Real Hunger
Fasting is a struggle against the flesh and is emotionally and physically demanding; in this we discover what we really hunger for. There is great truth to this statement. Fasting has a way of revealing what we will fight for. If our flesh continues to dictate our mindsets, followed by our choices and ultimate outcomes, we can’t really scratch our heads in wonder of why God isn’t hearing our prayers. Hunger provides a sense of lack, need or craving. Can you imagine what our relationship with God would be like if we pursued Him with the same commitment in satisfying our own fleshly cravings? Fasting is the thing that we as believers and followers of Jesus Christ are encouraged to do as a means to check how much of our flesh is influencing our relationship with God.
Deuteronomy 8:2 -3 tells us, “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
“Do you have a hunger for God” If we don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because we have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because we have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Our soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great. If we are full of what the world offers, then perhaps fast might express, or even increase, our soul’s appetite for God. Between the dangers of self-denial and self-indulgence is the path of pleasant pain called “fasting.” – John Piper
Let it be our prayer: Father in heaven, as I move forward in this fast, help me to turn every hunger pain, thought or craving towards you. Teach me to feed on your word and to find a deep satisfaction in your truth. Today, Father, I want to experience the sweetness of your word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.