Fasting is not an option but an assumed practice for the serious-minded follower of Jesus. Fasting is a spiritual discipline that believers throughout history incorporated into their daily lives. Jesus did not say, “If you fast,” but, “When you fast.”
Scripture reading
Matthew 6
Key passages
Matthew 6:16-18 — “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 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.”
Fasting thought
“Jesus takes it for granted that his disciples will observe the pious custom of fasting. Strict exercise of self-control is an essential feature of the Christian’s life. Such customs have only one purpose — to make the disciples more ready and cheerful to accomplish those things which God would have done.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Prayer
Father in heaven, as I subdue the impulses of the flesh this day, I do so not to achieve anything, not to use fasting as a bargaining chip or as a manipulative ploy to get your attention. But I fast as an act of worship, to
make myself ready and resolute to do your will with a cheerful heart. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Take a few moment to journal what God had taught you today.