When you fast

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.  – Matthew 6.16-18

I am still relatively new to the whole concept of fasting. I have to sadly admit that before I came to Ireland I had never fasted in any way shape or matter. I had not fasted on my own and no church I had ever been in had preached on or practiced fasting. It just wasn’t a part of the circle that I knew.

I still look back with a bit of amazement. The word of God talks about fasting like it talks about prayer and worship and giving and everything else that is a part of the lives of God’s people.  All though the word of God we find God’s people fasting. Now, in Jesus’ great sermon he says ‘when you fast’ and then he goes on to say that when we do so we ought to just carry on with our normal lives.

We have plenty of examples of God’s people fasting as a group, so it is not to be a big hush hush secret, but it is not to be a big deal either. It is to be just a part of what we do.

Fasting is not a time for us to draw God over to our point of view. Fasting is a time for us to draw close to God and to listen to Him and His word. We have seen God do great things through prayer and fasting, but the greatest things He does is to work in my heart when I spend those special days with Him.