Prayer and Fasting- Part 2- God’s Chosen Fast

 Prayer and Fasting- 2

January 6, 2026

Isaiah 58:6-7 (NKJV) 

6 “[Is] this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 [Is it] not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your housethe poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Matthew 22:36-40 (NKJV) 

36 “Teacher, which [is] the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is [the] first and great commandment. 39 “And [the] second [is] like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

There are three main points in Isaiah’s discourse on fasting in chapter 58:

1. Praying for others
2. Promises for pleasing God
3. Loving God

This is similar to Matthew 22 where Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord and the second was to love your neighbor. Therefore, the first purpose for fasting is to deny yourself and turn your focus to others. You should pray for the healing and deliverance for the oppressed, but your prayers should have legs. If you see your neighbor hungry, you should actually go feed him. But the first step is to stop thinking only about yourself. Fasting is a discipline that denies your hunger for a time and helps you to think beyond your own physical needs. The fast that God chooses is one which will break bonds of wickedness. In Mark 9, we see the story of the disciples praying for an oppressed boy, but they were unable to cast out the demon. Jesus said the thing they were lacking was prayer and fasting.

Mark 9:28-29 (NKJV) 

28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Whycould we not cast it out?” 29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

So as you enter into this time of prayer and fasting, pray for others and ask the Lord what it is that you should do to demonstrate your love for your neighbor. You should not fast to be seen by men, but your fasting should have an effect on your neighbor as they experience the Love of God through your actions.