ZECHARIAH 7:5
“‘Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?”’”
Fasting is a sacrificial way of hearing God’s voice. I have not done a lot of fasting, but when I have, it’s been a sweet time. During those first several hours, all I could think about was food, lol. But as I started concentrating on those hunger pains as a reminder of Christ’s sufferings, they became less and less noticeable.
God is questioning the motives of the people’s fasts during their captivity. He asks, “Was it actually for Me that you fasted?” Or was it all about them. The word used here for “mourned” is the word used to describe dreadful mourning including tearing your hair out and wailing loudly. What was that all about? Was that a way to draw attention to themselves? Fasting for God should be a worshipful experience and should be done with reverence.
APPLICATION
I am not trying to guilt you into starting a fast. That is not my intention. I do want to encourage you, though, to consider a fast when you need to engage in some deep conversations with the Lord. Denying yourself food (if you are able to do that physically) can draw you into His presence in a way that is not normally experienced.
We rarely engage in self-sacrifice. We are usually more inclined to indulge ourselves. Prayerfully consider this option. Don’t fast to prove anything. It’s not about looking more spiritual. Remember in Luke 5:33 Jesus was asked why His disciples didn’t fast like the Pharisees and John’s disciples. Jesus didn’t put fasting up as a priority. But He also didn’t negate it.
Paul and Barnabas practiced fasting. Acts 14:23 says, “When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” Do you have an important decision you need to make? Seek the Lord through a fast if He leads you that way. But make sure you are doing it in order to hear Him. When you do that, He will speak.
I want to hear You, O God. Speak to me as I bear my soul before You.