A Hunger for God by John Piper

The most fundamental reason why fasting cannot earn anything from God is that it is a gift of God. It is something that God is “working in us.”

This statement, from the conclusion, encourages me. It reminds me that God's working, and I can rest in that. It also makes me wonder how often I fast with certain ideas in mind of what I hope will result from the fast, and really the Holy Spirit is in me, calling me to fast, with other purposes, and He is doing something different from what I had in mind, and I'm completely unaware of what He is doing.

I think God is often doing something different from what I had in mind. If I knew the way He'd do something, I might not embrace it so eagerly -even when I pray, "Lord have Your way."