Prayer and Fasting

1 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' 14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
16 "When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, 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 men 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.” Matt 6:1-18

If one were to ask most people in the world what they could quote from the Bible, probably the most frequently mentioned text, by Christians as well as others, would be what we now know as “The Lord’s Prayer”. Matthew includes this as one of Jesus’ teachings, following the Beatitudes, in what we now refer to as “The Sermon on the Mount.” Although we often see this prayer out of the context of this teaching, here it is clearly included as one of a series of what we might today call Spiritual Disciplines: Forgiveness, Giving to the needy, Fasting and Simple Living.

This is not the only place that the spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting are linked. Jesus prayed and fasted in the wilderness. The Pharisees accused Jesus and his disciples of failing to pray and fast when they ought. Jesus explained that the driving out of evil spirits in a demonized boy could only be done through prayer and fasting. Moses the lawgiver, David the King, Elijah the Prophet and Daniel the faithful governor all are recorded as fasting and praying. Hannah in the Old Testament and Anna in the New Testament both employed prayer and fasting as a regular spiritual discipline. Fasting and prayer were regular aspects of life for the Desert Fathers, many of the early Saints and the reformers Luther, Calvin and Knox.

In the passage above we see Jesus’ assumption that his disciples will both pray and fast and his warning that these are not meant to be badges of spiritual accomplishment or produce admiration from others, but rather are one way in which we can grow closer to God. If prayer is the method by which we are empowered to carry out much of God’s work, its occasional accompaniment with fasting is what empowers our prayer. But what is fasting and what does it achieve? Elmer Towns in his book, Fasting For Spiritual Breakthrough, explains: “It’s important to note that religious practices such as fasting are less important than doing God’s will. As Micah 6:8 points out, what the Lord truly requires of us is devotion to Himself: ‘To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.’ Fasting is not an end in itself; it is a means by which we can worship the Lord and submit ourselves in humility to Him. We don’t make God love us any more than He already does if we fast, or if we fast longer. As Galatians states, ‘Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage’ (5:1). The goal of any discipline is freedom. If the result is not greater freedom, something is wrong.”

The act of fasting is withholding voluntarily something from ourselves. This might be food or drink, an activity in which we would under other circumstances engage, or a pleasure which might otherwise find ourselves enjoying. In short, we deny ourselves something. The purpose of this is to humble ourselves before God. But fasting without God is merely self-denial or asceticism. The power comes when we do this together with Him. If we couple the discipline with our prayer (relationship building) with God, then the denial becomes a giving over of ourselves to our Lord for His purposes. Our fasting then serves to remind us of our own weakness and dependency on God. It might give us the time or opportunity to add something of God’s purpose to our lives – like more time to study or giving to the needy. It can be a further joining of our souls to His Spirit. This can be true whether we deny ourselves totally as in the abstaining from eating for a prolonged period or partially as in refraining from certain foods or practices for a short time.

In coming days we will continue to consider what the Bible has to say about fasting and prayer. But whether or not you choose to accompany your prayer with fasting at this time, can I suggest that you join with Linda and me in asking God for His mercy and compassion for each other.

Mike Clarkson