“‘But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.’” Matt 6:17-18 (NIV)
Giving and praying are commanded in God’s Word. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were commanded to fast in preparation for the Day of Atonement. Nowhere else in the Bible is fasting commanded. Jesus completed His atoning work on the cross to provide the removal of our sin and the restoration of our relationship with God. Fasting is voluntary.
Jesus made it clear that fasting should be a normal spiritual discipline in the life of a believer. Just as giving and praying flow out of our love relationship with Christ, so fasting is to be a normal practice in the life of every child of God. We are not to fast in order to be praised by others, but rather to concentrate on our relationship with the Lord.
The hypocrites in Jesus’ day would fast to be seen of men. They fed their approval addiction by fasting publicly on Monday and Thursdays when the market was overflowing with the masses. They received their reward, namely, the praise of men, but bypassed the reward of God. They got what they were looking for!
There is no need to put your spiritual discipline of fasting on display for others to see. John Piper has identified that there is a difference between fasting to be seen and being seen fasting. Fasting is to be done in secret to allow you to pursue God and to deepen your love relationship with Him. God will reward what is done in secret.
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
31 replies on “Fasting God’s Way”
buy lasuna online cheap – buy diarex sale purchase himcolin pills
besivance over the counter – cost sildamax buy sildamax medication
order probenecid 500 mg online – buy generic tegretol for sale order tegretol online cheap
buy colospa paypal – buy arcoxia 60mg without prescription order pletal for sale
celecoxib 100mg sale – order celecoxib 100mg pills cost indomethacin 75mg
buy rumalaya pills – elavil pills buy elavil medication
purchase voltaren generic – buy voltaren online aspirin 75 mg cheap
order generic voveran – isosorbide 40mg for sale nimotop pills
pyridostigmine 60 mg pills – buy imuran no prescription azathioprine over the counter
lioresal generic – cost baclofen cost feldene
cheap trihexyphenidyl for sale – order voltaren gel how to purchase voltaren gel
cyproheptadine without prescription – buy cheap generic zanaflex generic zanaflex
order accutane 40mg online cheap – deltasone 10mg sale buy deltasone 5mg online cheap
buy cheap omnicef – cleocin online order
buy permethrin without a prescription – cost benzoyl peroxide order tretinoin sale
buy generic deltasone 20mg – prednisone 10mg brand buy elimite medication
flagyl 400mg without prescription – cheap flagyl 400mg where can i buy cenforce
betamethasone cost – adapalene oral monobenzone cost
brand cleocin 150mg – buy generic cleocin for sale buy indomethacin 50mg pills
purchase augmentin for sale – augmentin 1000mg tablet synthroid 150mcg sale
buy eurax without prescription – buy crotamiton without a prescription cost aczone
cozaar 50mg cheap – order generic cephalexin brand cephalexin 125mg
zyban 150mg generic – buy orlistat 60mg where can i buy shuddha guggulu
buy generic modafinil – order phenergan generic purchase meloset pills
progesterone sale – purchase ponstel for sale purchase clomiphene without prescription
brand capecitabine 500 mg – buy ponstel online cheap order danazol 100mg online
buy norethindrone pills – lumigan spray buy yasmin sale
buy fosamax no prescription – buy nolvadex provera 10mg uk
order cabergoline 0.25mg generic – buy alesse alesse cost
yasmin cost – estradiol pills anastrozole canada
г‚·гѓ«гѓ‡гѓЉгѓ•г‚Јгѓ« гЃЇйЂљиІ©гЃ§гЃ®иіј – г‚·г‚ўгѓЄг‚№йЂљиІ© 安全 жЈи¦Џе“Ѓг‚·г‚ўгѓЄг‚№йЊ гЃ®жЈгЃ—い処方