A heart that genuinely yearns for the lord will be blessed with his glorious presence.
In John.6:26-27, Jesus answered them, Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. v27: do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
2000 years ago, when the Son of God walked on the face of this earth, multitudes gathered to hear His teachings and to get healed and delivered from all the demonic oppressions. But they were not satisfied with the signs and wonders. They were satisfied only after Jesus gave them the bread and fish to eat. They came in search of Him and asked Him to give the bread again.
Throughout the generations the mindset of people did not change. They want to eat and drink without any hardship. Today also in so many families we hear of people who are idle. To those people who came to Jesus and asked Him for bread Jesus replied do not work for the food that perishes.
Today also people go to church and retreat centers when they are faced with difficulties in life but they forget the Lord after their needs are met. But the Creator of heaven and earth is looking for people who are hungry for Him. In Jn.6:51, Jesus said, I Am the Living Bread that came down from Heaven. Whoever eats of this Bread will live forever; and the Bread that I will give for the life of world is My flesh. When people heard it there was a dispute among them and many walked away from Him.
FOR WHOM IS THE LORD WAITING TODAY? FOR THOSE WHO ARE HUNGRY FOR HIM, FOR THOSE WHO ARE DESIRING TO KNOW HIM; FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM AND FOR THOSE WHO DESIRE TO DO HIS WILL IN THEIR LIVES. PRAISE THE LORD!
When we look at the Scriptures from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we find that the people whom God used were those who got hungry and thirsty for the Living God. In Exo.34:28, we see Moses who was in the presence of the Lord for forty days and forty nights. The word of God declares the he neither ate bread nor drank water in those forty days. Such was the hunger of Moses for the Living God. And that is the reason why God also used the mighty prophet to bring His people out of the bondage of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders.
We read in Exo.34:30 the skin of Moses face was shining. Normally when most of us fast and pray we look very tired and sometimes some of us fast only so that others should praise and appreciate us. We do fasting sometimes only for the sake of doing it. That is the reason why our faces are not shining when we fast and pray. In Matt.6:16-18, Jesus explains about hypocritical fasting. Just recollect how many times we have done such hypocritical fasting. Repent and ask forgiveness from the Lord right now and be sincere with God. ALWAYS REMEMBER, GOD LOOKS IN TO THE HEART AND NOT THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE. (1 Samuel.16:7).
Let us see another person who was hungry and thirsty for God all through His life. He is our sweet Psalmist King David himself.
In Psa.42:1-2, King David reveals his thirst for the Living God. v1:as a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. v2: my soul thirst for God, for the Living God, when shall I come and behold the face of God. Do we hear the cry of David - how he longs to be with God? Do you know why God uses certain people in a mighty way? IT IS BECAUSE OF THEIR HUNGER AND THRIST FOR HIS PRESENCE. Praise the Lord!
Today, shall we leave all our worries, our needs and all the other things that are pertaining to this world and seek the Living God with true fasting and prayer to be filled with His Presence so that our faces also shine like Moses™.
Now let us walk in to the New Testament. See how our Lord Himself, who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, in His human form, went to fast and pray after He received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is after this that He triumphed over the temptations of the ruler of this world. Now this is the contrast we have to see. When we do anything in the flesh, it will produce results only in the flesh according to Galatians.6:7-8. v7-Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. v8-if you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh. Likewise when we fast and pray, if we are doing it only for our selfish desires and motivations, the Lord will not answer that prayer. Then we will feel more tired and disappointed and we blame God for every failure in our lives. Dear friend that is not the kind of prayer our Lord wants from us. First of all we should ask the Lord to fill us with His Spirit so that we may know the mind of Christ. Then we can pray according to His will and that prayer will gladden the heart of God the Father and He will graciously answer our prayers.
Luke.4.1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, v2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, He was famished.
From these Scriptures, what do we learn? After Jesus received the Holy Spirit, He was led into the wilderness to fast and pray by God the Holy Spirit to destroy the power of satan. So dear friends, if we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. (Gal.5:25).
And when we fast and pray according to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we will receive victory in all situations. Gal.6:8 if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.
Zechariah.4:6 Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.
So when we fast and pray according to the Holy Spirit™s inspirations, we will overcome the satanic bondages easily. Let us look into Mark.9:14-29, when Jesus comes down from the mount of transfiguration. A father brings his demon possessed son for a healing from Jesus. First the disciples trying to cast the spirit from that boy but they were not able. So the man brings his son to Jesus and He commands the spirit to come out of the boy and it obeys and goes out. V28- when he had entered the house, His disciples asked Him privately, why could we not cast it out? In verse 29 Jesus replied to them, This kind can come out only through fasting and prayer.
In the Old Testament, we saw men and women who were getting hungry for God and they were clothed with the Power of God to do the will of God. Same way in the New Testament also, our Lord Jesus fasted and prayed and He was endowed with Power and Authority to cast the devils and to cure the sick and to raise the dead.
So my dear friend when we sincerely fast and pray to know God, He will surely clothe us with His Holy Spirit to see impossible becoming possible.