Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?
The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. — Matthew 9:14-15

Do you fast?

The disciples of John the Baptist is asking Jesus question: “How come they do not?” But Jesus in his reply is indirectly asking: “Why do you fast?” On our walk of faith as Christians, we should always be aware of falling into mannerism, to do thing for the sake of doing them. The question the Lord is asking we should always ask ourselves: “Why do I do what I do?”

Sure there are benefits in just obeying the Lord without question, in fact by faith we should not always know the ‘why’ before obeying the Lord’s commandment by stepping out in faith. But, after we obey, we should not simply be a robot and do it just because we were told to. God gave us intellect to think about the why, and the Lord seeks for ‘cheerful’ givers (2 Co 9:7) – those who are doing what they do out of their hearts.

So why do we fast? In fact let’s go one step further, why do we do anything as part of our Christian faith?

Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?

When we are in the presence of Jesus Christ, who is our bridegroom, it calls for celebration not mourning. The Lord is saying: who mourns during the joyful union of love? So why do we attend services, prayer meetings, Bible studies and personal devotions? Surely it is to seek for the presence of the Lord, and to be joyful in that presence. Let us not do these things simply as a religious routine, and therefore emotionlessly or even grudgingly. As we come to the Lord, let’s come with a heart of anticipation to find His presence and the joy that comes with His presence.

Then, coming back to the original question: why should we fast?

The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

When is the Lord far away from us? Actually the Lord is the Immanuel God, He is NEVER far from us. But often WE are the ones who are far from Him. And very often it happens when our bellies are full, when we’re in the land of ‘Milk and Honey’. Too often, we forget about God when we don’t need Him, and we only crawl back to God when we encounter crisis of some kind (Just like the Jews in the Promise Land, only turning back to God when neighbouring countries invade).

The very act of fasting, which will be well understood by those who have practiced it, makes our physical body weak, and in those moments when our stomachs growl in hunger, it enables us to remember God, it reminds us that we need Him. That if we do not go to Him, our spirits thirst and hunger for Him like deer pants for streams of water.

Fasting brings us back into His presence.

So let’s hear the question made by the Lord today to each of us: Why do you fast? Why do you go to service? Why do you pray? Let us prepare our answers to respond to our Lord today.