Fasting

Matthew 6: The Sermon on the Mount (29)

Pray Psalm 147.6, 7.
The LORD lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises on the harp to our God…

Sing Psalm 147.6, 7.
St. Anne: Our God, Our Help in Ages Past
The humble God exalts above; the wicked He casts down. 
Sing thanks to this great God of love; let songs of praise abound. 

Read and meditate on Matthew 6.16-18.
“When” you fast?

Prepare.
1. What did Jesus warn about when we are fasting?

2. Why should we fast so that only God knows about it?

Meditate.
With respect to fasting, we notice in the first place that Jesus said “when”, not “if” you fast. There is an assumption that, in the Kingdom of God, where righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit are the defining ambience, fasting is a practice which citizens take up from time to time. Given the example of our King, this only makes sense.

Fasting, rightly practiced, entails more than simply abstaining from familiar food and drink for a period of time. And it certainly must not include any outward demonstrations to signal our piety or spirituality to others (Matt. 6.16). In times of fasting, believers may be especially energetic and active in caring for others (Is. 58.7). Thus, by denying both bodily needs and personal interests, we learn to draw on the spiritual power, active within us by God’s Spirit, from which true righteousness comes (Is. 58.8).

When we fast in this way, we share in the sufferings of Jesus (as Paul might say, Phil. 3.10), Who denied His divine prerogatives and privileges, fasting from His heavenly throne, to come among us as our Servant. In Him the light of the new morning breaks upon us through the darkness of His suffering and death (Is. 58.8). We who are oppressed by sin are set free in His redemption. Our nakedness is covered by His righteousness; our flesh is healed in His resurrection; and His righteousness comes to us by His Word and Spirit. The glory of the Lord “has our back”, and the Lord Himself stands ready to hear us when we cry to Him. 

The reward we may expect from our fasting comes not from the admiration of men, but the favor and glory of our heavenly Father (Matt. 6.18).

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.’ So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai…that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him” (Ex. 34.27-29).

No food, no water, time alone with God receiving the Ten Commandments, and a glowing face for Moses!

Although the essence of fasting is the absence of food, some people for health reasons cannot go without food. It would be an unsafe practice. 

Some practice intermittent fasting, and if that experienced hunger causes one to focus on God daily, then that is another way to accomplish this feat. But even if food is never involved, fasting can be accomplished.

Regardless of how we go about “fasting”, all of us can do without sin—permanently. With a cheerful countenance. “As in water face reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals the man” (Prov. 27.19).

All quibbling about fasting—the how-tos or whats—could be set aside, if we just determinedly decided to fast from displeasing God, abstaining from any transgression of the Law our modus operandi.

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality…
Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thess. 4.3; 5.22).
“…abstain from things polluted by idols…” (Acts 15.20).
“…put off the old man with his deeds…” (Col. 3.9).
“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice” (Eph. 4.31).
“…abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul…” (1 Pet. 2.11).

This kind of fasting is a win/win.
We receive a secret reward from the Lord, and others are blessed through our abstinence.

In all our fasting, if we are “hungering and thirsting for His righteousness” (Matt. 5.6) we will be filled up with Him. It’s what He promised; and He always keeps them.

“Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell” (Neh. 9.20).

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.
The young lions lack and suffer hunger; 
but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing” (Ps. 34.8-10).

Holiness blossoms through the deprivation of sin. Abstain, and know the fullness of God.

Reflect.
1. As you understand it, what is the essence of the discipline of fasting? Why do we need it?

2. How can fasting help you know more of the Presence of God?

3. How should you prepare for a fast? How should you follow-up from one?

[Fasting] is pleasing to God, only so far as it is directed to another object: and that is, to train us to abstinence, to subdue the lust of the flesh, to excite us to earnestness in prayer, and to testify our repentance, when we are affected by the view of the tribunal of God. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Matthew 6.16-18

Pray Psalm 147.12-20.
Praise God, Who meets the needs of all His creatures. Receive His Word today, and pray for someone with whom to share it.

Sing Psalm 147.12-20.
St. Anne: Our God, Our Help in Ages Past
O praise your God, Jerusalem, O Zion, praise the LORD! 
He strengthens those who trust in Him with blessings from His Word. 

Around us He has spread His peace; our borders are secure. 
His bounty daily shall increase; His grace to us is sure! 

His Word to earth runs to and fro to carry out His will; 
He brings the rain, He sends the snow, and none can keep Him still. 

His Word He to His Church bestows—His promises and Law.
No other nation God thus knows: praise Him with songs of awe!

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column looks at people in ministry. Check out our other excellent writers. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.