Some wonder, "How do I fast while continuing to work, take care of my family, and just live life in general?" When you put the Lord first, He supernaturally and divinely orders your day so that you are able to accomplish the important things according to His will. The urgent no longer overshadows the important, and things that seemed pressing suddenly fall away, no longer significant in His great kingdom plan. This means that the Lord will give you the grace, energy, and sustenance to care for your essential responsibilities while you are fasting. Necessary work and caring for your family fits the category of "essential responsibilities". The key is to prioritize the Lord above all else, to seek His guidance in all things, and to trust Him every step of the way. You must also have the courage and obedience to forsake opportunities and tasks on your list if God's priorities prove different from yours.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)

In the account of Jesus' desert temptation, both Matthew and Luke record that, at the end of His 40-day fast, "He was hungry". Jesus, fully man and fully God, experienced every emotion and sensation as His children do: hunger, weakness, tiredness. The significant difference, of course, is that even in His weakened state, Jesus perfectly avoided temptation and sin. He did so by completely relying on the Word of God. Jesus knows that you will feel weak, hungry, sick, and even afraid at times, but He will sustain you in ways you never thought possible. To receive that sustenance, you must persevere in trust and faithfulness.

"Jesus answered, 'It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " (Matthew 4:4)

The Great Commandment, as Jesus replied to the Pharisees in Matthew 22:37-38 is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."

Fasting, as outlined in Isaiah 58, accomplishes both the first and second greatest commandments and also highlights the "true" fast (indicated by actions representative of Christ's character) as opposed to the "legalistic" fast (indicated by actions representative of arrogant, sinful, and unrepentant human hearts).