“Fast Ye for Me”

As Esther prepared to place her life in danger by entering the throne room uninvited, she made a simple request to her cousin and guardian, Mordecai:

Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

Esther 4:16

Even without mentioning God, as the book of Esther never does, the purpose of the fast is clear: to seek divine assistance. After all, Moses and Elijah had both fasted as they approached God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:28; 1 Kings 19:4-8). And David had fasted and pleaded with God on behalf of his son with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:16, 21-23).

The Book of Mormon makes clear what these stories leave implicit: fasting is intended to accompany prayer. When Alma the Younger was immobilized after seeing an angel, his father and the other priests “began to fast, and to pray to the Lord their God that he would open the mouth of Alma, that he might speak, and also that his limbs might receive their strength” (Mosiah 27:22). Alma later explained to the people of Zarahemla that he had “fasted and prayed many days” for a personal testimony of spiritual truths (Alma 5:46). And Jesus visited His disciples as they were “united in mighty prayer and fasting” (3 Nephi 27:1). Multiple times, the Book of Mormon also emphasizes the sanctifying effect of a sustained practice of prayer and fasting (see Omni 1:26; Alma 17:3; Helaman 3:35).

Fasting as a religious practice appears in the Old Testament 46 times in 38 verses, but it is only explicitly linked with prayer three times (Nehemiah 1:4; Psalm 35:13; Daniel 9:3). In contrast, in the Book of Mormon, fasting is coupled with prayer 14 out of 20 times. The relationship between fasting and prayer is unmistakable in the Book of Mormon.

Today I will consider upcoming needs which might benefit from both prayer and fasting. I will plan my next fast intentionally, recognizing it as an opportunity to seek God’s assistance.