Esther 4:16 (ESV)

“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”

In my previous posts on Esther I made reference to a call to prayer. The truth is, neither the word “God” nor a reference to prayer is ever made. Mordecai fasted. Esther asked the Jews to fast for three days. Esther and her attendants also fasted for three days. Fasting is so connected to prayer that I made the leap from fasting to prayer. Fasting is intricately connected to prayer. Fasting is a way to listen to God. Fasting is a physical act of prayer. Fasting is a form of intense prayer. It is not inappropriate to say that they were praying, but technically they were called to fast.

Matthew and Mark record a time early in Jesus’ ministry when he was asked about fasting. “And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Mt 9:15 ESV). Fasting has not been a major part of my faith tradition, although I have fasted a number of times over the years. Jesus did not say that fasting would no longer be appropriate for the church. He just indicated that it was not appropriate when he was there with them. Acts 13 and 14 indicate that the early church practiced fasting in connection with ordaining people to ministry and appointing elders. Polycarp, one of the early church fathers, wrote to the church in Philippi about 150AD that they should be fasting in order to guard themselves against the temptation of false teachers. Fasting, then, is a part of our faith as believers in Jesus Christ.

It makes me wonder what would happen if, instead of the church calling for more delegates to caucuses and conventions and more involvement in the political process, we called for a nationwide fast among believers? What if we were more concerned about preserving God’s people than about preserving our way of life? What if we were more concerned about pursuing God than about pursuing the perfect political candidate? I have appreciated Franklin Graham’s focus on prayer rather than on a particular political party throughout this election. Maybe we need to pray more, fast more, and debate less. What would happen if God’s people truly sought God over the next four months? What would happen if God’s people put as much energy into prayer and fasting as we typically put into the political process? What would happen if God’s people acted as though everything depended on him instead of everything depending on us? What would happen if God’s people were actually desperate for God? What would happen if, in our desperation for God, we were so passionate about God that we forgot to eat? What would happen if the whole church in America took three days to fast, praying and listening to God, before we took any action? What would happen? I wonder?