I do it a couple times a year to get prayers answered and to mortify the works of the flesh. I always do water fasts and I start at sundown and end the following sundown (that is when I do a 24 hour fast). When I was a young Christian I always broke my fasts, but as I've grown in Christ it's gotten easier (or perhaps more important) to keep my word to God on this matter. Another thing I've noticed as I've gotten older is that my fasts have become all out spiritual warfare. Lately when I do it I end up being confronted with something sinful in my life, like pride, for example. Sometimes it's very ugly and quite scary and I feel very ashamed of myself in light of what I see. It's kinda hard to describe this, but the last fast I did I ended up feeling completely mental and outside of myself, as if my brain went haywire and I started feeling completely out of control of my flesh and ended up hiding under my bed covers pleading for God's mercy. I had found myself confronted that night with some very prideful comments (unrighteous judgement) I had made online and God reminded me that I am nothing without Him and had no right to boast about anything except Him. I was terrified...
Anywho, I think fasting is something that babes in Christ should wait on until they've graduated to meat and they should try to take it easy at first. Jesus spoke on this very thing:
But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. (Luke 5:35-38 KJV)
Matthew Henry comments on this as follows:
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It was a wonder of his grace that he proportioned their exercises to their strength. He would not put new cloth upon an old garment (Lu 5:36), nor new wine into old bottles (Lu 5:37-38); he would not, as soon as ever he had called them out of the world, put them upon the strictnesses and austerities of discipleship, lest they should be tempted to fly off. When God brought Israel out of Egypt, he would not bring them by the way of the Philistines, lest they should repent, when they saw war, and return to Egypt, Ex 13:17. So Christ would train up his followers gradually to the discipline of his family; for no man, having drank old wine, will of a sudden, straightway, desire new, or relish it, but will say, The old is better, because he has been used to it, Lu 5:39. The disciples will be tempted to think their old way of living better, till they are by degrees trained up to this way whereunto they are called.
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I think Christ wanted us to wait for His Spirit. Because I don't think fasting is very useful without Him.
Peace and Love,
Stephen