Fasting is an opportunity to trust in the Lord and show your need for Him.

Scripture tells us that fasting is not an “if," but a “when." It was Jesus who said "When you fast..."(Matthew 6:16). Fasting is something that God wants us to consider and use to grow closer to Him. Scripture contains examples where Jesus fasted to build intimacy with God. But He was not the only one to trust God through fasting. We see this with Esther as well. She used fasting to trust God even in the most dangerous of circumstances. Jeanne Nigro expands on Esther’s story as a model for how to fast with a purpose.

Esther trusted God through fasting in the midst of her scary and unknown situation. As you read in Joel 2:12-13, the Lord is gracious and compassionate to those who return to Him in fasting. He is abounding in love and slow to anger. God wants us to trust Him through fasting, just as Esther and Jesus did.

Apply

• Take a few minutes to come up with a plan for your fast. When will you do it? Why?
• What will you be praying for or trusting God with during your fast?
• What can you rely on God for when you fast?

Scripture

Matthew 6:16-18

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Esther 4:15-16

15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Joel 2:12-13

12 “Even now,” declares the Lord,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

13 Rend your heart

and not your garments.

Return to the Lord your God,

for he is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and abounding in love,

and he relents from sending calamity.