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Luke 5:33-35
In addressing this passage, we must first ask the question, “Why did/do people fast?” Throughout Scripture we will find people fasting, and the command from God in the Old Testament and from Jesus in the New Testament to fast. The reasons for fasting may be and are different, but the one common denominator is that person’s desire to draw close to God. For whatever the reason, whether it be in deep need for God to intercede in preventing disaster, or for healing, or for praise in thanksgiving, there is always a “crying out to God in prayer” that is present with fasting.
To implement fasting in our lives can show several important factors in our relationship with God:
(1) It can show a deep desire to connect with God on a spiritual level that exceeds our need for nourishment. One cannot go without food for too long without dying physically. In the same way, one cannot go too long without obtaining a deep desire to have a spiritual relationship with God through salvation in Jesus without dying spiritually.
(2) It can show a dependence on God and a submission to God in that by skipping a meal or two, and spending that time in prayer, will help us to realize and express the need for God’s will in our lives and our submission to it.
(3) As in times of need, there is also a time of praise. And to show that giving praise to God in submission to Him while fasting is a way of showing that God is most important to us in our daily lives. These are not all the reasons that we fast, and we must also realize that fasting is only temporary. But the reasons why we fast in seeking a spiritual relationship with God and the desire for that relationship to continually grow in submission to Him, and in giving Him all the glory that He is the Almighty God, is the spiritual life that will last forever.
In the first parable about the bridegroom, Jesus is referring to Himself, and being in the present there is no need to fast. Once Jesus has been crucified, risen, and ascends to heaven, He will no longer be physically in the world. Then the need to fast will be present in the desire for His return in receiving us to Himself. John 14:1-6 states, “‘Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.’
“Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?’
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
This is an example of fasting and the need for it.
Fasting is something that still today is practiced by many Christians, but as we fast we must also remember why we fast and to do it with a sincere heart to God. To just skip a meal or two to simply say that we fasted is not its intended purpose. When we fast, we should spend that time in prayer with God as we petition Him to intercede in our lives and as we give Him praise for being the one true Almighty God.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for this example of fasting that represents a time of sincerely seeking Your intervention in our lives. To come to You in prayer with a sincere heart while passing up a meal is a great way to show that You are most important in our lives. It is in these times of need and praise that we truly submit our lives to You. Please help us to grow in our relationship with You as a result of this time of fasting and submission to Your almighty power. In Jesus name I pray, amen.