God calls us to love each other – Prayer for Lent #day 2. Fasting will remain one way we can set ourselves apart to seek the Lord and pray to get answers to prayers. But the question is, are we fasting the way God wants, or are we just getting ourselves hungry?
Bible Verse for Today
“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 lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?” (Isaiah 58:5)
As much as fasting is essential in the Christian life, God is more concerned about how we fast and what we call fasting. Without judging, what most call fasting is a hunger strike. So we fast, but it’s not the kind of fast God wants.
In Isaiah 58, God made clear the kind of fast that most people fast and the kind that he requires of us. Fasting and yet doing sinful things doesn’t make us fast and acceptable. If we want our fast to be permitted by God, there are things we must do – God laid down some things we should follow while fasting to accept it.
From verse 6 to verse 8 of Isaiah 58, God gave us the things we must do while fasting. One of which is showing love. If we sum up the whole of the three verses, which talk about giving to the poor and forgiving people who have offended us, we will see it is all about love. We cannot fast without displaying God’s nature, which is love.
God is love, which God requires of us when fasting. In Isaiah 58:9, God said He would answer our prayers. “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”
God Calls Us to Love Each Other Prayer for Today
Lord, thank you for opening my eyes to the fasting you required of us. I pray that you forgive me if I have been doing it the wrong way in the time past. Help me to show love to people not only when I’m fasting but every time. Let my fast be acceptable in your presence, Lord. I also pray that you give me the strength to fast and let me be answered whenever I call on you. Amen.
Also read: Lent Prayers during 40 Days
