The Fast the Lord Loves

Summary

Drawing from Isaiah 58, the preacher asks what kind of fasting actually pleases God. Fasting is more than going without food; it is dedicating ourselves to the Lord so that our spirit reconnects with His. Like a guitarist retuning strings that have slipped out of tune, fasting joined with prayer brings our drifting spiritual life back into harmony with God. Without prayer, fasting is nothing but hunger.

He warns against fasting with wrong motives. We cannot manipulate God or win Him to our side like a tug of war. Jezebel called a fast to frame and kill Naboth for his vineyard, and forty men once vowed to fast until they had murdered Paul - religious acts driven by sinful aims. By contrast, when Ezra and the returning exiles humbled themselves and fasted at the river, God answered and protected them.

The fast God chooses loosens the chains of injustice, feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, and refuses to ignore our own flesh and blood. It means forgiving those who hurt us and making peace instead of quarreling. Then, Isaiah promises, our light will break forth like the dawn, our wounds will heal, and when we call, the Lord will answer, 'Here I am.' Even our lips and ears must fast, guarding the tongue from gossip and refusing to pass along rumors against others.

Key Points

• Fasting without prayer is only hunger; true fasting strengthens prayer and draws us close to God.
• We cannot bargain with God; fasting bends our will to His, not His to ours.
• Wrong motives make fasting worthless, like Jezebel's plot against Naboth or the vow to kill Paul.
• The fast God chooses serves others: freeing the oppressed, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked.
• Reconcile and forgive; a fast that leaves a neighbor wounded by our hands or words is rejected.
• Fast with your lips and ears too, refusing gossip and unverified accusations.
• Be doers of the word, not merely hearers, and blessing will follow.