“Lord, but I prayed and fasted; I fasted for 3 days, dry…” Have you ever prayed and fasted for something that never came and so you lost hope in ever getting it? Have you ever seen a Christian speak unabashedly about how useless he perceives fasting to be? Or have you ever thought that Christians who fast are just wasting their time? Are you someone who does not miss the New Year fasting schedules (3, 7, 21, 30,… 100 days), but your story remains the same?
If you fall into any of these categories, join us on a ‘ponder’ ride into yonder where I’ll answer your wonder and make you of your God, fonder!
READ ALSO: DOES GOD CHARGE FOR MERCY?
Israel’s Fast
Zechariah 7:2-5 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech and their companions to seek the LORD’s favour by asking both the priests of the temple of the LORD who rules over all and the prophets, “Should we weep in the fifth month, fasting as we have done over the years?” The word of the LORD who rules over all then came to me, “Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for Me – for Me, indeed?
The people of Judah went to ask their Bible teachers (priests) and seers (prophets) if there remained a need to keep fasting for something that seemed no more relevant (freedom) since they had been given their freedom. This is what they had been doing for all the years of their captivity. But the Lord asked them if the fasting they had been doing for the last seventy years was for Him!
When they were taken into captivity they instituted a prayer and fast. It was not amongst the things God instituted when He gave them feasts. God had told them that when they go to Babylon they should settle down and live there.
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From God’s Perspective
God did not institute this fast. It’s not wrong to fast and pray but God was not behind this. This was them having a time of prayer and fasting and mourning, symbolically, aligned with their years of captivity. But God had zero regard for it. I don’t think it’s a good idea to wait for 70 years before we start asking questions.
Don’t have the habit of waiting till there is a fire burning in the house then you start asking where they sell fire extinguishers. Listen long before. Often times, on spiritual matters, people just dive in headfirst with no direction, thinking it is faith. But faith comes from hearing God’s word (Romans 10:17). Before you embarked on the fast, did you hear from God?
What then is that thing you have been shaking the gates of Heaven for via fasting? Could it be that God wants you to approach the matter differently?
Think about these things and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!
Next week, we will look at what God expected of them in place of their fast.
READ ALSO: WHAT IS MORE POWERFUL THAN FASTING?