Fasting The Right Way – Isaiah 58 Teaches Us How To Fast

Isaiah was a prophet of God in the days when the Israelites lived in their promised land. So God passed His messages through Him to His people. And Isaiah 58 was one of those messages God gave about the right way to fast. 

God told Isaiah to tell the Israelites about their rebellion and sin. In those days, the Israelites were living apart from the Will of God. 

Here is what God said – 

God says, day after day, the Israelites seek Him out; they seem eager to know His way as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of Him. 

God says they ask Him for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 

God says the Israelites ask – “why have we fasted, and You have not seen it?” “Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?”

Yet, God said, “on the day of their fasting, they do as they please, and exploit all the workers.”

“their fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists.” 

God says, “they can not fast as they do today and expect their voice to be heard on high.”

God is asking if this is the kind of fasting He has 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? The Lord is asking, is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to The Lord?

Is not this kind of fasting I have chosen, says The Lord:

• To lose 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 turn away from your own flesh and blood?

The Lord says when we do these.

Your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear. Then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of The Lord will be your rear guard. 

Then you will call, and The Lord will say: “Here I Am.”

The Lord says, “if you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spread yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the need of the oppressed – Then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 

The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. 

You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose water never fail. 

Everything The Lord has spoken through Isaiah thus far is also applicable to us. And if we follow the proper way to fast that is pleasing to God, we will enjoy His Faithful benefits as well. 

From verses 12 of Isiah 58, The Lord is talking to the people of Israel at the time. 

The Lord said to the Israelites, “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairers of Broken Walls, Restorer of street with Dwellings. 

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my Holy day if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s Holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father, Jacob.”

For the Mouth of The Lord has spoken. 

In Short, this is the fasting The Lord wants us to do

• He does not want us to take one day to be humble because we are fasting. But humbleness should be the lifestyle of a Christian. 
• The Lord does not want us to quarrel and indulge in behavior that He disapproves of.
• The fasting The Lord wants is for us to have mercy and help the poor and people who live under harsh conditions. If we can help them come out of those conditions, we should help them. Also, we can go into intercessory prayers for God’s power to move to help His people. 
• He wants us to share our food with the hungry and to provide the wanderer with shelter. The Lord wants us to buy food for those who can not afford it, and also, if you can, you can probably pay someone else’s rent for them if your money can afford it. 
• If you have clothes that you don’t wear anymore, you may give your clothes to someone who may need them and help your family if they ask you for help. 
• The Lord says when we do these things, then automatically, your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear. Then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of The Lord will be your rear guard.
• Then you will call on The Lord, and He will say, “Here I Am.”
• The Lord says when you do away with the malicious talk and take care of the hungry and the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your light will become like the noonday. 
• The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. 
• You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose water never fail. 

I encourage you to study and meditate on Isaiah 58 and ask The Holy Spirit to give you an understanding of the scriptures.