Chapter 58 of Isaiah is an important biblical passage that teaches us what God considers to be "true fasting."
Is this called fasting? Isaiah 58:5 ... Is this the fast that I have chosen: that by day man afflicts his soul, that he bows his head like a reed and makes a bed of rough and ashen cloth? Will you call this a fast and a pleasant day for Jehovah?
This scene is an exchange of words between the Israelites and God. The people had been fasting and felt that God was not taking notice. The Lord told them that they were fasting with wrong motives and that there were issues in their lives that needed to be addressed.
The purpose of true fasting is to break the power of the flesh. It is a time of special prayer during which the people of God seek it in a more serious way so that they and others advance. There are various ways in which people are guided to fast, if you are beginning a fast, or if you feel God's call to do so, He will guide you in your particular purpose.
The people who are mentioned in chapter 58 of Isaiah, abstained from food, but lost sight of the true meaning of fasting. God told them that they did it with wrong reasons, and that their fast would not make their voice heard in the heavens. In this verse the Lord asks them: "Is the true fasting totally mechanical, an exercise without real meaning?" Then in verses 6 through 9 it tells you what your fast should be.
That does not only mean that we must take care, you and I, to free others but that we ourselves should not remain as slaves.
The King James Version says: If the son free you, you will be truly free "(John 8:36).
We must cooperate with the spirit of God in order to break the yoke of slavery in our lives and those of those around us. If we are to liberate others, we must first be free.
Some people immerse themselves in such a way in the activity of the ministry that they forget the members of their own family and their other relatives.
In this verse the Lord makes it clear that we should not neglect each other by taking care of others. The Lord tells us here that we should not only meet the needs of those around us in the world, the poor and the naked but also those of our flesh and blood, that is, the basic family and other relatives.
It is not enough to be called. It is not enough to pray. It is not enough to read the word of God. We must also do what it says, the Word: feed the poor, clothe the naked, and not hide from our own relatives.
After all these things have been done, then verse 8 will be a reality for us.
In this verse there are some promises that inspire full confidence. But it also contains some demands, and one depends on the others.
We should thank God for His grace, and also because we do not have to, through our efforts, do things. We live grateful because before any matter that He sends us He also gives us His grace to be able to carry it out. In that way, He obtains credit and glory, not us.
But that does not mean that we should not do anything, that we can sit and wait for the Lord to do everything.
No. We must cooperate with the grace of God.
In this chapter there are many promises of peace and prosperity for us the people of God, but they are conditioned to do certain things, as we saw in the previous verse.
If our prayers are not answered, it may be because we are not doing what God clearly has not said to do.
One of the things that he has asked us to do is release the burdens of oppression in our midst and stop pointing with the threatening finger towards the oppressed or the pious. That is to judge.
When we stop judging each other, everything will start to get better in our own lives. We must also stop speaking falsehoods harshly, unfairly and perversely. In the Reina Valera version this translates this last phrase as speaking vanity. What is vain speech? The useless words of silly chats. If we are not careful, we may be guilty of speaking vanity.
"What wonderful promises" ¿When can we expect all these Blessings to come upon us?
When we stop judging each other and discard all vain, false, harsh, unfair and perverse way of speaking.
Let's not wait for God to pour out blessings on us while our mouths pour out curses on others.
Basically what the Lord says in this passage: "If you really want to enjoy my Blessings in this life, then do not go around doing your will. On the contrary, discover what I want you to do, and do it.
Do not seek your own pleasure, but seek my will first. Do not speak your own idle words, but my powerful word, because it will not return to me empty, but will produce effect, they will do what I want" (Isaiah 55:11).
If we want the Blessing of God on our life, we can not say what we want, when we feel like it. We must use our mouths to bless God, others and ourselves.
We must bring the blessings of God to our churches, to our homes, to our jobs, to our society. We do not need to preach so much to the people who are under our surroundings but to live pious lives in their presence. We must not "smell bad". We should be a sweet and pleasant aroma in Christ that pleases others and God (2 Corinthians 2: 14-15).
When we walk through life we exhale a certain aroma. Although we can not smell ourselves, the Lord does. He has a very sensitive smell. When we pray, I do not want my prayers to smell bad before the Lord, because of the words we have spoken at times different from our times of prayer.
The Bible says that God knows every word that our lips are about to express: ... for the word is not yet in my tongue and behold, or Lord, you know it all (Psalm 139: 4). He knows not only what we said yesterday, and what we are saying today, but also what we are going to say tomorrow. Moreover, He knows what we are thinking. That is why we must make the psalmist's prayer ours. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer (Psalm 19:14)