“You will not fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard on high.” (Isaiah 58:4)
Ten years ago, I had to confront a friend of mine about something he did. I had not been a Christian for very long and was very uncomfortable about the whole thought of it, so I sought out my pastor, who suggested I take a day to fast and pray about it.
Well I certainly understood the value of prayer in such matters, but why should I fast? The truth is until this point in my life, the only reason I ever fasted was to lose weight and that didn’t work for very long.
There more than a few Christians today who would react very much like I did then to the whole notion of fasting, especially fasting over the small things. Frankly I saw fasting as nothing more than an ancient practice that had no application in today’s world. After all, besides hunger pangs, what could I possibly get from not eating for a day?
In spite of my doubts, I took my pastor’s advice. Ironically, ten years later, I can’t even remember what my friend did. But I’ll never forget the lesson I learned about the importance of fasting.
The fact is our Lord frequently fasted, once for forty days and forty nights. So if we want our lives to show more of Christ in us, then we had better not dismiss fasting as some empty ritual that gives more points for style than it does for substance. The truth is fasting – when coupled with prayer – offers a powerful opportunity for an even deeper relationship with God.
The Bible tells us that fasting can help us to shape our relationship with God. However, it should never be used in an effort to impress others. Jesus said, “When you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. .” (Matthew 6:16)
Fasting really has more to do with humility than it does with food. The Bible tells us repeatedly that humility is a virtue for which we should strive. In fact, Jesus’ half-brother, James, hit the nail on the head when he said, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) So while the world often stands in awe of the proud, we need to remember that God favors the humble. The problem is that while humility is a godly quality, it doesn’t come supernaturally like meekness. It only comes through practice.
When we fast, we are putting the act of humility into practice. Outwardly, we deny ourselves something as basic as food. But inwardly, we deny ourselves much more than food. Fasting is a spiritual acknowledgment that it is God who sustains life, not food. And only through a deep and obedient relationship with God, through prayer and fasting, can we ever fully understand his purpose for our lives.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee attended the dedication of the child of a close friend and was asked what advice he could offer to the parents. Lee, a devoted Christian, not only gave careful instruction to that family about raising a godly child, but gives great advice to all of us when we scoff at the notion fasting: “Teach him to deny himself.”
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