Week 1 - Hunger & Thirst | Day 1

SCRIPTURE - MATTHEW 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

OBSERVATION

When Jesus said these words, he was speaking to people who knew real hunger. His audience was made up of ordinary Jewish people who were living under Roman oppression, and often barely had what they needed to get by. So when Jesus spoke of “hungering and thirsting for righteousness,” his audience knew the kind of desperation he was talking about. Jesus took our most basic human craving to be filled physically and showed that those who are filled spiritually are the ones who are truly blessed. To “hunger and thirst for righteousness” means to crave the things of God with that same kind of intensity. Righteousness isn’t simply trying to do good things when you can, it's aligning your life with God’s ways. In this verse, Jesus promised that when we hunger and thirst for what’s important–for the ways of God–we will be filled. And that same promise still stands today.

APPLICATION

What does it look like to hunger and thirst for righteousness? It looks like seeking the character and presence of God every day. We need the righteousness of God in our lives just as much as we need food or water. Our physical desires are endless. We can keep filling them, but they always return. But when we hunger to be filled spiritually, Jesus promises that we will be. Fasting has a way of revealing the things we may hunger for more than God.

As we begin these 21 days of prayer and fasting, ask yourself, “what do I truly hunger for?” Is it success? Comfort? Recognition? Or is it the righteousness of God? Any good child wants to make their parents proud–to do what’s right in their eyes. A righteous person longs to make their heavenly Father proud. When our hunger is directed toward living a life that is pleasing to God, we begin to experience the kind of blessing Jesus spoke about. By choosing to fast, you are allowing God to redirect your deepest desires toward him. Fasting isn’t about giving up things we enjoy just for the sake of it. It’s about developing a hunger and dependence on God that will last far beyond these 21 days.

PRAYER

Today, ask God to reveal what you’ve truly been hungering and thirsting for. Surrender those desires to Him, and ask for a deeper hunger for His righteousness. Invite Him to take His rightful place at the center of your heart and to align your desires with His. As we pray, let’s ask that God would use this fast to make us more like Him.

God, thank you that when I hunger spiritually, you promise to fill me. I pray that you would use this fast to create in me a deeper desire for the things that come from you. Help me to seek righteousness more than anything else, and to live in a way that honors you. Amen.

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