DAY 6
Let's look at another guideline from Jesus about prayer and fasting found in Matthew chapter 6:16.
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full."
Jesus warned us not to fast like the "hypocrites". A hypocrite is someone who is only interested in looking good on the outside. They have no interest in being truly good on the inside. A hypocrite is a performer who plays a particular part which they think will gain them personal advantage. A hypocrite wants to enjoy all the benefits of being considered good without actually having to change.
When we fast and pray we should do it with the purest motives. Our inward motives and our outward actions should be in agreement. We should desire that God would not only answer the petition that we are making but also that we would be changed on the inside and become more like Christ ourselves. There has never been a time when I fasted the way Jesus told us to and it didn't change me.
So, when you fast, don't fast like the hypocrites do. Realize that even though fasting has the external element of physical deprivation, it is a spiritual exercise. It will test your motives and your sincerity.