One day, Kathy Cash’s husband, of Dallas, Texas, announced to the family that he was going to fast and pray. Ginny, their 5-year-old, had recently learned that fasting meant not eating.
“No!” she shouted. “You can't fast! You'll die!”
Her dad carefully explained that many men and women fasted in Bible times.
Ginny paused a moment. Then, with a flash of insight, she blurted out, “And they all died!” (Kathy Cash, Dallas, TX, Today's Christian Woman, “Heart to Heart”)
Little Ginny didn’t really understand what fasting was all about, and the whole idea scared her. Maybe, the whole idea scares some of you, especially when you think it’s a sign of real spiritual devotion, and you don’t do it as often as you think you should.
Well, I wonder what Jesus has to say about that. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Matthew 6, Matthew 6, where Jesus talks about the kind of fasting God rewards.
Matthew 6:16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. (ESV)
They have received their pay in full. The hypocrites put on a show of spiritual devotion by looking somber and messing up their faces when they fast. Now, their show may impress some people, but it certainly doesn’t impress God. He gives them no further reward. On the other hand, God rewards those who fast in secret.
Matthew 6:17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face... (ESV)
Groom like you normally would...
Matthew 6:18 ...that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (ESV)
God rewards those who do NOT put on a show of spiritual devotion. Instead, they give (vs.2-4); they pray (vs.5-14); and they fast (vs.16-18) in secret. As a result, the invisible God rewards their invisible deeds. So, when you fast...
FAST IN SECRET.
But what is fasting all about anyway? Is it an act of spiritual devotion? Is it something those who are super spiritual do on a regular basis?
Well, the answer may surprise you. Several years ago, I studied all the passages in the Bible that reference fasting in one way or another – 35 in all. Actually, the word itself is used about 40 times in the Bible, and the answer surprised me!
You see, before I studied the Bible on the subject, I thought fasting was a spiritual discipline reserved only for the super-spiritual. I thought only the super-saints did this, and those who were really super-spiritual fasted for 40 days and 40 nights!
Well, just the opposite is true. It is NOT the super-saints who fast in the Bible. It is NOT the super-spiritual. It is the super-sorrowful who fast, and often because they are super-sinners. Let me read excerpts from the majority of passages in the Bible that talk about fasting, and I think you’ll see this for yourself.
In Judges 20:26 we have the first reference to fasting in all the Bible. It’s in a book that talks about a constant cycle of sin, judgment and rescue, sin, judgment and rescue. And on the down-side of one of these cycles, it says, “Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and WEPT. They sat there before the LORD and FASTED that day until evening...”
1 Samuel 7:2-6 All the house of Israel LAMENTED after the LORD... they... FASTED on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the LORD.”
2 Samuel 1:11-12 They MOURNED AND WEPT AND FASTED until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son... because they had fallen by the sword.
2 Samuel 12:15-25 David FASTED AND WEPT over a sick child.
1 Kings 21:27-29 Ahab, a wicked king, “PUT SACKCLOTH on his flesh (a sign of extreme grief) AND FASTED... AND WENT ABOUT DEJECTEDLY.” Why? Because God had pronounced judgment on his wickedness.
In Nehemiah 1:4, when Nehemiah heard about the broken-down condition of Jerusalem’s walls, he says, “I sat down and WEPT AND MOURNED for days, and I continued FASTING and praying before the God of heaven.”
Nehemiah 9:1 The people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads (again, a sign of extreme grief).
Esther 4:1-3 There was great MOURNING among the Jews, with FASTING AND WEEPING AND LAMENTING, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
In Psalm 35:13-14, David says, “When they were sick— I wore SACKCLOTH; I afflicted myself with FASTING... I GRIEVED... as one who LAMENTS his mother, I bowed down in MOURNING.”
In Psalm 69:10, David talks about a time “when I WEEP AND HUMBLED MY SOUL WITH FASTING.”
In Psalm 109:22-24, David says, “My HEART IS STRICKEN within me… My knees are weak through FASTING.”
In Daniel 9:3, Daniel says, “I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy WITH FASTING AND SACKCLOTH AND ASHES (remember, a sign of extreme grief).
Joel 1:13-14 says, “Put on SACKCLOTH and LAMENT... Consecrate a FAST,” because judgment is about to come.
Jonah 3:5 says that when the Ninevites heard Jonah’s message of judgment, “They called for a FAST and PUT ON SACKCLOTH, from the greatest of them to the least of them.”
Zechariah 7:5 talks about a time when Israel “FASTED AND MOURNED.”
In Acts 13:1-3, after Herod killed a key church leader and imprisoned another one, the leaders “in the church at Antioch... were worshipping the Lord and FASTING.” They were MOURNING the loss of one of their own in a fresh round of persecution from the Roman government.
You see, fasting is inextricably linked to mourning in the Bible. It’s an expression of extreme sadness – not of extreme spirituality.
In fact, it is inappropriate to fast when you’re glad. It is inappropriate to fast when you’re happy and content, or when things are going really well in your life. Turn with me to Matthew 9, Matthew 9, where Jesus makes this very clear.
Matthew 9:14-15 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. (ESV)
You don’t fast at a wedding reception! It’s not appropriate. You don’t fast when Jesus, the Bridegroom, is right there with you. But there is coming a day when Jesus will die on a cross and rise again. There’s coming a day when Jesus will ascend back into heaven. There’s coming a day when Jesus will no longer physically be on this earth. Then, his disciples will miss Him. Then they will mourn. Then they will fast, and then it will be appropriate, as an expression of their sorrow.
Matthew 9:16-17 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” (ESV)
If you fast when you’re glad, you only make things worse. So if God is doing a new thing in your life, don’t fast. Don’t tear up the new thing God is doing with an old tradition. Instead, feast and celebrate. Throw a party and praise the Lord for what he’s doing. There will come a time when it is appropriate to fast, but not when you’re experiencing the blessing of God, not when God is doing a new thing in your life. No. You Fast to express your despair before God, not your delight in God.
So when you fast, fast in secret, and...
FAST IN SORROW.
Fast to express your despondency before God.
John Claypool, at one time pastor of the Crescent Hill Baptist Church, had a little daughter who suffered with leukemia. When she went into remission, everybody thought that maybe God had healed her. But on an Easter Sunday morning, she went into a terrible relapse.
In his book, Tracks of a Fellow Struggler, Claypool relates how for two weeks his daughter was wracked with pain, her eyes swollen shut. She asked him, “Daddy, did you talk to God about my leukemia?”
He said, “Yes, dear, we've been praying for you.”
She asked, “Did you ask him how long the leukemia would last? What did God say?”
What do you say to your daughter when you can't help her, and the heavens are silent? Emotionally and spiritually he was exhausted. A few hours later, she died. The following Sunday morning, John Claypool got into the pulpit to preach. He preached on Isaiah 40:31, which says, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Dr. Claypool said something to the effect, “There are three stages of life. Sometimes we mount up with wings as an eagle and fly. We're on top of the world. Sometimes we run, and we don't grow weary. We just go through the routine. Sometimes it's all we can do to walk and not faint, and I need your prayers and your encouragement” (R. L. Russell, "Triumphing over Trials," Preaching Today, Tape No. 119).
Let me tell you, that’s the time to fast – not when you’re on top of the world, but when it’s all you can do to walk and not faint. It’s not a sign of strength. It’s a sign of extreme weakness and sorrow. So, when you fast, fast in secret, fast in sorrow. Then...
FAST IN SUBMISSION TO GOD.
Fast in humility before God. Fast to express your great need for God when you’re in despair. You see, along with mourning, fasting is also inextricably linked to humility in the Bible.
In 1 Kings 21:27-29, when Ahab fasted, God said, “Ahab has HUMBLED HIMSELF before me.”
In 2 Chronicles 20:1-4, when king Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast, it says, “Judah assembled TO SEEK HELP from the Lord.” They recognized their need for God.
In Ezra 8:21, Ezra says, “I proclaimed a fast... that we might HUMBLE OURSELVES before our God to seek from him a safe journey.”
In Psalm 35:13, David says, “I afflicted (or humbled) myself with fasting.”
In Isaiah 58:3, the nation of Israel asks, “Why have we fasted… Why have we humbled ourselves?”
You see, you fast when you recognize your need for God. You fast when you are desperate for God to act, because you know there is nothing you can do to remedy the situation. You fast as an expression of your dependence upon God and your willingness to submit to Him.
That’s what God was saying to Israel, in Isaiah 58, when they asked, “Why have we fasted…and you have not noticed.” Turn with me, if you will, to that passage. Isaiah 58,
Isaiah 58:1-4 “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God. ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. (ESV)
You see, the nation Israel was praying. They were even fasting, but God wasn’t answering their prayers. Why? Because they were not willing to submit to God. They were living in disobedience, and their fast was a sham.
Isaiah 58:5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD? (ESV)
NO! You can’t express humility before the Lord when you’re really not humble, when you’re really not submissive to Him.
Isaiah 58:6-7 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? (ESV)
Obey my commands to love one another.
Isaiah 58:8-9a ...Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ (ESV)
Prayer and fasting only works when it’s a genuine expression of your humility before God. Prayer and fasting only works when you are feeling absolutely dependent upon God and are therefore willing to do whatever He tells you to do.
But if you feel confident, if you feel like you’ve got your act together spiritually, then it is inappropriate to fast. It is inappropriate to go without food.
That was the problem with the hypocrites in Jesus’ day. They fasted, because they thought it made them look good spiritually. They wore it as a badge of their spiritual devotion, but Jesus condemned such fasting as we saw in Matthew 6.
Fasting has absolutely no benefit when you’re feeling spiritually strong. In fact, it may actually cause you more harm than good. In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee, who wore his fasting as a badge of his own spiritual devotion. This is what He said:
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)
If you really humble yourself before the Lord, if you really recognize your need of Him, then God will lift you up. He will declare you righteous, and you will definitely be a better person for it. But if you fast just so you can feel good about how spiritual you are, then God will humble you. He’ll bring you down several notches and show you how desperate you really are.
A turtle wanted to spend the winter in Florida, but he knew he could never walk that far. So he convinced a couple of geese to help him. They each took one end of a piece of rope, while the turtle clamped his vise-like jaws in the center.
The flight went well until someone on the ground looked up in admiration and asked, “Who in the world thought of that?”
Unable to resist the chance to take credit, the turtle opened his mouth to shout, “I did—” (Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 2)
Pride goes before a fall – even if you’re in the middle of a fast.
So don’t fast as a badge of spiritual devotion. Instead, fast in secret; fast in sorrow; and fast in submission to God. Fast when out of your despair, you feel totally dependent upon God. To put it another way: Don’t fake it with a fast. Don’t be a hypocrite and fast as if you’re desperate, when you’re really not.
One time there was an old sailor dying in a Navy hospital, and a young Catholic priest was sent to do the last rites over him. The young priest said to the old man, rather mechanically, “My son are you sorry for all your sins?”
He was astonished to hear the old sailor say, “To be honest with you, Padre, I'm not. I rather enjoyed all of that whiskey I drunk. I rather liked all those Jezebels in all the ports of the world. I know it's probably not what you're supposed to say, but if I'm going to be honest, Padre, I have to tell you that I'm not sorry.”
Then the young priest said, “Well, let me ask you another question. Are you sorry that you're not sorry?”
There was a long pause, and the priest saw tears beginning to form in the eyes of the old sailor. Finally, he said with great conviction, “You know, Padre, I can say that. I am sorry that I'm not sorry.” (John Claypool, "You Don't Have to Be Good to Come to Christ," Preaching Today, Tape No. 83)
Perhaps, you’re not sorry about the sin in your life. Perhaps, you’re not sorry about anything right now. But are you sorry that you’re not sorry? Are you sorry about the callous condition of your own heart?
David Mains, former pastor and radio broadcaster, once prayed, “Lord, let me see the world as you see it, and break my heart with the things that break yours.” He really meant it, and the next day he found himself crying so much, he had to ask God to stop.
Maybe, instead of fasting, you need to pray a prayer like that.
Maybe, you need to be saying to God, “God, I really don’t feel sad or desperate about anything. I know I probably should, but I don’t. Would you please soften my callous heart? Please, break my heart with the things that break yours.”
That kind of a prayer would certainly be more honest. Then, when your heart is truly broken, you can fast; and then, and only then, will your fast mean anything. Then, and only then, will you find the relief that you so desperately need (whether you realize it or not right now).
For Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
