Matthew 4:1-4
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
Embarking on a period of prayer and fasting, whether for a short or long period, is something that I now embrace with great anticipation to see what God is going to teach me through it. When I have done so, the results have differed. One long period of prayer and fasting resulted in a positive answer from the Lord that lifted a heaviness in my heart, freeing me and providing the confidence to start my Tea business.
Another example was my fasting experience during the Lenten season three years ago when I undertook the rather daunting commitment to write a new devotion each day over a forty-six day period, an undertaking where effective prayer was an absolute essential. During the forty-six day fast, I put aside all sweets, desserts, candy and the like—not all sugar—just the obvious tempters, especially baked goods and ice cream. The result was quite unexpected. After just a few days a fog had lifted from my brain allowing deeper sleep during the night and better concentration during the day. The most remarkable result was how God provided ideas, phrases, scriptures, and memories, sometimes waking me up in the night to jot things down and then sending me right back to sleep. One night, right before bed, the Lord inspired me to write a particular devotion in just fifteen minutes! He was never late and each day the deadline for posting the devotion was met, thanks be to God!
Another experience was totally different—God answered but not in the way I had hoped and the result had more to do with my response to God’s answer of ‘no’ rather than the way He answered. He gave me the grace to move beyond the initial devastating disappointment to an attitude of acceptance and trust in His sovereign will.
As mentioned on Ash Wednesday, fasting is abstaining from certain foods or activities for a spiritual purpose. It can be for a long or short timeframe, daily or one day a week. Jesus certainly experienced extreme hunger for the forty days and forty nights He spent in the wilderness, fasting and praying to prepare His heart for His journey to the cross. Lent and, in particular, fasting can be a time for us to “prepare” our hearts to be freed from the sins that entangle us and to receive the Lord anew. Fasting can free us from clutter, eliminating distractions, and even taking our focus off of food so that we can give our undivided attention to God, allowing Him to reveal anything that is hindering our relationship with Him so we can make things right. Perhaps hunger is actually good for us! Be on guard, however, to check your motivation, that you aren’t doing it to gain God’s approval or for penance, the approval of your church, or that you aren’t just going through the motions because it’s expected of you.
Jesus also teaches us in His Beatitudes in Matthew 6, that prayer and fasting should be done in secret rather than with boasting and that any boasting is to be of the Lord and the results that come through Him. During this Lenten season, whether we choose to fast or not, may we always “hunger and thirst for His righteousness and be filled.” Mt.5:6.
Heavenly Father, during this time of fasting and praying, prepare the way for us to receive You with fresh, renewed hearts, uncluttered by the sins that so easily entangle us. We pray 2 Chronicles 7:14 today, “Search my heart, O God, if there is any wicked way in me. Create in me a clean heart and turn me from my wicked ways.” In Your name and for Your sake we pray. Amen.
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