Are You Hungry

Matthew 4:2

“And when he fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”

Hungry??? You think! Most of us can’t go forty minutes, or forty hours without being hungry, much less forty days. But Jesus did it. And he did it for us!

Fasting is an ancient practice that is not observed much in modern times. Most of the time it was accompanied with sackcloth and ashes and was meant to be a sign of sorrow and repentance. Obviously, Jesus has nothing to be sorry about or to repent of, but we see just how much he identified with man after his baptism at the river Jorden. Being led of the Spirit to be tempted of the devil took preparation, spiritual preparation, and Jesus was fully prepared to face up to the challenge.

In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 17 there is a man that has a son who is demon possessed. Jesus was with Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration. So, he sought the remaining disciples to help his son by casting out the demon. They failed in their attempt. As Jesus and the other three disciples came down, the father went running to him for help. Jesus being grieved at their lack of faith and their disappointment said “Oh faithless and perverse generation. How long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you…but this kind never comes out but by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:17,21) The first thing we learn is that Fasting, and prayer gives us power over the devil. Just as Jesus overcame the devil himself, he also was able to deliver others who were under Satans power.

The second thing we learn is that Prayer and fasting humbles us. It reminds us that we are but dust and how dependent we are on God and the daily bread he provides. Jesus had the power to turn the stones to bread but did not abuse that power for his own purpose, but to use it for God’s purposes and his glory. (Matthew 4:3,4) Through fasting we learn that man is not just a physical being, but a spiritual being and the spiritual man is nourished by “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Finally, when we abstain from food and replace it with prayer and meditation, we learn what it really means to Hunger for God and spiritual things. Every time we fast, and we feel that hunger pain we are faced with the option to eat or pray. When we choose to pray then it exalts the soul over the body teaching us what it really means to be spiritual and not fleshly. We learn that “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17)

I leave you with this challenge today. Are you hungry for God? Are you hungry enough for God that you don’t want to eat? “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6) Jesus told his disciples after his encounter with the woman at the well, when they tried to get him to eat, he said “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me.” (John 4:34)

What is your desire today? Feast on the Lord Jesus and let him nourish your soul today with his presence and his word.

Pastor Robby