26-Feb-2026 | Week 9 - 2026
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Fasting as a Key
So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?
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“Do you see how vexed God is when fasting is treated despitefully? Learn how delighted He is when fasting is honoured. When Eve was maltreated, He inflicted death as a penalty upon the insolent individual. He revoked death when she was honoured once again. Desiring to show you the power of this thing of importance, He gave her authority over the sentence, after the arrest, to snatch the prisoners from the middle of the journey and change their course toward life. And He did this not only for two or three or twenty people but also for a whole population, in the case of the great and marvelous city of the Ninevites, which had knelt and bowed its head over this pit of perdition and was expecting to suffer the blow from above. Like a heavenly power overseeing Nineveh’s charge, fasting snatched the city from these gates of death and returned Nineveh to life.”
~ St John Chrysostom
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Question 1
Have you tried to fast and ask God for forgiveness? Having a truly repentful heart when fasting makes our fast acceptable before the Lord, just like when the Lord accepted the fasting of the Ninevites.