I'm So Hungry!

Whenever we fast from food, the chief struggle (or at least this is true for me) is the pangs of hunger. If we're not careful, we'll forget to pray for focusing on our hunger.

When I think of Moses or Daniel or Jesus or the early Christians fasting, I can't help but believe that they were plagued with hunger like we are. But the real question is, "Were they hungry because they fasted or did they fast because they were hungry?"

"Fast because they were hungry?!? You sure you said that right?"

Herein is the key to prayer, fasting, and the power of God. What are we most hungry for when we fast? Food or God? I think that one of the values of fasting, beyond the humility that such self-denial can bring, is the discovery that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). We discover that we need God more than we need our next meal. So, ideally, we should fast because we're hungry...hungry for God.

One of my favorite stories in the life of Jesus is found in John 4 when Jesus and His disciples had gone to Samaria. He sent His disciples on into town to buy food while He stayed behind (little did they know but Jesus had an divine appointment with a Samaritan woman at the well). When the disciples returned, they urged Jesus to eat.

Jesus replied, "I have food to eat that you do not know about" (32). Obviously the disciples were puzzled by Jesus' words, so He clarified His statement by saying, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work" (34). Those words seriously humble me. Could I honestly make such a statement? Yet fasting reminds us that we need God more than anything.

So the next time you're fasting from food and the hunger hits your hard, say (maybe even out loud?), "I'm so hungry...for God!" Be encouraged...spiritual breakthrough is coming!