fasting ?

[tturt]

Based on how I read Matt 6 when we fast we're not to do it in a public way; otherwise, we've already gotten our reward. Matt 6 "That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."

So when everyone in church is encouraged to go on a fast for a specific time, have we already gotten our reward? I've looked for any verses about letting others know when we fast and been unsuccessful but I could have overlooked it. What am I missing? Is individual fasting looked at differently than corporate fasting? Or is this part of the body being united together for a common purpose and that overrides the above verse?

 

[Starpuppy]

Based on how I read Matt 6 when we fast we're not to do it in a public way; otherwise, we've already gotten our reward. Matt 6 "That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."

So when everyone in church is encouraged to go on a fast for a specific time, have we already gotten our reward? I've looked for any verses about letting others know when we fast and been unsuccessful but I could have overlooked it. What am I missing? Is individual fasting looked at differently than corporate fasting? Or is this part of the body being united together for a common purpose and that overrides the above verse?

hi sister tturt

the reason of fasting is to gain spiritually stronger and a connection and promise to the Lord

with that said, fasting is yours and your choice alone for the duration you want to

the reason for corporate fast is that the stronger brothers/sisters can help the weaker brother/sisters when in temptation

hope that helps

 

[Faulty]

Fasting don't operate under the same governing principles as birthday wishes, that is if we tell anyone what the wish was, then it won't come true.

Fasting is an act of humility. The warnings are against turning the act of humility into an act of sinful pride, "Oh, look at me and see that I'm fasting. Aren't I pious?"

In an atmosphere of corporate fasting, exactly who would be impressed you haven't eaten anything for two or three days, when no one else has eaten anything either? No one at all, that's who.

 

[pinkputter]

I agree with other posts.

I can't find any grounds for a group fasting to be unscriptural. Esp in the setting of a church. A leader says, OK all, we are all going on a fast. Well, not everyone is going to participate, right? I mean you wouldn't be able to know. So then, once you decide as a group to fast, I think God will reward those who humble themselves and sacrifice, like the bible says, without others knowing. The moment you say, wow, I haven't eaten for this many hours and it's taking a toll (or whatever). That's when you've kind of given in to the purpose of the fast, and I'm not so sure God will reward.. or reward as much rather.

Again, as are most matters with God, it's where the heart is. We are given instruction in the bible about how to fast. Follow it as closely as possible and just keep your love for God and others as your motivation. That's what matters most. God bless

 

[tturt]

Thanks.

 

[Leimeng]

~ Fasting gets the flesh out of the way so the Spirit of the Lord finds your human spirit more receptive to His work...
~ This can be done corporately or privately.
~ It works even better with a consistant diet of praying in tongues coupled with worship...
~ Continue to discuss amongst yourselves...

Peace,

Leimeng

Flatulo Ergo Sum ~~~

(***Insert Personal One Liner Here***)

 

[berean77]

There is a difference between fasting as a Church and individual fasting.

Corporate fasting does not contradict the Scriptures because it is a time when the entire congregation humbles themselves as the Body of Christ and seeks after God. Everyone is participating, everyone knows what is going on, and everyone is doing so with a cheerful heart because God does not despise the broken and contrite heart. The same rules apply to people outside of that congregation in that they are not supposed to walk around parading they are on a fast, or let their countenance hang low, etc. Same rules for fasting apply.

Individual fasting is between you and God alone. Nobody knows you are fasting; not your brothers and sisters in Church, not the minister(s), not even your spouse (unless the fast is for a certain time in which case you and your spouse must agree together to abstain from physical contact so the time would be given to prayer). Same rules for fasting apply.

The purpose of fasting is found summarized in Isaiah 58:5-8. It is a time for you and God to commune together. It is a time to break free from bondage, a time to seek God's perfect will for your life, a time to humble yourself and seek God's face, a time to supplicate before your God, etc.

The "reward" in fasting comes from God if done the right way. Both corporate and individual fasting align with the Scriptures. Just for reference, here are two examples of corporate fasting in the Old Testament:

1) Jehosephat proclaimed a fast for all Judah (2 Chronicles 20:3)
2) Ezra proclaimed a fast (Ezra 8:21)

 

[paul1149]

I think the essence of what Jesus was saying didn't refer to the type of fast or who was doing it, but to the motivation of the fast. In Acts 13 we have the church at Antioch fasting, and surely there are other examples of corporate fasting. And fasts don't have to concern food only. They can be in regard to anything we need to forgo in order to draw closer to the Lord.

But if in our fasting our eyes wander to how we look to others, that's the only place we'll get any reward from. That leads to the error on display in Is 58, where all sorts of technical fasting was done, but the plain issues of the heart were not touched.

Mt 6 is about motivation, not modality. I've even heard Christians erroneously say there is no place for corporate prayer, because we're only supposed to pray alone in our closet. But there are far too many scriptures that contradict that, and the fruit of corporate praying and corporate fasting is beyond proven at this point.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Based on how I read Matt 6 when we fast we're not to do it in a public way; otherwise, we've already gotten our reward. Matt 6 "That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."

So when everyone in church is encouraged to go on a fast for a specific time, have we already gotten our reward? I've looked for any verses about letting others know when we fast and been unsuccessful but I could have overlooked it. What am I missing? Is individual fasting looked at differently than corporate fasting? Or is this part of the body being united together for a common purpose and that overrides the above verse?

I realize this thread is over a decade old, but never too late to join the party!

In Acts we see many times where entire bodies of believers are fasting together for various reasons. In Acts 13 elders, prophets, and others fast for direction from the Holy Spirit and the Spirit responds.

So I'd say no, that asking an entire church body to fast is not violating the spirit or essence of what Jesus said in Matthew 6. His comments were more geared towards people who went about promoting the fact that they were so much holier and religious than others because they were fasting. Like, you get your reward on earth because people see what you are doing and they say oh what a seeker of God... But God sees the heart of that person. A heart full of pride and other wickedness. Such a person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.