Hungry For His Presence 

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night . . .”   Psalm 42:1, 2

It’s been said that “The Way to a Man’s Heart is Through His Stomach.” Most women know that. We must know that the devil knows that as well.

Seven Reasons Why We Should Fast

1) To obey God and His Word.

James 2:12 says, "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."

Daniel 1:8 says, “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine.”

2) To humble ourselves before God.

Ezra 8:21-23  “There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. ²² I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him." ²³ So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.

James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

3) To cleanse our bodies.

Whenever I fast, I usually get headaches. Especially the first two days. Some people spiritualize things and will say, “The devil is giving me a headache!”  No, it’s not the devil. The fact of the matter is that your body is getting rid of toxins that have built up over a period of time. In fact, if you are experiencing headaches, it means that you needed to fast.

4) To give us power to overcome temptations.

Luke 4:1 says, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, ²where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

 ³The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

 ⁸Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’"  The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰For it is written:
   "'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"  Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'^” When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

5) To seek God’s guidance and direction.

Acts 14:23   Paul and Barnabas appointed elders^[a] for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

6) To petition God for a special need.

Esther 4:15, 16 says, “Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."

7) To gain understanding and divine revelation.

Acts 13:2, 3  “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." ³So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”