HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
God considers fasting very important.
His Word, in fact, contains 92 passages mentioning it. Many of our heroes of the faith, including Moses, Elijah, Esther, Nehemiah, Daniel and Paul, fasted at crucial points.
Jesus both taught and modelled fasting. After being anointed by the Holy Spirit, He was led into the wilderness to fast and pray for 40 days (Matthew 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred). During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave specific instructions on how to fast (Matthew 6:16-18 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly).
Jesus knew the followers He addressed would fast. But what is the purpose of fasting in the life of the believer today? Continue to follow me throughout these 21 days for some answers.
