Hungering for God

This week, I have to read A Hunger for God by John Piper for a class called "The Ministry of Worship" I am taking at Southeastern. The book is all about fasting and praying and I have been very blessed and VERY challenged by it! I would highly recommend it to anyone who longs to hunger after God and follow in obedience to the call to fast we see throughout Scripture. Here's two quotes that stood out to me today:

"The question is: having tasted the goodness of God in the gospel, how can I maximize my enjoyment of him, when every moment of my life I am tempted to make a god out of his good gifts?"

"And so we ask, as we fast and pray, Do we want to conquer
bad habits and old enslavements, to remove every obstacle to the
fullest enjoyment of God, so that people might see and give him
glory? Do we want our prodigal sons and wayward daughters to
come home because this would honor God’s name? Do we want
our churches to grow because the hallowing of Christ’s name is
at stake among unbelievers? Do we want China and North Korea
and Saudi Arabia and Iraq and Libya to open their doors to the
gospel for the sake of the advance of the kingship of Jesus? Do
we want upright leaders in government because this world is
meant to magnify the goodness and justice of God?

This is what Jesus is calling us to—a radically God-oriented
living and praying and fasting. So for the sake of your own soul,
and in response to Jesus, and for the advancement of God’s
supremacy in all things for the joy of all peoples, comb your hair,
and wash your face, and let the Father who sees in secret observe
how hungry you are for him with fasting. The Father who sees
in secret is brimming with rewards for your joy and for his glory."