Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?  Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail (Isaiah 58:6-11 NIV).

Fasting for me took on a new meaning the first time I read the scripture above from the book of Isaiah. The fasting that pleases God goes well beyond abstaining from foods or from certain foods for a period of time as we go before God in prayer and meditation and to make our petitions known to Him.  If we deny the needy among us and are constantly in conflict with one another, refusing to forgive and speaking maliciously against one another, God will not accept our fasting.  The fasting well pleasing to God is the one in which we continually show love and mercy to the poor, be at peace with our neighbor, bless those who curse us, and work at setting the oppressed free.  It is a way of life!  If we do this, the Lord will hear us when we pray and He will quickly answer us.  If we are moved with love and compassion one for the other, the Lord will supply all our needs, our health will be greatly improved, our souls will become like well-watered gardens and He will lead us and guide us continually.

As we come before God in fasting and in prayer, let us look within ourselves, measure ourselves by these words in the book of Isaiah chapter 58 and make sure we line up with them in our thoughts and in our actions. Let us ask God to give us eyes to see the needs of those around us, ears to hear their cry of distress and hearts that will reach out to them with love and compassion.  Let us ask God to give us hearts that are quick to forgive, that will continually bless others, that will work to build others up and to lift them up out of depressions and oppressions.  May God bless you richly as you seek to do His will today!