“The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.”’” Luke 4:3-4
“Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life” John 6:26-27
How often are we looking for physical answers or fulfillment? Even when we start by seeing what Jesus is doing right before our eyes, we can do the same as the people in John 6. They had just seen Jesus feed 5,000 and now are looking for more of the same. Jesus leads this discussion into the ultimate bread in the Eucharist but the people never grasped that teaching. They were stuck in the world and what Jesus could do in the world.
It is so easy to go down this route. We are souls living in the material world. The physical is always impacting upon us. I’ve been there (too many times). Starting off by praying ‘Thy Will be done’ and striving to stay focused up Jesus only to slide into ‘I need from You.’ We need to always strive for the Will of God even over our personal needs and desires.
When the order is no longer respected the result is the ruin and destruction even of material goods themselves. When God is regarded as a secondary matter that can be set aside temporarily or permanently on account of more important things, it is precisely these supposedly more important things that come to nothing.
Fasting and prayer are answers to this ordering of soul and mind. When we fast from worldly needs, we train our body, mind and soul to focus on God. When we pray, focusing on God’s voice and not our own, we learn to hear His voice. We better discern God’s Divine Will in our life. We soon will find no where else to go but to His Will – there is no other answer. Then, though you may hunger you will not want. You will find yourself nourished by God is much bigger and sustaining ways. When the drought or famine occurs in your earthly world, you’ll still be satisfied. We will find the truth and meaning of Christ’s words, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’ Matthew 4:4
“But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.” John 4:32-34
“‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’” John 6:68-69