We have chosen different ways to participate in this fast. Some of us are fasting from certain foods, some from Facebook or other electronic distractions, some from caffeine or alcohol. No matter what the chosen item is, the purpose of the fast is the same: we are trying to become more focused on God. We are either denying ourselves something we enjoy as a way of reminding us that God is our sufficiency and our highest desire. Or we are trying to eliminate things in our daily lives that take time and energy away from our communion with God. We are trying to become more single-hearted.
Our hearts are the center of who we are. When the scriptures talk about the heart, it is not just the seat of emotion, but of our wills and our intellect. We are to, above all else, guard our heart, for it is the wellspring of life—for out of it are the issues of life. (Prov. 4:23) So our commitment to fasting in order to become more single-hearted is addressing what God considers to be of utmost importance. And He doesn’t leave it up to us to achieve on our own. He has promised to help us do this. In Jeremiah 32:39 He says, “I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good.”
What a gold mine of gifts! God promises to give us singleness of heart and action so that we will delight in worshiping Him and He will rejoice in showering us and our children with goodness forever! And He repeats that promise through Ezekiel: “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them…They will be My people and I will be their God.”
“Heavenly Father, please give me that undivided heart; a heart that believes You are better than anything this world has to offer. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.”
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