Fasting and prayer are often solitary activities. However, Isaiah 58 implies that true fasting involves others. This kind of fasting points us in the direction of community. Isaiah admonishes us to refocus on the needs of those around us – to think first, not of ourselves, but of others.

What does this look like for you today? Perhaps our fasting should take a practical, outward turn today. As we extend love to those around us – as we focus less on ourselves – we will end up experiencing more of God’s life, joy and purposes in our own lives.

“This is the kind of fasting I want:

Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;

    lighten the burden of those who work for you.

Let the oppressed go free,

    and remove the chains that bind people.

Share your food with the hungry,

    and give shelter to the homeless.

Give clothes to those who need them,

    and do not hide from relatives who need your help.”       ~ Isaiah 58