Are You Hungry For God?
He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.
-Genesis 25:30-34 (NIV)
We should all be hungry for God. Fasting isn't just about not eating or depriving ourselves of food. Instead, it is about feeding the malnourished parts of our spiritual life. We see many stories in the Bible that have to do with food:
In 2 Kings 6, there is a famine that has hit Samaria. The famine was so severe that two mothers agreed to eat and boil their sons.
In Genesis 25:19-34, Esau sells the spiritual blessing of his birthright for a bowl of beans.
In Luke 15:11-32, the Prodigal Son eats pig food until he realizes that even his father's servants eat better. It was hunger that pulled him out of his sin.
Hunger is influencing our lives for better or for worse. There is a hunger hormone in our body called ghrelin. This hormone will grow or shrink based on whether we eat healthy food or unhealthy food. But for many of us, rather than letting hunger drive us to physical food, we should let our hunger drive us to God.
What feeds our spirit is the word of God and the will of God. We must ask ourselves, what is feeding our souls? We should look to God when we get hungry, not food, the Internet, or status. More than anything else—more than natural food—we should want Jesus.
During this fast, we are believing for healing, deliverance, freedom, clarity, reconciliation, and supernatural signs and wonders. The Lord will meet us right where we are and feed us. God desires to be in a personal, intimate relationship with us. So, we must ask ourselves, are we hungry for the things of God?
