Day 15 | How Should We Fast
January 23rd, 2012 § Leave a Comment
January 23 | How Should We Fast
Matthew 6:17-18
“But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”
Jesus said do all this “so that you may be seen by your Father who is in secret.” In other words, fast to be seen by God. Fast with a clear intention of being seen by God. As Jesus teaches it, fasting is an intensely Godward act. Do it toward God who sees when others don’t.
Jesus is testing the reality of God in our lives. Do we really have a hunger for human admiration? Oh, how easy it is to do religious things if other people are watching! Preaching, praying, attending church, reading the Bible, acts of kindness and charity – they all take on a certain pleasantness of the ego if we know that others will find out about them and think well of us. Its is a deadly addiction for esteem that we have.
This brings us to the last part of verse 18 and the promise Jesus makes about what God will do for those who focus on him and do not need praise of men to make the devotion worthwhile. He says, “And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” It is good and right to want and seek the reward of God in fasting. John Piper says, “Jesus would not have offered this [reward] to us if it were defective to reach for it.”
- Adapted from A Hunger for God: Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer, John Piper.
