INTRODUCTION

The people of God came to the Lord desiring to know if they should continue weeping and fasting as they had done for so many years. In turn, the Lord asks the people if they ever fasted unto Him. In other words, were they fasting for the Lord or to be seen of men? The motive of fasting is also addressed in Matthew 6. Fasting should never be done in order to please men, nor to draw their praise. Fasting should be done privately between the believer and the Lord. The rewards of fasting are lost when the motive of fasting is improper. Hypocrites make sure that people know they are fasting in order to receive the praise of men, but a true believer seeks only to please the Lord.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

• (For smaller children)  Biblical fasting is a decision by a person to go without food for a period of time. It lets God know that the person wants to draw closer to Him and is very concerned about something. The person should talk to God often during this time.
• Why do you fast? When you fast, do you hope that others will find out and praise you for your devotion to the Lord? Why do you think this is so?
• What is the proper motive for fasting? What are some reasons why we might fast? How can we ensure that we fast for the right reasons?

PRAYER NEEDS

• Ask the Lord to help your motives to be pure.
• Ask the Lord to help you avoid the actions of the hypocrite.

HYMN

Take Time to Be Holy

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