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.” Matthew 6:16-18
Some of you are already thinking, “Oh no…I have to fast?!” In our culture, food is a part of almost everything. We eat as nourishment, but that’s not all. We eat when we don’t need to, and even sometimes when we don’t want to. We eat as a way to fellowship with others. We eat as habit. We eat as distraction. Even if we’re not really hungry, we’re going to get popcorn when we go to the movie, right? And a hotdog or nachos when you’re at the baseball game. It’s what you do. We eat like it’s a hobby.
The practice of fasting—though becoming more interesting to some as a form of improving physical health—is still countercultural and is an interruption to normalcy in some relationships and situations. But that’s kind of the point. Fasting voluntarily sets aside one of the most normal aspects of daily life for the purpose of seeking and knowing God in a deeper way. It’s born out of desperation for God. In fasting, we exchange ordinary life, for a time, in order to experience God in an extraordinary way.
The religious leaders were more concerned with other people than they were with the Lord. They fasted, but they made sure everyone knew it. They were desperate, to be sure; they were desperate to be admired by people. By saying to wash your face so other people won’t know when you are fasting, Jesus wasn’t suggesting that we be fake. He was saying we should be spending more time privately on our knees before the Father than trying to get our needs met by other people. This is the heart of fasting—who or what are you most desperate for?
- What if you don’t feel desperate for God? How might a private time of fasting help you recognize your desperation for Him?
- Pray: Thank God that He is worthy of the desperation of our hearts and minds and that when we come to Him in desperation, He alone is capable of meeting our needs. Ask Him to give you a better understanding of the relationship between fasting and desperation this week as you continue to seek a deeper, more effective prayer life.