SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/13/2020 2:18 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “Proper
Fasting”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matt.
6:17-18
Message of the verse: “17 No, when you
fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that nobody knows that you are fasting—let
it be a secret between you and your Father. And your Father who knows all
secrets will reward you” (Philips).
We
are talking about the meaning of proper fasting and part of that has to do when
a person is in deep grief as we mentioned about David’s fasting when he and
Bathsheba’s son was dying. John
MacArthur writes “Unless a person is getting seriously weak from hunger or has
some specific medical reason for needing to eat, we do them no favor by
insisting that they eat.” I mentioned
that I studied physical benefits for fasting before I began my first fast in
July of 1999. I also mentioned that
after three days of fasting that you are not hungry at all. You can get weak, but you are not
hungry. The next time that you get
hungry after the initial first three days you have to eat or you will be on a
starvation type of situation. We read in
Matthew chapter four about Jesus when He fasted for forty day before He began
His ministry and Matthew says that He fasted for forty days and then He became
hungry. As mentioned He was not hungry
for those forty days and it is my belief that Jesus had water to drink or else
He would have died, but when His fast was completer He became hungry and so He
would have to eat after this. Most
people who go on a water only fast will certainly go longer than 40 days until
they become hungry, but Jesus being a perfect human being was in perfect shape
and so after the forty days He became hungry.
I
want to move to a passage that I had read before my first fast which comes from
the book of Ezra as we look at another reason to fast, and that is overwhelming
danger, which is seen in Ezra’s book. He
was leading a company of Jewish exiles away from Babylon as the king was allowing
him to do so. He had told the king that
he would not need his protection because God would care for them. Perhaps he began to wonder why he did not ask
for the king’s protection and so Ezra declared a fast as seen in Ezra 8:21 “Then
I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek
from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.” He then continues in verses 22-23 “22 For I was ashamed to request
from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way,
because we had said to the king, "The hand of our God is favorably
disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all
those who forsake Him." 23 So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and
He listened to our entreaty.” Now
you can see why I made the statement that perhaps Ezra had regretted not taking
the king up on his offer of protection.
Instead Ezra chose to call a fast that the Lord would protect them as
there were a great many dangers out they on their upcoming journey. The Lord would answer Ezra’s request and He
brought them safely on their journey.
I
think that I will stop hear and not get into the next reason for having a fast
as the next reason will take some time to explain, and I don’t usually go to
long on Sundays.
12/13/2020 2:43 PM
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