Why Pray with Fasting?
Matthew 6:16-18
In 2 Chronicles 20 we read that Jehoshaphat faced a disaster. He was king over Jerusalem – but the bloodthirsty Moabites, the ruthless Ammonites, the wicked Meunites were gathering to invade and destroy Israel. So what did Jehoshaphat do?
He gathered all of Israel together to pray – but not just pray. He gathered them together to pray with fasting. So all of Israel gathered to fast and pray and cry out to God for help.
And what happened? God brought a spiritual gift upon one of them – and he stood up and said they did not need to be afraid. They would not need to do anything. That God Himself would save them the next day as they went out to the battlefield.
And the next day as they went out into battle – God caused the bloodthirsty Moabites, the ruthless Ammonites, and the wicked Meunites to start fighting each other – and they fought against each other until they destroyed each other.
Think of the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites in our lives – attacking our faith, tempting our home group members, blinding our neighbors to the Gospel. What might God do if you fasted and prayed? That’s what Jesus talks about in the next section of the Sermon on the Mount.
So let’s turn together to Matthew 6:16-18. If you need a Bible – go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Matthew 6:16-18 is on page 811 in the Bibles we are passing out.
Let’s look at what Jesus says --
16 And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Notice that in these verses Jesus assumes something about believers. What does He assume about His followers?
Look at the beginning of v.16 – “and when you fast...” And then at the beginning of v.17 – “But when you fast…” Notice. He does not say “if you fast,” but “when you fast.” Jesus assumes his followers will all fast.
Now what exactly is fasting? It’s abstaining from food for the purpose of prayer. You could skip lunch and pray instead. You could skip food for a day and devote as much time as you can that day to prayer. Or you could pray and fast for many days. But fasting means abstaining from food for the purpose of prayer.
And Jesus assumes that we believers will fast. And that’s confirmed throughout the Bible. I searched the Bible with the word “fasting” – here’s my list of who fasted --
Moses fasted 40 days and nights on Mt. Sinai (Exo 34:28)
David fasted and prayed for his son’s healing, for his friends healings, in repentance for his own sin (2Sam 12:16; Psa 35:13; 69:10; 109:24)
We saw how Jehoshaphat fasted with all of Israel (2Ch 20)
Ezra fasted and prayed with those traveling with him to Israel (Ezra 8)
Nehemiah fasted by prayingd for Israel’s well-being (Neh 1:4)
Nehemiah had all Israel fast and pray in repentance (Neh 9:1)
Esther urges others to fast for her conversation with the king (Est 4:16)
Daniel fasts and prays for Israel (Dan 9:3)
Joel calls all of Israel to fast and pray (Joel 1:14; etc)
Josiah has all Israel fast and pray (Jer 36:9)
The people of Nineveh fasted and prayed (Jonah 3:5)
The prophetess Anna fasted and prayed (Luke 2:37)
Jesus fasted and prayed (Mat 4:1ff)
Paul fasted and prayed with the leaders in Antioch (Acts 13:3)
Paul and Barnabas fasted and prayed as they chose elders (Acts 14:23)
Now -- it’s true that during the time Jesus was on earth his disciples did not fast. Why fast to seek God when God is right there with you? But apart from those years when Jesus was on earth -- all through the Bible – Old Testament and New Testament – believers fast and pray.
But at the time of Jesus people were fasting in the wrong way—for the wrong reasons. So Jesus explains what is the wrong way to fast – look at v.16 –
16 And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
At that time some went out of their way to look gloomy when they fasted. They disfigured their faces – which probably means they didn’t shave or wash or use oil on their heads.
And the reason they did this was so people would notice they were fasting – and praise them, be impressed by them, give status to them, talk about them. That’s the wrong way to fast.
And Jesus says that if we fast that way – we receive no reward from God. The only way reward we receive is recognition from people.
So what is the right way to fast? Jesus explains in vv.17-18 --
17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
So when you fast don’t do anything to make people notice your fasting. Comb your hair. Wash your face. Do the usual things. Don’t focus on having people notice.
Instead – focus on God -- on having God mercifully notice your fasting – on having God graciously reward your fasting.
Now that doesn’t mean we should always fast by ourselves in private. Not at all. Like we saw in 2Ch 20 – Jehoshaphat fasted with all of Israel. And in Acts 12 Paul fasted with the leaders of the church in Antioch.So the problem isn’t that others know you are fasting. The problem is if your purpose is to have others know you are fasting. Your purpose should not be to impress others.
So what is the purpose of fasting? It’s right there in the last line of v.18 –
18b And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The purpose of fasting – of abstaining from food for the sake of prayer -- is to be rewarded by God. If we fast to be seen by others – that’s the only reward we will get. But if we fast for God Himself – God will – mercifully and graciously -- reward us.
But it’s important that we don’t misunderstand this issue of rewards. We talked about this two weeks ago – but let’s go over it again.
There’s two terrible misunderstandings of how Gods rewards us. First of all -- the reward is not health or wealth. When we fast it’s not because we want health or wealth. It’s because we want more of God -- more of His presence in our lives – His power freeing us from sin – His saving power in our neighborhoods – His power answering our prayers. God is the reward.
But even though our main focus is not on health – we should still pray for healing – keeping our focus on the ultimate good of God Himself. God may heal. God may not heal. He will do whatever will bring us most of Himself. So we pray with the focus on Him.
And -- even though our main focus is not on wealth – we should still pray for jobs and our daily bread – like we saw in the Lord’s prayer – keeping our focus on the ultimate good of God Himself. Our joy is not in money or food – but to fulfill God’s calling we need money and food – so we should pray for those.
So don’t think the reward is health or wealth. And – don’t think the reward is something we earn or deserve. If we fast and pray thinking that our fasting earns or deserves reward from God – we will receive nothing from God. Why?
It’s because we have all sinned against God. God is perfectly holy and righteous and just and good – and deserves perfect trust and love from us. But we’ve all turned our backs on him and refused to trust Him. So all we deserve is punishment – eternal punishment.
But -- God is full of mercy. So in great love He punished His Son Jesus in our place – and in great love Jesus was willing to be punished in our place. And now – because we are trusting Jesus – instead of giving us the punishment we deserve – God can pour out grace and mercy that we don’t deserve.
So what do we deserve? Punishment. But what does God gives us? Grace and mercy. Apart from the Cross – if we pray and fast – what do we deserve? Punishment for our sin. But because of the Cross – when we pray and fast – what does God mercifully give? Reward.
So God says -- as you pray with fasting I will mercifully reward you. Your fasting doesn’t earn the reward. Your fasting doesn’t deserve the reward. But in great mercy when you fast I will reward you – and answer your prayers in powerful ways.
So what is the point of adding fasting to prayer? Let me explain it like this. God has set up the world so that our prayers in Jesus’ name stir His heart to do the things He’s chosen to do. God doesn’t need our prayers. He can advance the Gospel and heal the sick and free you from sin all by Himself.
But God has chosen to work through our prayers – for a couple reasons.
- One is because then we get the joy of communing with God in whose presence is fullness of joy.
- Another is because then we get the joy of having an essential role in the most important work in the universe – the advance of the Gospel and the building of Jesus’ church.
- Another is because when we pray for something specific like a neighbor to get saved – and this neighbor gets saved – that powerfully shows us God’s reality and power and deeply encourages our hearts.
So God has chosen to have our prayers stir His heart to do the things He’s purposed to do. But what we have to understand is that God has chosen to have his heart be stirred even more – when we pray with fasting.
It’s like prayer has – by God’s mercy -- 100 megawatts of power to stir God’s heart. When we pray in Jesus’ name – there’s a 100 megawatts of power stirring God’s heart to act. But fasting – by God’s mercy -- adds maybe 20 megawatts of power to stir God’s heart. So when we pray in Jesus’ name – with fasting – then there’s 100 megawatts plus 20 megawatts totalling 120 megawatts of power stirring God’s heart to act.
So God has chosen to have His heart be stirred even more when we pray with fasting. But why? Why does fasting stirs God’s heart even more?
One reason is that fasting humbles our hearts. Three times in the Bible – Ezra 8, Psalm 69, and Isaiah 58 – fasting is linked with humbling ourselves. How does that work? Well, when you fast you feel weak – you are reminded of your neediness – you are reminded of your frailty. So fasting reminds us of our neediness – and humbles our hearts.
Another reason is that fasting helps us pray. When you fast you feel uncomfortable. It breaks you out of the status quo. Your body is screaming – “What are you doing?” And when that’s going on it’s harder to veg out in front of the TV or while away the time on Facebook.
Another reason is that fasting help us express how much we need God. It gives us a tangible way to say to God – as much as I need food – I need your presence more. As much as I want food – I want your saving power in my neighborhood more. As much as I long for food – I long for power over sin more.
So what is the point of adding fasting to prayer? It’s because God has chosen to have His heart be stirred even more when we fast.
How do we go about praying with fasting? Let me give you a couple of specific suggestions – and in your notes I linked to a helpful online resource that goes into more detail.
First -- be sure you are physically able to fast. If there’s doubt, see a doctor.
Second -- be clear on your purpose. I would suggest listing specific requests you want to bring to God through your prayer and fasting. Write them down so they are right there before your eyes.
Third -- be clear on how long you are going to fast. Is it one meal? One day? A week? Longer? Be clear ahead of time. And there is wisdom in starting small – so maybe start with one meal – or one day.
Fourth – drink lots of water, expect a loss of energy, don’t pursue strenuous exercise.
Fifth – expect supernatural opposition. Satan hates prayer. And he even more hates prayer with fasting.
Sixth – consider walking and praying. I find that keeps me awake, keeps me from being distracted from things in my house, and enables me to pray out loud.
Now one last question – and then I want to hear your questions – when should we decide to pray with fasting?
I thought of two times. One is when you feel the Holy Spirit leading you to fast. I’ve had mornings when I’ve woken up and the thought popped into my mind – today would be a good day to fast and pray.
Another time to fast and pray is when there’s a particularly urgent need. Let’s say you long for more of the Spirit’s power on your home group – or more salvations in your neighborhood – or more power over sin. Now there’s mystery here – but here’s how to look at it that’s generally true --
When you pray for more of the Spirit’s power upon your home group – there will be more of the Spirit’s power on your home group than had you not prayed. And – when you add in fasting – there will be even more.
When you pray for salvations in your neighborhood – there will be more salvations than had you not prayed. And – when you add in fasting – there will be even more.
When you pray for power over sin – you will have more power over sin than had you not prayed. And – when you add in fasting – there will be even more.
So that’s how to decide when to pray with fasting.
Any questions?
So what should we do about this? Remember – Jesus assumes that believers will fast.
So start making fasting a regular part of your life. Start small. Maybe fast one meal – and devote that time to prayer. And pray when you can before your next meal.
Why? Because Jesus promises – when you fast and pray – God will reward you.