The Lent Fast

General Christian Theology
Sudsy
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Re: The Lent Fast

Post by Sudsy »

I ran across this today in my searchings on living in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer, fasting, faith are all means to linking to the power of the Spirit. Regarding fasting here is a group in the book of Isaiah that fasted religiously and God told them He was not impressed by their fasting but then told them the fasting that He is looking for (from the Message paraphrase) - Isaiah 58:1-9 highlighting mine

1-3 “Shout! A full-throated shout!
Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout!
Tell my people what’s wrong with their lives,
face my family Jacob with their sins!
They’re busy, busy, busy at worship,
and love studying all about me.
To all appearances they’re a nation of right-living people—
law-abiding, God-honoring.

They ask me, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’
and love having me on their side.
But they also complain,
‘Why do we fast and you don’t look our way?
Why do we humble ourselves and you don’t even notice?’
3-5 “Well, here’s why:
“The bottom line on your ‘fast days’ is profit.
You drive your employees much too hard.
You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.
You fast, but you swing a mean fist.
The kind of fasting you do
won’t get your prayers off the ground.
Do you think this is the kind of fast day I’m after:
a day to show off humility?
To put on a pious long face
and parade around solemnly in black?
Do you call that fasting,
a fast day that I, God, would like?
6-9 “This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’


This text shows what God is most interested in when we fast and expect to influence God. Self sacrifice of various sorts on behalf of others over some religious practise. So for those who do practise 'Lent' and other fasting days, it would seem that God is not influenced by that practise unless it is accompanied by these other types of actions spelled out here.
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Pursuing a Kingdom life in the Spirit
Valerie
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Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2016 6:59 am
Location: Medina OH
Affiliation: non-denominational

Re: The Lent Fast

Post by Valerie »

Very true Sudsy. We have to remember, the things which God is the one who started, commanded, ordained, etc- in Israel- well they were His own idea. Often we can make the mistake of taking certain passages from the prophets and assume we are not to do the things which He is the one who started- what we need to realize instead of 'stopping' that which He started is as your post reveals, make sure we are not going through the motions with our hearts with wrong motives- obviously, Jesus said "When you fast" not "if you fast" and other passages in the New Testament that encouraged fasting. We have plenty to learn from Israel about where their hearts went astray. We can see how we can do the ritual without the right heart. All of us can be inclined to this in whatever Church setting we are a part of. We just need to continually pray through the fasting period and also consider why Jesus fasted 40 days and to what benefit. Am also mindful of how Jesus didn't call out the Pharisees for their many practices- it was with their hardened hearts. Does that mean we are more susceptible to having the wrong heart if we are doing the things that God asked us to such as fast & pray? Are we inclined to avoid some things because we are concerned of becoming like Pharisees? Possibly- lots to consider.
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