Covenant, only ONE regular fast day was commanded by God, the Day of Atonement (Lev.23:27-32), when people were to “afflict their souls”, or refrain from the enjoyments of life and repent of their sins. People were also to abstain from work. How many Christians can abstain from work when they fast? Other fast days were later added to the Jewish calendar, not by God, but men.
There is no mention of fasting before Moses and the Law. Our better Covenant, the New Testament, did not come into effect until after Jesus’ death (Heb.9:16-17). But even as He ministered during the final days of the Covenant of Law, Jesus said we should pray for DAILY bread (Matt.6:11). Jesus speaks to Jews who habitually fast, many of them twice a week (Luke 18:12).In Matt.6:6-18 He tells them how to fast without appearing hypocritical. But Jesus did not order His own disciples to fast (Matt.9:14-15). Jesus links fasting with mourning, which the disciples would do when He was crucified. Jesus Himself came eating and drinking, while John the Baptist ate bugs (Luke 7:33-34). Only one fast of Jesus is recorded (Matt.4:1-2). AFTER the fast Jesus felt hungry. Christ wasn’t punishing His body because of personal sin (He was sinless). He was supernaturally sustained by the Word of God (verse 4). God fed the Israelites DAILY, even providing enough manna for the Sabbath Day (Ex.16:4-5). The Sabbath was holy, but it wasn’t set aside for fasting. DAILY the church fed poor widows (Acts 6:1). Early Christians DAILY fellowshipped and broke bread from house to house (Acts 2:46-47). Routine fasting is not listed here. In Acts 15:28-29 the burden of fasting was not laid upon Gentile converts to Christ. Nowhere do the apostles command or even recommend fasting, not even in I Thes.5:14-22, a list of Christian duties. No mention of fasting in Ephesians 6:10-18, a passage about spiritual warfare. Fasting should not be done as a “sacrifice” to appease God through suffering. Jesus suffered enough to pay for our sins (John 19:30). Fasting is the hole in the doughnut of prolonged prayer. Fasting done for fasting’s sake, without prayer, is a big fat zero.

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The A.W. Tozer essays featured on vitalmessage.com have been previously published and are currently in the public domain to the best of my knowledge.