Matthew 6:16, "Whenever
you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they
neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they
are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full."
What does the Bible teach about fasting? Reflecting on Matthew 6:16-18 and other passages, Richard Foster comments in Celebration of Discipline:
“It
is sobering to realize that the very first statement Jesus made about
fasting dealt with the question of motive. To use good things to our own
ends is always the sign of false religion...Fasting must forever center
on God. It must be God-initiated and God-ordained...Fasting reminds us
that we are sustained by ‘every word that proceeds from the mouth of
God’ (Matt. 4:4)...Therefore,
in experiences of fasting we are not so much abstaining from food as we
are feasting on the word of God. Fasting is feasting!”
Fasting,
like praying and giving, is a legitimate spiritual discipline to be
practiced in private between a Christian and the Lord. How often we
practice it is not prescribed, because that too is between the believer
and Christ. When we desire to seek God’s face more than we want dinner,
that will be the proper time to fast.
But as with
other disciplines, fasting opens the door to showmanship rather than
spirituality. In Jesus’ day the Pharisees fasted twice a week (Luke 18:12).
While fasting, they went about with somber faces and disheveled
appearances so that everyone would see (and praise) their piety.
Why
did Jesus scorn this custom? Because He could see their hearts and
their true motives. He also knew that fasting had been abused by the
Jewish people in the past (see Isaiah 58:1-7).
What
about fasting for us today? Fasting is designed as a way to make room
for God in our lives, not to complete an exercise that gains God's
approval. He wants to come into our lives, not for us to prove
ourselves to Him.
Dear God, I open my life to You and Your majesty!
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