HUNGRY. That word certainly captures my feelings this week. I'm experiencing hunger on two fronts. The first and obvious would be physically due to the fact that we're into our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. No, I'm not embracing an
absolute fast (no food), but I am fasting many of the foods that I love.
It's one thing to hunger for physical food, it's another to be "hungry" spiritually. When we crave food for our body, we can easily grab a snack or consume a meal and be satisfied temporarily. When we begin to experience spiritual hunger, we become desperate for God...we crave His truth, His presence and we long to see His power at work bringing about "real change".
Matthew 5:6 (NASB) "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
I like to look at it this way…we fast to feast! We set aside those things that temporarily satisfy our "flesh", so we can feast on that which satisfies us at the center of who we are.
Here's how Matthew 5:6 reads from the Message paraphrase, "You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat."
One of the effects of fasting is that it awakens within us an appetite for that which really satisfies--Jesus! He is the bread of life and the only one who can satisfy our deepest needs!
May your spiritual hunger grow and be satisfied as you read God's Word, pray it back to Him, watch Him answer and experience His presence and power bringing about "real change"!
