Ps 107: 8-9 NIV

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Hunger and Thankfulness are intricately linked, forming two sides of the same coin.

If we are hungry but fail to express thankfulness, discouragement may set in, often leading to unbelief. On the other hand, if we are thankful but lack hunger, complacency may take root.

In this psalm, we witness the significance of cultivating both a countenance of hunger and thankfulness. During this fasting period, we aim to attain a greater measure of hunger. However, it equally demands elevating the value of gratitude in your life.

Express gratitude to the Lord for His mercy, grace, family, provisions, and your walk with Him. Yet, let hunger persist. Cry out for the dreams dormant in your heart. Refuse to settle for the status quo. Pray bold prayers, engage in exuberant praise and worship, and lean into your union with the Holy Spirit with greater fervency.

And here is the promise: The thirsty will be satisfied. The hungry will be graced with good things. There is always a reward with hunger and thankfulness: you get Him. When you have Him, many good things flow in and through you.

Pray with me: ‘Father, I am so thankful for _____________________.

Today, I hunger after you. I invite you to surprise me with Your grace.

As I seek you, create in me a satisfied soul filled with good things.’

John 6:35 TPT

“Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life. Come every day to me and you will never be hungry. Believe in me and you will never be thirsty.”

In this passage, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” He doesn’t say that He is like the bread of life, but rather that He is the bread of life. Just as, in our humanness, we require “bread” to sustain our body, Jesus is explicitly reminding us, that He is our sustenance for life.

There is a difference between living a life where we feel that we are just making it through each day, and a life of abundant joy. When we “come everyday” to Him to feed on His “bread of life”, we are promised that we will never be hungry. Hungry for what?  Hungry for life! Hungry for a life of satisfaction, contentment, true joy regardless of our circumstances. This is what is promised to us.

So what does, “Come to me everyday” look like? It can be easy to be overwhelmed by this because our lives are full. Some of us have elderly parents to care for, children to raise, demanding jobs, early mornings, late nights, no support, chronic illnesses, and the list goes on.

“Come to me everyday” is simply that.... come to Him.

Sit in silence with Him.

Rise before the sun awakes and read His Word.

Put on worship music as you’re eating breakfast each morning, asking the Holy

Spirit for His insight into a situation as you complete a mundane task.

Listen to a Christian podcast on your drive in to work.

Spend designated time praying and worshipping.

The more time we dedicate to these practices in our everyday living, the more we will find it becoming our natural posture!

Jesus asks us to return to Him daily to feed on what He has to offer. In return, He extends to us a life of abundance. A life where we always have enough and are fully satisfied.

Matthew 5:6 NASB

“ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

As Jesus sat and taught the crowds, he extended an invitation to come and experience the satisfaction that can only be found through a heart made right with God.

Here Jesus is speaking of so much more than a mere compliance with rules, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is beckoning the crowds to passionately desire the evidence of God’s will and His ways in their lives.

This invitation of the Lord remains as valid today as it was that glorious day on the mount, “Come to Me with hunger, come to Me with thirst and be met by the abundant grace of God, allow Me to satisfy your every appetite, engage with righteousness and grow in the  experience of God’s transformative power at work in and through you !!!

My prayer is that our lives would be increasingly characterised by an insatiable yearning for God’s righteousness, drawing those around us to the wellspring of grace and the satisfaction found in knowing Christ alone. The hungry, thirsty soul satisfied through the blessed pursuit of righteousness !!!

1 Peter 2:2 NLT

”Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment.”

As you embark on this fasting journey, don't merely focus on your actions. Yes, you are commendably withholding from something this week—well done. However, redirect your attention towards deepening your need and desire for spiritual nourishment.

Fasting is not just about abstaining; it's about cultivating a profound hunger for intimacy with Jesus.

In this scripture passage, Peter encourages the reader to crave pure spiritual milk—a call to pursue the greater thing. It's about saying no to one thing to say yes to something more important: craving more of God.

When you crave a food, it's usually a response to something you genuinely like. Peter invites us to crave like a newborn craves their mother's milk. Remember those nights when your newborn cried incessantly for more? Babies crave their mothers because they are hungry, knowing that once fed, they will be satisfied.

There is a powerful desire in craving.

Reflect on your walk with Jesus—do you similarly crave more?

A healthy craving results in a full experience of salvation. Not a partial touch or a taste, but the complete immersion in salvation. Imagine the impact on your life as you crave, hunger, and desire the things of God more—a full experience of salvation available to everyone who pursues it.

Pray with me: "Father, I want to pursue a greater experience of salvation. Today, I choose to pursue You. I choose to greatly desire what is on Your heart. Lord, build in me an insatiable hunger that will never burn out."

Matthew 4:4 NIV

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, ventured into the wilderness for 40 days and nights, where

He fasted and prayed. Intriguingly, as this period concluded, when physical weakness may have set in, the enemy, the tempter, sought to undermine the grace cultivated during this fasting season. The enemy's tactics remain unchanged.

Be aware that the enemy aims to hijack your fasting week, attempting to derail you and undermine your confidence and courage to press in for more. Resist him, following the example of Jesus. Counter his efforts using the word of God to render his temptations powerless.

Jesus proclaimed that the sustenance he valued above a crusty, hot, freshly baked loaf of bread (as we may also be dreaming of food) was to live and hunger for every word that comes from the mouth of God.

The Greek word for "Word" is rhema, often translated as the spoken, revealed word of God. During this fasting week, when food cravings arise, seek a rhema from the Lord. It could be a word about an unfulfilled desire in your heart, a struggling family member, a financial situation requiring wisdom, or a hunger to discern what is on the heart of the Lord this day. Regardless, wait and listen.

Choosing to live with a pursuit of His rhema is a commendable decision. It propels your life toward deeper encounters with God. Cultivating a listening ear to hear from the Lord daily enriches life, and great fruit will grow in and through you as you apply His rhema.

Yes, the hunger pangs are real, and the absence of a chosen aspect of life may be felt. However, when you press in to hear His rhema, the Word of God will come alive, His small, quiet whisper will draw near, or He may speak through another. Lean in and understand that true life will manifest through you. His rhema brings true life, fulfilling your soul like nothing else and satisfying you beyond your favourite food, every time.