True Spirituality Series
Fasting: Hungry for God
Matthew 6:1, 16-18
Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
Today we come to the third of three illustrations Jesus uses to teach that motives matter to God. It is possible to do a good thing for the wrong reason. He outlines the principle in verse one. “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness before men,’ to be seen by them.” He first applies the principle to giving to those in need. Of course, sharing is good. Doing it to show off, however, doesn’t impress God.
The same principle applies to praying. The Lord wants us to pray. But he wants us to remember who we are praying to when we do. This is not just an old problem. I know that preachers and leaders who lead public prayer have to deal with this. We can be tempted to use big words or fancy phrases so that we sound “religious.” It is all too easy to forget who you’re talking to.
We can even confuse prayer time and announcement time. I’ve never seen it here, but I have known prayers that almost sounded like this. “Lord, we thank you for your blessings. We ask for your forgiveness. And Lord help everyone remember the potluck dinner next Tuesday, at 6:30 in the fellowship hall. Lord we are grateful that those whose last names begin with A-J are bringing vegetables, those with last names beginning with J-S, salads, and names starting with T-Z, desserts. In Jesus Name, Amen.”
Jesus’ third illustration may seem less familiar to us. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if most of you have never heard a sermon or lesson on fasting. It is altogether possible that this topic has never been addressed from this pulpit in the last fifty years except in passing. Why are so many of us inclined to view fasting as out-dated and maybe even weird? I suspect there are a number of reasons. First, going without anything, especially food, is contrary to everything we consider normal. Self-gratification is almost an American right.
Secondly, we are almost obsessed with food. As the observation goes, some folk eat to live, others live to eat. Most of us know which category we fall into. That’s part of the reason that we have such an over weight problem in our country right now. Most of us think we are starving to death if we a miss a meal or, heaven forbid, a bedtime snack. This is nothing new. Sometime ago while researching the Sermon on the Mount, I came across this quote. In a 1902 article in the Christian Evangelist, D. R. Dungan observed, “If the American people are conspicuous for any one characteristic it is the habit of eating regularly and as much as they want.”
Fasting has also fallen off our radar screens because of an over reaction to ritual. For some who grew up in the Roman Catholic Church and many who didn’t, ceremonies and outward forms are viewed as empty and legalistic. That certainly can be the case. But to conclude that spirituality is completely internal or that physical activities have nothing to do with our relationship with God, would be a mistake. Some physical acts have great spiritual effects. Fasting is one of those!
Today, I want to examine the biblical background of fasting, the spiritual benefits of fasting, and finally the proper behavior when fasting. This last part is where we will come back to the heart of Jesus’ teachings in our text.
First, fasting is biblical. Just because we don’t hear much about fasting now days doesn’t mean it’s not in scripture. Let me first offer a definition. Fasting is voluntarily abstaining from something (most often food and/or water) for spiritual purposes. A fast can be total or partial, short or long (from a few hours to a few weeks). It is closely associated with other activities such as sorrow, repentance, and especially prayer.
The Old Testament Law required all Israel to observe one annual fast, the Day of Atonement (Lev 23:27). Most other Jewish holy days were feasts. Jews fasted on the Day of Atonement because they were to be conscious of their sin and their need of divine forgiveness. Israel also fasted when seeking God’s protection from an enemy (Judges 20:26) or when mourning the death of a leader (1 Sam 31:13; 2 Sam 1:12).
When praying for the life of his sick baby, David fasted for seven days (2 Sam 12:16-23). Nehemiah prayed and fasted for days at a time out of concern for his fellow Jews who were still in exile. Queen Esther and her hand-maidens fasted for three days when preparing to ask for the king’s help to stop a plot against the Jewish people. Daniel abstained from meat and wine for three weeks while he mourned the fate of his fellow Jews. The king of Nineveh called for the entire city to fast, pray, and dress in sackcloth and ashes when he learned from Jonah that God’s judgment was coming (Jonah 3:5-9).
Jesus fasted for forty days after his baptism. It was toward the end of that time that Satan tempted him to end his hunger by turning the stones into bread. John the Baptist and his disciples fasted regularly (Mt 9:14-15; Mk 2:18; Lk 5:33). During his ministry, Jesus’ disciples apparently didn’t fast. When asked about this, Jesus explained, that guests don’t fast while in the presence of the bridegroom. When the bridegroom is taken away, then they will fast, he said.
The early church fasted. Consider these examples:
“For three days he [Paul] was blind, and did not eat or drink anything” (Acts 9:9).
”While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:2-3).
”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” (Acts 14:23).
Fasting is in the Bible. No one can deny that, but why? What’s the spiritual benefit of going without food or sometimes water? A part of the answer is found in the way the Old Testament describes fasting. David says, “I humbled my soul with fasting” (Psalm 35:13). Fasting demonstrated sincerity and even desperation. One could pray half-heartedly. But no one could fast for long without being serious.
One commentator outlines five benefits of fasting. William Barclay observes that: 1) Fasting is good for health. In a world where many of us over eat, not eating offers some very practical benefits. 2) Fasting helps self-discipline. It would do many of us good to cease for some time each week making our wishes and desires our master. 3) Similarly, fasting preserves us from becoming slaves of a habit. What does it say about how weak and childish we are on the inside if we can’t muster up the strength to break our addiction to some external habit? That’s not a pretty picture. 4) Fasting preserves the ability to do without things. Many of us have lost the ability to distinguish between needs and wants. How would we survive if really hard times came again like happened seventy-five years ago? 5) Fasting makes us appreciate things all the more. Denying ourselves some normal pleasures may help make those very things become more valuable (The Daily Bible Study, Matthew, I, 239-40).
I can personally echo those benefits. While I am no expert on fasting, I have practiced it on numerous occasions. This doesn’t count dieting. Like many of you I have dieted often. In fact, I lost over a thousand pounds dieting. It just happened to be same ten pounds a hundred different times. I have also fasted. Back in Illinois, I regularly joined a group of pastors each year for a three-day prayer and fasting retreat. I have fasted for over a week on more than one occasion. After one of my first prolonged fasts, I wrote down notes of my experience.
Physically it is a lot different than what I expected. The worst part was the first day. We have all experienced a bit of hunger pangs, headache, growling stomach, and maybe even a bit of nausea when we have missed a meal or two. That quickly passes. By day three, most of those early symptoms disappear. For several days, I felt mostly fatigue. Of course, the smell or sight of food could bring back the hunger pangs. Experts say that after seven or eight days without food the body’s metabolism totally changes. At that point, I felt renewed energy. Of course, I lost several pounds. When I began to eat again (slowly and carefully) food tasted better than I remembered and I felt incredibly alive.
But the biggest benefits were in other areas. Here’s what I wrote. What I learned from my ten day fast: 1) God is a source of strength. 2) I am very much an addict of food. 3) I need much less food to survive than what I imagined. 4) Much of my social life and relationships revolve around food. 5) I have a new found appreciation for Jesus and the saints of the Bible who fasted for great lengths of time. 6) I have become much more sensitive to my physical needs, limitations, and health. And 7) I have a new found appreciation for the quality rather than the quantity of food.
Fasting is what the Bible calls a humbling of ourselves. It is becoming weak so we can experience the strength of God. It is an acknowledgment of our need and desperation for God’s answer to our prayers. It forces us to confront how morally and spiritually powerless we are apart from God’s presence. Fasting can teach us much.
We’ve looked at the biblical background of fasting and considered some of the possible spiritual benefits. This brings us to Jesus’ words. He speaks to the proper behavior in fasting. The principle he applies is the same as for the other two acts of righteousness (giving charity and praying)—we must not do it to be seen of other people. We fast, like we give and pray, for an audience of one, Almighty God.
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day fasted two days a week—on Mondays and Thursday. They chose those days intentionally. Those were the regular market days. The streets were filled with shoppers. Their motive? If I am going to go to all the trouble of fasting, I at least want credit for doing it. They would dress in sackcloth and ashes, the symbols of mourning, mark their faces somewhat like worshippers who have been to an Ash Wednesday service—all for the purpose of letting people know how religious they were. Nonsense, Jesus says! Fasting is all about humbling yourself before God. It has nothing to do with trying to make yourself look good in the eyes of your friends.
Jesus says, dress normal. Wash your face and comb your hair. Fast, but do it before God. He will see, even or especially when no one else does. You will be blessed. Fasting should be a sincere act of dependence on God not a show of your need for approval.
Why am I talking about fasting? The short answer is—because Jesus did! But there is more to it than that. You might wonder if I am suggesting that we all ought to go out and start fasting. That’s not what I am saying. In fact, that would probably not be a good idea for a lot of people. Anyone with health problems ought to be very careful about the practice. Yet on the other hand, I also believe a lot of us might benefit from the practice.
My bigger concern really lies in another direction. I am more concerned about why fasting seems so strange or even fanatical to a lot of us. What is it about our version of spirituality that makes missing a meal or depriving ourselves of some normal pleasure seem so extreme? Especially when done for God! We can understand going hungry or cutting out certain foods to lose weight, but to get closer to God? Why does that seem odd?
Fasting may not be the thing we need most. What we do need is to get serious about spiritual matters. We could also use more emphasis on eternal issues and less on the material. We could all benefit from replacing self-gratification with self-denial. Most of us could use a big healthy dose of personal discipline, especially spiritual discipline. I wonder what would happen if feeding our souls became as important to us a filling our bellies. What if we were to become as upset about missing some time with God as we get about the prospects of missing our next meal? What if we were as hungry for God as we are for a hamburger and fries, a pepperoni pizza, or a hot fudge Sunday?
Maybe this is what Jesus was driving at in the Beatitudes when he said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness because they will be filled.”
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College of the Bible, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
