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Okay...I have to admit that I haven't done what we are about to talk about very many times. There have been a few occasions where I've fasted, so I'm not sharing out of a heart of experience but from biblical truth. May this challenge me to be more regular in fasting. First and foremost we must stray away from the current text to define fasting because Jesus does not describe it for us here, but only assumes we will do it. So, what is fasting? Fasting has always been associated with giving up food for a certain period of time in order to devote oneself to focused attention on a particular matter. Psalm 35:13 presents a scenario of fasting when David appears to be in a desperate dilemma with an opposing power who had betrayed a covenant. In Psalm 35:1-10 David lays out his situation and the sorrow of his soul as a result of his trial. David begins to talk to God about the situation and reveals a time when his accusers were in trouble and he responded with fasting and prayer and now they were turning their backs on him. Setting aside David's circumstances, he described the essence of fasting - when a heart is desperate for God to respond, he will give up things that sustain him in order to get God's attention. There are times throughout the Bible when people fast: times of punishment for sin (Joel 2:12), times when friends are in trouble (Psalm 35:13), times of personal afflictions (2 Samuel 12:16), times of danger (Esther 4:16), times of temptation (Matthew 4:1-11), and a few other things. Back to our passage...Jesus says that when you fast because of a desperate situation, do it privately and not so others will think you are spiritual. In fact, Jesus says to carry on with life as normal when you are fasting so as not to bring any attention to yourself (vv.17-18). Jesus doesn't want us to do things for show or so that others think we have this special connection with God. He wants us to be humble realizing that Christianity is not some public spectacle to see who can do the most good stuff, but rather about a humble heart that is desperate for God to respond. I'm not sure if Jesus' point was to communicate (in this passage) the ins and outs of fasting, but to keep driving home that the heart is more important than an outward show! How do you view the Christian life? Are all your actions carefully calculated to make sure others see your "spirituality"? If so, you've got it all wrong! It's not about dressing right, listening to the right kind of music, being seen at every church event, talking the spiritual talk, and all the other games we play with God. You see, God knows our heart and although we can fool others into thinking we are something, God knows who we really are...every part of us! So, quit trying to fool others. Get honest before God and surrender your heart to Him - that's what He wants! He doesn't care about all of our feeble attempts to make ourselves look good before others, He only cares about the condition of our heart.