Matthew 6:16-17
16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face
Fasting, sigh, what a contentious topic.
What principles for fasting are given in Matthew 6:16-18?
The first thing which stands out is to not fast like a hypocrite, putting on a gloomy face to impress men, because that is as good as forfeiting your entire reward. If we give, pray or fast for the admiration of man, they count for nothing in the eye of God, but whatever is done for Him alone will secure his inevitable notice and reward.
Jesus is saying they should anoint their head and wash their face. But if hypocrisy means “putting on a mask”, it would seem at first glance that anointing your face, is hiding from others what you are really doing. Isn’t hypocrisy trying to look different on the outside from what you really are on the inside?
Jesus here is focussing on the heart and how the hypocrite demonstrates to others that they are fasting. The hypocrisy lies in their outward demonstration to man, when their heart should be pointing towards God.
Piper explains that “the heart that motivates fasting is supposed to be a heart for God. Fasting, in Jesus’ way of seeing things, is a hunger for God, or it is worse than nothing. But the heart that motivates their fasting is a hunger for human admiration. So, they are being open and transparent about what they are doing, yes, but that very openness is deceptive about what’s in their heart.”
So, we need to check our heart posture prior to fasting, and who we are doing it for. But why should I fast? To earn favour in the eyes of God. So He can accept me?
Fasting is not about impressing God nor to earn His acceptance, since our acceptance has already been made full and complete based on the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, contrary to some beliefs, I would say fasting does not earn God’s favour. Like prayer, fasting is to be done as an act of devotion to God and not to win the approval of anyone else.
Then what is the motivation behind fasting?
If I had to narrow it down to one specific thing, I would have to say humility.
Fasting, with the proper motivation, should be a physical expression of humility before God, just as you may kneel or prostrate yourself in prayer to reflect humility before Him. An example of this would be in 1st Kings where it records that one of the most wicked men in Israel’s history, King Ahab, eventually humbled himself before God, demonstrating it through fasting:
And it came about when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently. Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s days.” (1Kings 21:27-29 // boldened for emphasis)
Moreover, looking at Isaiah 58; Joel 2:12; Psalm 35:13; 69:10; Ezra 8:21; Daniel 9:3; Nehemiah 9:1–2 would present the same motive of humility. Someone may even take it as far as to say that from the multitude of scriptural examples that a true desire to humble yourself before God ought to result in a life characterized by prayer and fasting.
Are you suggesting we must live a life basically dependant on fasting and prayer to be humble?
Of course not, and I would also be weary of anyone who advocates so heavily in favour of fasting, as if to say they would be a lesser Christian without constantly fasting.
First, as we can see in the Matthew 6:16-17, fasting is not always associated with humility, but rather seeking praise from men. This is also illustrated by the self-righteous Pharisee who boasted, ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ (Luke 18:12)
Second, the Bible is very conscious of people who “advocate abstaining from foods, which God created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth” (1Ti 4:1, 2, 3). We see the apostle Paul ask with dismay, “Why … do you submit yourself to decrees, such as ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch’?” (Colossians 2:20, 21+).
Also saying, “Food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat” (1Co 8:8).
One other thing. Isn’t fasting less about the sacrifice and more about the prayer?
Fasting in Scripture is almost always associated with prayer.
David, a man after God’s Own heart, illustrates the relationship between prayer, fasting and humility recording that, “as for me, when they (David’s enemies!) were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer kept returning to my bosom.”(Psalm 35:13)
Some do feel that fasting helps them focus their prayers of intercession and supplication. However, one thing I have learnt is that we should not assume that fasting is like a “spiritual hunger strike” that in any way compels or manipulates God.
Sometimes I look to fasting as almost kicking my prayer into like quick response mode. I feel like if I fast and pray, then God is more likely to give me what I want, and probably at a quicker rate.
I would like to think that it is clear that if we petition for something out of God’s will, fasting would not give the inclination to produce an affirmative response. In short, fasting does not change God’s hearing so much as it changes our prayers, bringing us to pray more in line with God’s will.
As much as fasting can be sincere and for proper reasons, it can also be done for selfish purposes, especially for self-gain. The first is pleasing to God, the latter is not. In Zechariah 7:5, God asks His people the question,
“When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?” (Zechariah 7:5)
The question we must always ask when fasting deals with our motive for fasting.
Are we seeking God or seeking to manipulate God?
My Sunday Skl 