Studying in Luke 4-5 and Matthew 4 this week has me thinking about fasting. And I wanted to save these insights:
“For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command
thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy
poor, and to thy needy, in thy land” (Deuteronomy 15:11).
How wide is my hand opened? Is it open at all? Why am I afraid to let it be open?
President Joseph F. Smith also counsels us to be wise in our fasting.
“There is such a thing as overdoing. A man may fast and pray till he
kills himself; and there isn’t any necessity for it; nor wisdom in it. …
The Lord can hear a simple prayer, offered in faith, in half a dozen
words, and he will recognize fasting that may not continue more than
twenty-four hours, just as readily and as effectually as He will answer a
prayer of a thousand words and fasting for a month. … The Lord will
accept that which is enough, with a good deal more pleasure and
satisfaction than that which is too much and unnecessary” (in Conference
Report, Oct. 1912, 133–34).
Am I looking beyond the mark, thinking the Lord is expecting more than "that which is enough"? Not just in fasting but in all areas of my Gospel efforts?
“Be liberal in your giving, that you yourselves may grow. Don’t give
just for the benefit of the poor, but give for your own welfare. Give
enough so that you can give yourself into the kingdom of God through
consecrating of your means and your time. Pay an honest tithing and a
generous fast offering if you want the blessings of heaven. I promise
every one of you who will do it that you will increase your own
prosperity, both spiritually and temporally. The Lord will reward you
according to your deeds” (Marion G. Romney, Welfare Agricultural
Meeting, Sept. 30, 1967; see also Marion G. Romney, “The Blessings of the Fast,” July 1982).
Do I forget that I have consecrated all of my time and means, so that they are not my own?
President Gordon B. Hinckley taught: “We hope that through the payment
of liberal fast offerings there will be more than enough to provide for
the needs of the less fortunate. If every member of this church observed
the fast and contributed generously, the poor and the needy—not only
of the Church, but many others as well, would be blessed and provided
for. Every giver would be blessed in body and spirit, and the hungry
would be fed, the naked clothed according to need” (“Rise to a Larger Vision of the Work,” Apr. 1990 general conference).
Do I trust in the Lord's promises?
