OUR FATHER WHO ANSWERS THOSE WHO FAST ACCORDING TO RIGHTEOUSNESS

The book of Isaiah chapter 58 verses 4 - 7 says this;

Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves?

Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?

Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

This passage reprimands God's people for improperly handling the institution of fasting.

Whereas fasting provides a priority channel into the administration of heaven, there are ways to nullify the efficacy of fasting where we sustain an;

• atmosphere of contention
• atmosphere of strife
• atmosphere of violence

The rudiments of fasting (like humbling oneself, dressing in sackcloth and covering with ashes) are not supposed to be the only components of the practice.

Here, the Lord gives a full prescription of fasting beyond the basics;

• Mitigate the effects of injustice
• Remove entanglements of oppression
• Free the oppressed from their captors
• Destroy the strongholds of oppression
• Provide food for the hungry
• Provide shelter for the wanderers
• Provide clothing for them with no clothing
• Be attentive to the needs of our neighbours

Fasting that includes adherance to these provisos will garner the attention of the Lord and when we need Him and reach out to Him, He will respond as it says in verse 9;

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

Amen.

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