Fasting, is it Necessary?
Esther 4
Scripture Esther 3:8-11; Esther 4
I. Introduction
I have fasted and I have fasted and prayed, but this study that I have done has been good for me to realize I may not have always done it for the right reason or been effective in it. So I stand here as a learner, as usual.
A lot more people can fast than do, but because of heath reasons it is not always a good idea and you know yourselves. For pastor Lindsay’s mom who is diabetic fasting is not a good plan and for some there are other health risks.
It so happened that this past week Lindsay and I were also reading the Book of Esther in the mornings. In the Book of Esther we find a tremendous lesson in fasting and I want to look at her story this morning.
Instead of reading the whole Book of Esther I am going to give you a quick overview of the story.
a. story of Esther
• King Ahasuerus (Xerxes, 486 to 465 BC) of Persia has a six
month celebration, followed by a seven day feast, also one
hosted by his wife, Queen Vashti, for the women - Es 1:1-9
• Ahasuerus decides to show off his wife, but she refuses to
cooperate - Es 1:10-12
• In anger, Ahasuerus has Vashti banished, as a warning to all
wives - Es 1:13-22
• A search to replace Vashti was begun - Es 2:1-4
• In Shusan there was Mordecai, a Jew raising his lovely and
beautiful cousin Hadassah (Esther) - Es 2:5-7
• Together with other beautiful virgins, she underwent 12 months
of preparation, and ultimately was selected to replace Vashti
- Es 2:8-19
• But she did not reveal that she was a Jew - Es 2:20
• Meanwhile, Mordecai thwarted a plot against Ahasuerus - Es
2:21-23
• Haman the Agagite, is promoted, but Mordecai as a Jew refuses
to bow before him, which infuriates Haman - Es 3:1-5
• Haman receives permission from Ahasuerus to kill the Jews, the
13th of Adar - Es 3:6-15
• Mordecai mourns in sackcloth and ashes at the king's gate - Es
4:1-3
• Esther hears of her cousin, and learns of Haman's plan to kill
the Jews - Es 4:4-9
• Mordecai convinces Esther to approach the king, at great risk
to her own life - Es 4:10-17
• Esther instructs Mordecai to get all the Jews to fast From food and drink for 3 days and nights and she and her maids would do likewise because if she approached the King without his permission she was at risk of execution. 4:16-17
• Esther is granted an audience,
• She invites the king and Haman to a
banquet - Es 5:1-5
• She invites them to another banquet the following night, to
make her petition - Es 5:6-8
• As Haman leaves he is angered when Mordecai refuses to bow to
him; his wife and friends persuade him to build a gallows for Mordecai - Es 5:9-14
• That night the king can't sleep; reading through the archives
he learns how Mordecai thwarted the plot against him, yet nothing had been done to honour him - Es 6:1-3
• The king asks Haman what should be done to honour a good man;
Haman assumes the king intends to honour him and answers accordingly - Es 6:4-9
• The king has Haman bestow honour on Mordecai, Haman returns home ashamed - Es 6:10-14
• The next day, the king and Haman dine again with Esther; she
tells of the plot to kill the Jews (her own people) and accuses Haman - Es 7:1-6
• In anger the king leaves, soon returning to find Haman
assaulting Esther - Es 7:7-8
• . Informed of the gallows Haman built for Mordecai, the king
hangs Haman on it - Es 7:9-10
• Esther is given Haman's house, Mordecai promoted, and they make plans to save the Jews - Es 8:1-17
• The Jews are spared, their enemies destroyed, Esther and
Mordecai institute the feast of Purim to commemorate the Jews'
deliverance - Es 9:1-32
• Mordecai the Jew becomes second to King Ahasuerus of Persia
Es 10:1-3
• Mordecai becomes great and well received among the Jews, seeking their good and speaking peace to them - Es 10:3
So to recap, Esther when she finds out from Mordecai what Haman decree was to kill all the Jews she knows that if she just walks in to the King she will be killed.
"From a human point of view, everything was against Esther and the success of her mission. The law was against her, because nobody was allowed to interrupt the king. The government was against her, for the decree said that she was to be slain. Her sex was against her, because the king’s attitude toward women was worse than chauvinistic. In one sense, even the fast could be against her; for going three days without food and drink would not necessarily improve her appearance or physical strength.
So Esther knew that if she were to approach the king to warn him about Haman’s evil plan she was risking her life because he had not invited her to approach. But Esther in her wisdom called on all her people to fast with her and her maids. They fasted before the Lord and the Lord answered
II. Why fast?
So why do we fast? You may have heard from some that the Bible Commands it. But it may surprise you to know there are no Biblical laws commanding regular fasting.
However the Bible does talk about fasting and even though there are no Biblical laws concerning fasting we can still see fasting as a avenue to becoming closer to God. In other words we have a freedom to fast, any time, any day, any place.
So the question is if there is no law concerning fasting and it is a freedom for us, then…Why fast?
Well here are a possible three reasons Why we should fast.
a. Fasting helps us to focus on God
For Anna, the Prophet fasting included Prayer and worship. There is only a little blimp about her in Luke 2:36-38 following the birth of Christ, it reads:
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
You sometimes wonder why these little excerpts are added into a story like Jesus’ birth, but there must be a reason. We see that out of this commitment and focus on God that God used her to prophesize of the coming redemption in Jerusalem through this baby Jesus.
b. Secondly, fasting reveals what sustains us:
After Jesus fasted 40 days in the wilderness Satan attempted to temp Jesus. He said if Jesus was the Son of God then turn these rocks into bread. Jesus replied:
“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Food sustains our physical being, but we need to remember that God sustains us holistically. He sustains our spirit, soul and even physically. The purpose of fasting is not so much that we are abstaining from food, but that we are feasting on the Word of God. We may be fasting, but we are being fed.
c. Thirdly, Fasting helps us focus
When we are fasting from food we are freeing up time and energy and thus we can have a heightened concentration level. In essence we are able to focus better. As a result our prayer lives should increase, we may experience freedom from bondage, God will reveal Himself and His will and so on. As we empty our lives we should expect God to fill it. And I am not just talking about restraining from food. I will talk about that in a bit.
III. Do we Need to fast today?
a. Have things really changed
You may ask is fasting really necessary in our day and age like it was in Esther’s time or in Christ’s time.
As I thought about this, this is what I came up with:
• There are wars all around the world
• There are people sold into slavery and sex slavery everyday
• Kids are bullied
• There are children going to bed hungry around the world and even here in Canada
• There are babies being killed in our country in the name of convince
• Euthanasia is on the rise
• Illness is everywhere – Cancer is one of those illnesses that has touched many we know
• There are people that have never heard of Jesus
• We all probably have family and friends that do not know Jesus
• Satan is as real today as he was when tempting Jesus and he is prowling and waiting to devour.
I had to take a long hard look at this far from inclusive list and ask myself do we still need to be fasting. Times may have changed but the needs are still great. There are tragedies around us every where.
b. In those times
In Old and New Testament times fasting was apart of their lives and that is why I don’t think we see much instruction on fasting in the scripture. They lived it.
We may not be commanded to fast but, the Bible presents fasting as something that is good, profitable, and beneficial. The book of Acts records believers fasted before they made important decisions like appointing elders Acts 14:23: Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
Do we fast when making important discussions?
IV. Types of fast
a. Traditional
There are three more traditional types of fasting. First is what some call a normal fast. A normal fast is to abstain from all foods, solid or liquid, but not water.
The second type of more traditional fast is a partial fast. A partial fast is a restriction of diet, but not a total withdrawal. This would be like Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They would not eat the rich meats delicacies and wine from the kings table.
The third type of more traditional fast is an absolute fast. An Absolute fast is to abstain from all food and liquids and water too. This was the type of fast that Esther and her people did for three days and nights. Desperate times called for desperate actions. In this case it was a corporate fast with all of Esther’s people, but often in Scripture it was a private individual practice. This is seen in Matthew 6:16-18:
When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Another type of fast that would fall under traditional fast is not from food but from sexual relations with your spouse. 1Corinthians 7:5 states: Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Devoting intimate time to prayer instead for a season is not talked about as much, but still another form of fasting
b. Non-traditional
So that got me thinking about some other possible forms of fasting. I want us to look at some not so traditional fasts that could have just as great of an effect on us. These may be considered non-traditional fasts, but may help us focus on God and have better intimacy with God than a more traditional fast of no food.
This could include a television fast for a set period. Maybe if your spending every waking hour in front of the T.V. maybe a television fast would be a deepening experience.
How about a cell phone fast? Okay pastor, now you have gone too far!
Not to only pick on technology, because usually that the first one people like to point out. How about a book fast for those who can’t put the books down? Not talking about the Bible here either. What about knitting fast or sports fast.
Whatever it may be, you have to ask how would my intimacy with God grow if I replaced the time spent doing something for a period and spent it with communion with Him.
V. Conclusion
The story is told by Alan Smith of a Native American and his friend who were in downtown New York City for a visit. They were walking near Times Square in Manhattan. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the city were almost deafening. Suddenly, the Native American said, “I hear a cricket.” His friend said, “What? You must be crazy. You couldn’t possibly hear a cricket in all of this noise!” “No, I’m sure of it,” the Native American said. “I heard a cricket.” “That’s crazy,” said the friend. The Native American listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across the street to a big cement planter where some shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he located a small cricket. His friend was utterly amazed. “That’s incredible,” he said. “You must have super-human ears!” “No,” said the Native American. “My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you’re LISTENING for.” “But that can’t be!” said the friend. “I could never hear a cricket in this noise.” “Sure you could!” the Native American said. “You hear what you are listening for. Here, let me show you what I mean.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few COINS, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk. And then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs. “See what I mean?” asked the Native American? “It all depends on what you are listening for.”
When we tune things out in our lives we become more aware of what God wants for us. This may mean taking time to fast and listen when we need to hear from God or when trouble arises.
