2006-10-13
Good Morning Cherished of God,
God takes us on a journey for His own reasons, often designed to increase our spiritual maturity. That is certainly true of this journey through the Scriptures that we have been on regarding fasting. In DN 9: 1-4, we see an example of voluntary fasting in connection with intercessory prayer for himself and the other Jews. You'll remember that Daniel was in exile during the Babylonian Captivity. He and some of his friends were serving in the royal court. "Darius the Mede, who was the son of Xerxes, ruled over the kingdom of Babylonia. In the first year of his reign I was studying the sacred books and thinking about the seventy years that Jerusalem would be in ruins, according to what the Lord had told the prophet Jeremiah [JER 25: 11]. And I prayed earnestly to the Lord God, pleading with Him, fasting, wearing sackcloth and sitting in ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed the sins of my people." This passage tells us a lot about Daniel. It tells us that he was a devout man who read the writings already completed of the OT, that he had a sense of history, that he understood why God had allowed the Jews to be in captivity, and that he knew the need to confess the sins of his people. While it doesn't say this in the passage, I believe from the rest of what is said in the book of Daniel about its author that he also included himself in this confession; he didn't set himself apart as having not needed to confess. He was a man not afraid to humble himself before God. Remember that we learn in DN 6: 10 that Daniel kneeled at the window of his residence facing Jerusalem three times daily and offer prayers of thanksgiving, praise, confession, and supplication. The wearing of sackcloth and sitting in ashes is the way of the ancient Jews to mourn for sins committed, lives lost, etc. This along with fasting and prayer was Daniel's way to focus on God and allow all the distractions of the world around him to melt away for a time.
Now, let's look at some of the examples of fasting from the NT. The story of Paul's first missionary journey begins with fasting and prayer in AC 13: 1-3. "In the church at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabus, Simeon (called the Black), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (who had been brought up with Governor Herod), and Saul. While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to the, 'Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul, to do the work to which I have called them.' They fasted and prayed, placed their hands on them, and sent them off." We see in this example the Holy Spirit directing the beginning of some work that was obviously very important, and these two that were to begin this journey listening in an attitude of humble obedience and devout faithfulness. Fasting here is an expression of all of that. Barnabus and Saul might not have known the full extent of the repercussions of their work, but they had to realize it was important. Remember when Jeremiah, the OT prophet was a young man and was being commissioned to do his work, in JER 1: 4-10? The Lord said in (4-5), "I chose you before I gave you life, and before you were born I selected you to be a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah's first response in (6) was "Sovereign Lord, I don't know how to speak; I am too young." God's response in (7-8) was, "Go to the people I send you to, and tell them everything I command you to say. Do not be afraid of them. For I will be with you to protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken.'" I bring this up to point out that it is highly probable that each of us, Jeremiah, Saul, Barnabus, and ourselves included, have been chosen for God's work and the type of work we are to do for God before we were born. The fasting and prayer that Saul and Barnabus did in AC 13: 3 was a fitting acknowledgement that they knew what they were to do for God mattered to our Deity very much.
In LK 2: 36-38, the example of the elderly prophetess and widow, Anna, daughter of Phanneul of the tribe of Asher in the temple, is another acknowledgement of something extraordinarily important having happened there. She fasted and prayed in response to the presentation of a very special first-born Male and His dedication to God [see EX 13: 2, 12]-Jesus Christ. Anna, who was 84 years old, stayed in the temple day and night worshipping God, fasting, and praying. She gave thanks to God and spoke about the Child to all who were waiting for God to set Jerusalem free [from Roman control]. Those people with true faith and a mature spiritual life understand when God does something important, feel God's presence every minute of their lives, and are willing to set aside personal comforts if necessary to follow His commands to serve Him. From what I have read of the Scriptures over the last 40 years, people who are prophets are rewarded for their faithfulness and obedience by God by being allowed to see into the future. We certainly see this with Isaiah and Jeremiah, who understood why the Jews were going to be punished for their unbelief, Daniel who was a man "esteemed by God" [DN 10: 11], and John, who was given the vision of Revelation, for example. All of these people fasted and prayed often during their earthly lives. We are left with the question: What is the condition of our own faith? Whether we as individuals chose to fast or not, this bigger question must be considered. I know that God wants us to examine our own faith [PS 139: 1-2, 23-24]. As for fasting, God will tell each of us when and for how long, or whether we should fast at all.
PRAYER: O, Most Heavenly Father, You are a Promise-keeper. Repeatedly in the Scriptures we have seen this truth proven. In LK 2: 26-27, You promised Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah promised. (27-32) "Led by the Holy Spirit, Simeon went into the temple. When the parents brought the Child Jesus into the temple to do for Him what the Law required, Simeon took the Child in his arms and gave thanks to God: 'Now, Lord, You have kept Your promise, and You may let Your servant go in peace. With my own eyes I have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all people: A light to reveal Your will to the Gentiles and bring glory to Your people Israel.'" Our prayers and fasts are not lost on You, Dear Father. You are omniscient and thus, never go without knowing the content of our hearts. We need never be afraid of this truth, as long as we are faithfully obedient to Your teaching and commands. Two expressions of Your attitude come to mind. IS 41: 13, "Do not be afraid-I am with you! I am your God-let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you." And we must meditate on the promise of the Holy Spirit in JN 14: 21, "Whoever accepts My commandments and obeys them is the one who loves Me. My Father will love whoever loves me; I too will love him and reveal myself to him." Fasting is a vehicle to enhance our access to You. We must understand Your will for each of us as individuals for the use of this practice. You never want us to fast in excess to the detriment of our physical, emotional, or spiritual health. That is because You love each of us and remind us in 1 COR 6: 19 that the "body is the temple of the Spirit." We dedicate ourselves to accepting both Your will and Your wisdom. We offer You thanks, worship, praise, adoration, loyalty, diligence, and love for everything You are and all that You do for us. In Christ's holy name, we pray. Amen.
Our journey through the Scriptures involving fasting continues next week. What spiritual treasures we can mine from the Scriptures is nothing short of amazing. I was once asked: "Don't you get tired of going over the same words repeatedly?" My answer is a resounding, "no!" My reasons have to do with the supernatural nature of the Bible. Some truths become evident. 1) Every time I go back to a particular verse or passage, I am brought back in a different context and thus, learn something new. 2) The more I study the Scriptures, the more I hunger to study more. No other book that I know of has ever had the same effect on me. 3) I am deeply blessed by what God reveals about Himself to me through prayer, study of the Scriptures, my congregational life, and the other circumstances of my life. 4) I learn God's will for us as individuals and corporately as the church. 5) I am better able to stretch toward God's perspective on suffering, spiritual victories, and other circumstances of my life. This has been my personal experience in my faith walk. Now, I ask each of you to examine your own experience and see if these things are true for you. Remember 2 CH 16: 9, "The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen the faith of those who are fully committed to Him." Our Lord loves us and is eager to bless us in countless ways. We must remember that He gave His Son to die on the cross, so that we could be saved. Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn