Lent & Fasting

.... the church has always used God's gift of fasting to help on the journey...
here's one reason why we do it and why it can help build dependance upon Christ:

"Fasting is perculiarly suited to glorify God. It is fundamentally an offering of emptiness to God in hope. It is a sacrifice of need and hunger. It says by it's very nature, "Father I am empty but you are full. I am hungry but You are the Bread of Heaven. I am thirsty but You are the Fountain of Life. I am weak but You are strong. I am poor but You are rich. I am foolish but You are wise. I am broken but You are whole. I am dying but Your steadfast love is better than life".

When God sees this confession of need and this expression of trust, He acts because the glory of His all-sufficient grace is at stake. The final answer is that God rewards fasting because fasting expresses the cry of the heart that nothing on the earth can satisfy our souls beside God. God must reward this cry because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him". --Jn Piper

When you hear "rewards from God"... don't think anything easy or anything you've seen on TV... the reward is better! The reward is the presence of God and satisfaction with His beauty and wisdom.