Hungry For Bread

HUNGRY FOR BREAD

By: Julie Souza Bradley Lilly

When I fast from food, about mid-morning my stomach starts to growl, and images of tasty foods begin to parade through my mind, in an attempt to coerce me to eat.  Similarly, when my cellphone is dead, it is surprising to me how often I think about reaching for it for one reason or another.  

We develop habits and hungers in our lives, and they drive us to feed whichever belly is gnawing with emptiness.  

We may fast from food for a period of time, but eventually going without will lead to our demise.  Food and water are necessary for survival.  And while I would never intentionally starve myself, I can’t help but think how often I have gone without regularly feeding my spirit.  Hollow cheeks in my mirror would remind me to eat food. I wonder how well-fed my spirit would look in a spiritual mirror.

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”” – Matthew‬ ‭4:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus equated time in the Word and in God’s presence with feeding His body.  He hungered for time with His Father.  Without feeding that hunger, He knew His spirit would have become weak and vulnerable to sin.  

My spirit is hungry today.  If I am wise, I will satisfy that hunger with good things.  Is your spirit hungry or feeling weak, beloved?  The Father has a table prepared for us.  Let’s come and be satisfied.

Father, bless us with divine hunger.  May feeding our spirits be as essential and integral to our day as eating —not out of obligation, but desire.  May we no sooner consider neglecting time in the Word than we would abandon eating.  May we, instead, choose to fast the bellies that do not serve us — those that lead astray and distract from what is truly important.  

Whet our appetites for Your presence; develop within us a hunger and taste for Your bread.  Then fill us with Yourself.  May we feed on Your Word, and being satisfied, find that our hunger for the unholy has ebbed away.  In Jesus’ Name ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/Prayers-of-a-Ragamuffin-Warrior-171515087035441/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A City On A Hill

Image
A CITY ON A HILL By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “You are light for the world. A city cannot be hidden when it is located on a hill. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. Instead, everyone who lights a lamp puts it on a lamp stand. Then its light shines on everyone in the house.” – Matthew‬ ‭5:14-15‬ ‭GW‬‬ And I saw thousands of souls struggling in a churning sea.  Under the darkness of a moonless sky, without a boat, they were tossed.  Beneath them sharks swam, nipping at heels, eliciting sharp cries from those who flailed.  It caused them to cling to their neighbor, pushing them to submerge, sputter and gasp.  Exhaustion, chaos and hopelessness hovered over the waters like a mist, obscuring the small points of light that seeped out from around the boarded windows of the nearby city on a hill.  The city on a hill—a beacon of hope to those drowning, contained behind windows shuttered with fear. Lord, we see chaos all around us —man’s inhumanity to man— fear, anxiet
Read more

Paul’s Handkerchief Prayer

Image
Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father! “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” - Deuteronomy 31:6 Lord, we don’t have to be the only one in a room to feel alone.  We can be in a coliseum full of people and still feel lonely.  We feel alone in our skin.  You encourage us to not forsake meeting together as a church (Hebrews 10:25), but it is the internal companionship that keeps us from feeling loneliness in that packed coliseum. Father, I lift my friend.  Your Word says that where two or more are gathered in Your Name, You are there in the midst of them.  So Lord, as in Acts 19:12 when Paul sent a blessed handkerchief to the sick and they were healed, likewise, across time and space I take hands with Your precious child.  Together we bow before You and admit we need You.  We invite Your presence.  If they feel lonely or alone today, in their life or in
Read more

Beauty Among the Ashes

Image
Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father!   “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that   I would see the goodness of the Lord in  the land of the living.   Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage,   And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” - Psalm 27:13-14 Father, we thank You that with You all things are possible.  All around us there are financial troubles, poverty, disease, depression, anxiety, divorces, confusion, disappointment, illness, loss, pain and grief.  The list goes on and on.  People are suffering, Father, and are clinging to the last vestiges of hope.   Lord, I lift up my friend.  You know precisely what weighs on their mind today, and which troubling thoughts strike fear in their heart.  Long seasons of struggle bring with them weariness and discouragement.  I cry out to You on their behalf, Lord.  You are able.  We ask for miracles.  Nothing is too difficult for You.  We ask that You take what the enemy intended for evil
Read more