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This talk is from Harvard’s leadership lecture series. The speaker is Nick Nowalk and he explores Hebrews 5:11-6:12. (43:56)

A Prayer and Fasting Devotional

After this He (Jesus) went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And He said to him, "Follow Me." And leaving everything, he rose and followed Him. And Levi made Him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at His disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." - Luke 5:27-32

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must (it is necessary) stay at your house today." So he hurried and came down and received Him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." - Luke 19:1-10

And when the hour came, He (Jesus) reclined at table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." - Luke 22:14-15

The Gospel of Luke has a steady theme of what could be called "Table Hospitality." Table hospitality identifies two groups

A Prayer and Fasting Devotional

Mention the word idol to someone and they are likely to think of the shrines of old or temples in far countries that still house representations of gods to be worshiped. Yet in our own culture the propensity for idols is no less prevalent, though perhaps far more nuanced.

In his book Desiring the Kingdom, Jamie Smith overlays seemingly arcane language of the shrine on a typical American pastime with striking ease. He describes a "site throbbing with pilgrims every day of the week" entered through "one of several grandiose entrees...[that] channels the ritual observance of the pilgrims." As the faithful "wander the labyrinth in contemplation," iconography consistent with other temples draws pilgrims into "chapels devoted to various saints." Here we are greeted by "acolytes" who guide us through the selection of "holy objects" and eventually to an altar where a priest "presides over the consummating transaction." As you've probably guessed by now, the experience of shopping at our local mall described in this way "unveil[s] the character of what presents itself as benign" (pp. 19-23).

Our forefather Abraham required a reorientation

A Prayer and Fasting Devotional

"They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying, 'Can God spread a table in the wilderness? He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for His people?'" Psalm 78:18-20

We are a wilderness people. If the story of Israel is any indication, we, the new Israel, can be assured that, following on the heels of God's salvific action, we become campers. Wilderness dwellers. In the pages of Scripture, the wilderness is not only a thick, mossy forest with towering trees or a sandy desert with oppressively hot days followed by frigid, windy nights. It is also a controlling metaphor for a barren, in-between place of trial. Thankfully, the wilderness is also an ideal setting for God's presence and provision

A Prayer and Fasting Devotional

Our world exists in tension. The public square and our personal experience testify to this every day, reminding us that the world is at once the product of a benevolent, creator God AND the consequence of His rebellious creatures. One of the ways that we feel this tension is that we receive the world as a composite of hungers, thirsts, and desires, each of which can draw us to, or away from, the living God. For this reason, whenever the people of God mobilize in prayer and fasting, we do nothing less than invite God to do Gospel work by bringing about the death and resurrection of hunger, both in and around us.

Scripture gives us a window into this reality through Jesus' own teaching regarding hunger. In John's Gospel, he promises that "whoever comes to me shall not hunger" (John 6:35). However, in Matthew's Gospel, he promises satisfaction to "those who hunger and thirst" (Matthew 5:6). Herein lies another tension. Jesus commends both the absence and presence of hunger. But, how do we resolve this?

A Prayer and Fasting Devotional

Perhaps you've heard the following statement spoken by a Christian leader at some point in your Christian journey. I certainly have heard it many times through the years, yet sadly it belies a misunderstanding of God and our relationship with Him. Having a fuller understanding of the dynamics of our relationship with God yields enormous spiritual benefits. The statement you have probably heard many times:

"There is nothing you can do to make God more pleased with you than He already is with you right now."

On the surface, there is an attractive quality to this statement because it affirms so strongly the love of God, as well as the pleasure He has over Christians because of Jesus' sacrificial death. Yet, a more careful examination of the statement reveals its incompleteness. Take a look at

A Prayer and Fasting Devotional

If you are anything like me, you often pray for strength. You know that you need God's power in your life. Whether facing an ordinary task or a particularly heavy burden, you probably ask God quite often for the strength to accomplish the things He has called you to do. And we can ask God for strength because He is the source of all strength and power, and He promises to give strength to His people. Psalm 10:17 reads, "O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart..." and Psalm 29:1 and 11: "Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength ... May the Lord give strength to His people!"

Now as a Christian, the source of your strength is God - and all that God promises to be for you through Jesus Christ and the Gospel. We continually

A Prayer and Fasting Devotional

Cambridge theologian William Inge (1860–1954) famously quipped, "all of nature is a conjugation of the verb to eat, in the active and passive." Inge's characterization of eating as an overarching touchstone suffuses narratives of family, tradition, and place with remembrances of love, loss, and celebration. Potlucks and campfire s'mores, wedding and birthday cakes, funeral and Eucharist suppers frame the ever-changing seasons of life.

Similarly, Norman Wirzba's Food & Faith: A Theology of Eating highlights the proper balance of feasting and fasting: "People should feast so they do not forget the grace and blessing of the world. People should fast so they do not degrade or hoard the good gifts of God. In short, we feast to glorify God and we fast so we do not glorify ourselves" (p. 137).

This intentional juxtaposition of feasting and fasting surfaces

A Prayer and Fasting Devotional

"I humbled my soul with fasting."
-King David (Psalm 69:10)

As King David implied, fasting is a time for us to humble ourselves before the Lord, whereby we can set aside all confidence that we have in our flesh and rightly confess to Him – and to ourselves – the severity of our spiritual depravity.

Upon entering this fast, we prepared for the sins hidden within us – jealousy, bitterness, anxiety, fear, and the like – to enter the forefront of our minds and hearts. As we discussed, God uses fasting to show us

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