But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:17-18 (CSB)
Yesterday Jesus talked about the show-off way to fast. The suffering look everyone could see. Now He gives His way.
Put oil on your head and wash your face. In His day, that was normal grooming. In other words: look like a regular day. Nobody should be able to tell we’re fasting. Only God.
That’s the pattern for this whole chapter. Give quietly. Pray behind a shut door. Fast with a clean face. God sees what’s done in secret. He hasn’t missed one thing we’ve done for Him. Not one.
For those who understand fasting, you could pick one meal, skip it, and use that time to pray. Tell no one. Not at dinner, not later. If skipping food isn’t safe for your health, fast from something else instead. A week of shows we’d normally watch. The idea is the same: give God something that costs us, and keep it quiet.
One more thing. Fasting together with our church is fine. The first churches did it (Acts 13). The problem was never company. It’s performing.
Jesus fasted forty days in the desert once (Matthew 4). Nobody watched but His Father. He lived His whole life that way, for God’s eyes. Then He died on the cross for us. Because of Him, God looks at us and sees children worth rewarding.