A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
There are a number of times in the gospels that Jesus talks about food, but often it is in ways that you might not expect. Consider three examples:In John 6, we find a conversation Jesus had with a crowd that was following him after he multiplied fish and bread. He said to them:
"For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty."
- John 6:33-35
According to Jesus, the Son of God is food.
In John 4, following his dialogue with the Samaritan woman, his disciples were concerned that he missed a meal:
Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something."
But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."
Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought Him food?"
"My food, "said Jesus, "is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work."
- John 4:31-34
The work of God is food.
Finally, while in the wilderness he has this dialogue with Satan:
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
- Matthew 4:1-4
The Word of God is food.
The Son of God, the work of God, and the Word of God are all forms of sustenance that God provides for us. When you are "hungry," to what do you tend to turn? While you are fasting, what do you need to do, practically, to be sustained by the food of the Son of God, the work of God, and the Word of God?
Tim Henderson
Vice President of University Christian Union
