A Matter of the Heart: Why Some Christians Can Pray, Fast, and Give but Nothing Changes
Fasting and prayer without the right heart & giving to the poor miss the heart of God. (Isaiah 58)
Jesus is not interested in religious performance, what He wants from us is humility, mercy, and justice.
Many people fast and pray because they want something from God. But that isn’t what God wants.
He wants our hearts.
God is good and He is generous, but He is not transactional.
We should make petitions and ask God for the things that we desire, because He cares about the desires of our hearts. (Philippians 4:6)
But fasting and prayer should never be used as the mechanism to try to get what we want from Him in a formulaic way.
The line between doing this the “right way” but with the wrong heart can get blurry if we are not vigilant.
When we attempt to do “good things” in order to get a response from God, it grieves Him because it means we don’t understand Him.
If you have ever done that, you are not the only one.
In my journey with God, I have fallen short in this way at times.
God understands. He is gracious. He helped me to understand where I was missing it so I could turn back to Him, because I wasn’t trying to do the wrong thing.
To be honest, I don’t think most people who do this mean to do it.
But you need to know that this hurts God’s heart. And now that you know this, He is calling you back to Him to make it right.
This is how you can come back to Him with clean hands and a pure heart. (Psalm 24:3–4)
On Fasting:
As you fast, make your focus friendship with God and alignment with His will.
Fasting is not only abstaining from food for a certain period of time.
If you don’t eat, but your heart is not turning towards Jesus, the only benefit is physical, not spiritual. (Matthew 6)
If there is a spiritual benefit, but the fasting is displeasing God, then where is it coming from?
It is coming from another source. That source is not Jesus.
That fasting is not from faith in Jesus, which means it misses the mark and is sinful.
People of all different religions fast. Witches fast. Buddhists fast. Hindus fast. Muslims fast. Satanists fast.
Even Jezebel in the Bible fasted to kill Naboth and take his vineyard. (1 Kings 21)
People of other religions are not fasting to Jesus. Jezebel fasted, but it was not to please Yahweh or do His will.
Which means, not all fasting is to Jesus. Not all fasting pleases Him. This is what Isaiah 58 is all about.
If Jesus wants you to extend your fasting to other areas beyond food, ask Him what areas He wants you to consecrate and how He wants you to do it.
In the Bible, there are times where Daniel fasted, and times where he consecrated. (Daniel 9:3, Daniel 10:2–3)
Both of them kill the sinful nature and please God if they are done in the way He instructs.
Holy Spirit can and will often give very specific parameters and instructions based on where you are in your walk with Him and what He desires to help you grow in.
When your fast is focused on being in God’s will and not doing your own will, this is what separates fasting to Jesus from fasting like the religious or the Pharisees. (Matthew 6:16–18)
On Prayer:
As you pray, ask God to reveal what He wants you to pray about and how He wants you to pray.
Prayer is not just speaking to God, but also listening. If we should be slow to speak with others, then it is wise to be even slower to speak to God. (James 1:19, Ecclesiastes 5:2)
If you are only declaring what you want and using scriptures to back it, but you are not making sure it is what Jesus wants you to pray for, is the prayer being led by Holy Spirit or by your flesh?
This is how righteous intentions can turn into praying amiss without us realizing it.
Then you can miss what God has for you, not because He doesn’t want to give it to you, but because your desire has been exalted above Him. (James 4:3)
When you ask God what to pray for, you can be confident that He will answer your prayer, in His perfect timing.
Our Testimony:
This heart posture was crucial for Jaika and me when we were dating and helped us go from dating to marriage within 3 weeks! An unfathomable miracle that God truly gets all the glory for.
We have been married 5 years now, and have been advancing the kingdom and equipping followers of Jesus together as husband and wife from the beginning.
But only because we committed to hearing God and doing things His way and not according to our own desires and plan.
Miracles cannot be mimicked, but I can say with confidence that when you commit to doing life God’s way, things work out in His perfect timing.
So as you pray, take more of the time to listen than speak. That is the best way to learn how to hear God in a practical way.
Even if it is one word or a short phrase, or even a picture in your mind, write it down. Steward it well.
Ask God questions about it. God is eager to speak when you are willing to listen and obey.
On Giving:
As you give, do it in secret and don’t pat yourself on the back for it.
It doesn’t have to be a lot. Jesus says the widow who gave a small amount of money was more generous than the people who gave a lot more money. (Luke 21:1–4)
Have no shame if you feel you don’t have a lot.
Generosity is measured by the heart, not how much you are able to give in the natural.
Even if you are lacking in money, ask God how you can give.
Get creative. He will help you in this process if you let Him.
Be generous, knowing that God is generous, and those that help the poor will be rewarded by God. (Proverbs 19:17)
Ask God to grant you repentance and cleanse your heart from any mixed motives, for the pure in heart will see God. (Matthew 5:8)
When we have the right heart and do the right things with the right heart, we can approach God with confidence, knowing that He cares about our hearts and desires. (Psalm 37:4)
When we commit to this as a body of believers, we will advance the kingdom of God like never before. Regardless of denomination or creed, these are practices that we can all do.
This will bring greater unity to the Body of Christ and display Jesus to the world in a new way, by returning to the old path. (Jeremiah 6:16)
Even in the book of Acts, when the apostles appointed the deacons to make sure the widows were taken care of practically with food, the Church began to grow. (Acts 6:1–7)
We cannot ask God for revival and growth without being able and willing to commit to the widow, the poor, and the orphan. (James 1:27, James 2:15–17)
But this is not just a practice for the few or the “spiritually elite.”
This is the heart and the call of Jesus for all of those who are His disciples.
Gather a small group to do this within your local church.
If you are not in a local church, find other followers of Jesus who are willing to do this with you.
If you need help, feel free to reach out, and Jaika and I would be more than happy to help you do this wherever you are located.
We also have free video, audio, and written resources and courses that can help you step by step with anything that we have written about here as well so that you can move forward in your journey with God with confidence.
Where even 2 or 3 are gathered, He is present with us. A threefold cord is not easily broken. (Matthew 18:20, Ecclesiastes 4:12)
Don’t underestimate what God can do if even just one person is willing to begin living this way for Him.
But we can’t do this from duty. To do this the right way is impossible without Jesus.
But with God, all things are possible! (Mark 10:27)