John 4:27-34 says…

²⁷Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” ³⁰They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

³¹Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

³²But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

³³Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

³⁴“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

I love how Jesus used many natural situations as illustrations for teaching spiritual truth, especially to his disciples.

This passage picks up right during the middle of Jesus’ witnessing to the Samaritan woman at the well. The woman just left Jesus to go tell people in her town about him when the disciples walked up to him to make sure he had something to eat. Jesus was keeping a busy schedule preaching the Kingdom of God to the surrounding towns, so the disciples were just looking out for his physical well being. I, personally, think it was a nice gesture. However, look again at Jesus’ reply in verse 32. “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Fortunately this is not one of his parables where he leaves us guessing what he meant. Instead, Jesus tells us what this “secret food” is in verse 34, when he says, “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

Doing the will of God the Father fed Jesus! Let me say that again. Actually doing the work that God the Father called Jesus to do nourished him; it was his spiritual food! Now that is a little different from our standard way of thinking. The typical Christian will say they’ve been “fed” spiritually if they’ve heard a good message on Sunday, or if they’ve had an insightful Bible study, but here, according to Jesus, putting into action (actually obeying) what you’ve been taught is the real food.

What does physical food do for our bodies? It nourishes and sustains them. Food also provides us enjoyment and pleasure (sometimes a little too much). This is exactly what Jesus was teaching his disciples in verse 34. Doing the will of God will nourish and sustain you spiritually, and it will also bring you enjoyment and pleasure.

How many of us, at times, feel like malnourished Christians? If we do, then according to Jesus, we need to do God’s will in order to get fed. So I guess the next question should be, how did Jesus find out what God the Father’s will was? If we don’t want to be malnourished spiritually, then we need to find out where and how Jesus got that spiritual food, right?

Well, in verse 32, all Jesus tells us is that “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Okay, so that’s not very helpful. However, let’s take a look at some other passages from the book of Luke.

Luke 6:12 – One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
Luke 11:1 – One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Luke 18:1 – Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

From these passages, we know that Jesus not only believed in prayer as the main way of communicating with his Heavenly Father, but he also taught it to his disciples. So if God’s will is like spiritual food sitting in a locked cupboard, then prayer is the key to opening the cupboard so that we may do God’s will and be nourished!

When was the last time we looked at doing God’s will as being spiritual nourishment?

When was the last time we saw prayer as being the main key to our spiritual nourishment?

So often we go to the Lord in prayer only for things we need. While the Lord wants us to do this (Philippians 4:6), I would also encourage us pray to the Lord to find out what he wants us to do! Spend time talking to God. Let him know what you’ve been going through in life. Yes, I know he already knows, but that’s not the point. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross and victory over the grave, we now have unlimited access to God…and he wants to spend some long over due time with us. Share with him what’s on your heart. Tell him your needs and wants, and thank him for what he’s already done in your life. Then spend some time listening to him! Let the Lord God of the universe share his heart with you through is Word and Spirit. If you do this and also obey what he tells you to do, I bet you may just find yourself in better spiritual health.