grievous, sacred moment. As we will show in the chapter that follows, people fasted in the Bible in response to some grievous event in life—like death or the realization of sin or when the nation was threatened. Fasting, then, is a natural, inevitable response of a person to a grievous sacred moment. Does it bring results? Yes, but that’s not the point of fasting. Those who fasted in response to grievous sacred moments frequently—but not always!—received results, like answered prayer. But focusing on the