Matthew 6:16 – And when you fast, don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. (NLT)

I once fasted, but not from food.

I suddenly found myself saddled with two car payments. Knowing that I couldn't afford both, I had a decision to make. One of the vehicles would have to go. One was a new Chevrolet Tracker that I had just purchased. The other was a used Chevrolet S-10 pickup. The solution came not in selling one but in withdrawing my retirement savings so that I could pay off one of them. I chose the Tracker, and then I gave it to my daughter, who was about to leave for college.

The decision to give up the Tracker was difficult. I had planned to use it on my monthly hiking escapades in the mountains. Love, however, led me to give it up for a higher purpose.

Fasting requires letting go. Often, food is in question — as it was when Jesus addressed the religious hypocrites who thought that they did such an excellent job at it. Like most of what they did, they did this with ulterior motives. They wanted others to notice them.

Abstaining from food or certain foods for a time has never been my forte, but God has shown me a few other things that I need to take a break from. Sin is one. Instead of seeing how close that I can come to sin without sinning, I need to stay as far away from it as possible. God has given us a new nature, and we must avoid the "old person" with a passion. When we give our lives to Christ, our old self is crucified with Him, and we die to the old way of living, walking instead in obedience to Christ's commands.

When I choose to go on a fast for God, it should also be because I want to draw closer to Him. Good and not-so-good attractions that attempt to distract us from God pepper this world. Giving up whatever prevents us from clinging close to His side is always a good fast.

Fasting for God is an individual choice. God won't force us to fast for Him. We must voluntarily let go of those things that keep us from a closer walk with Him. What can you let go of that will move you closer to God?

Prayer: Father, take away those things that prevent me from being all that You want me to be. Amen.