Title

Unto the Lord?

Scripture
Say to all the people . . . “When you fasted and mourned . . . did you really fast for Me - for Me?”
(Zechariah 7:5)
Devotional
The apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.”(1) Why do we do the things that we do? Do we pray and work to be seen by men or to the glory of God? With regard to fasting, there are two basic biblical reasons for fasting: mourning (2) and prayer. (3) Fasting, as of late, appears to be in vogue. People fast to lose weight, cleans their bodies, and I’m sure a myriad of other good reasons. These in themselves in many instances are beneficial, but not necessarily the fast of which the Lord calls. Let us make sure that the external reasons we do the things that we do are internally honest. If, for example, we fast for physical reasons, do not pretend that it is for spiritual reasons. Nevertheless, I imagine that one can do both in tandem. Whether we serve in the church or fast or what ever we do, let us hear these words from the Lord, “Did you really do it for me - for Me?”

(1) 2 Corinthians 13:5, (2) Jonah 3:5, (3) 1 Corinthians 7:5
Text For The Day
Zechariah 7:5: “Say to all the people…, ‘When you fasted and mourned…, did you really fast for Me—for Me?’”
Thought For The Day
“Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God.” John Piper, author and pastor, A Hunger for God (Crossway, 1997).
 
Questions To Ponder
Morning Study Guide
Defining:  “Fast”: Refraining from eating for a period-of-time for the sake of denying the physical body for the sake of drawing attention to the need for repentance, expressing grief, various afflictions or spiritual battles.
 
Referencing: “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:21
 
Applying: When you fast, make sure that prayer is part of your fast. Without prayer, you are merely not eating. Break each night of fasting (before breakfast, breaking-the-fast) with prayer and fellowship with God.