Biblical fasting is the act of giving up food for a period of time so that I can draw near to God, as I draw near to God, He draws near to me just as it says in James 4:8 yet check out what it says on either side of the underlined verse.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
This is an incredibly powerful passage, a call for everyone us!  James calls us double minded, do you believe this about yourself?  If you can’t see or believe this for yourself the next step isn’t going to work, because we can't change things that we are not willing/able to see.  It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a christian, how many times you’ve read the bible, or that you’ve done more good things than the next person…  Because of satan, darkness, sin we are all misled, blinded and deaf to the truths of God and His love to varying degrees..
Are you noticing these profound words in this passage: submit, resist, cleanse, purify, mourning,  and humble.  These are actionable words/steps we need to take to draw near God.  We need to be cleansed, purified, cleaned because all of us have been tainted, dirtied by the lies of sin.  The actionable step to this is confessing your sins outloud and repenting or truly turning away from the sins you confess. Yes, we have been washed clean with the blood of Jesus Christ, yet, while here on earth it's up to you and I to continue to choose God's truth over the enemies' ways.  This is the sanctification process, choosing Gods truth over our own….
Through fasting we humbly grow more intimately and dependant on God. Choosing God's ways over our own.  Throughout the Bible people fasted to grow clarity, repent of sin, to mourn and greave, for healing and deliverance.
Fasting is prayer on steroids (earthly terms) or with the power/authority of the Holy Spirit (Truth).  Starving your flesh or the need for food is to be reliant on God which is showing Him your humility and desire to be with Him.  Showing your flesh you have authority over it is of utmost importance.  As you do this the God of the universe draws near you!!!  He is there every time I am willing to draw near, every time I open the door and invite Him in, He shows up!
As we choose to cleanse and purify ourselves we are able to hear and understand God a whole lot more clearly.  Will you choose to take a step in this today?
I encourage you to spend time with this song!Quiet My Soul (feat. Hannah Brooks) - Hudson Taylor Jones (Unofficial Lyric Video)