Have you ever sought God’s face.  I mean truly hungered to see and be with God in His presence.  If you have maybe you have felt the same frustration that my wife and I have, Where to begin.  Will we find His face in the Bible, will we find His face in the Church, and will we find His face at all.  Let's face it ( a little pun) no one except Jesus has ever seen  the face of God.  Many in the Bible have seen the Presence of God, many have felt the presence of God.   Maybe the reason we seek and have not found is we are looking in all the wrong places, as the old country western song says.  Or are we just not hungry enough?  In Isaiah Chapter 58 starting verse 3 God  shows us the way not to fast. Isaiah 58:3-8 (NLT) 3‘We have fasted before you!  they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have done much penance, and you don’t even notice it!’  I will tell you why! It’s because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting. You keep right on oppressing your workers. 4What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. 5You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD?
   The Lord then goes on, in verse six, to tell us how He wants us to fast. Isaiah 58:6-11 (NLT)6"No, the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. 7I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. 8"If you do these things, your salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind. 9Then when you call, the LORD will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,  he will quickly reply. "Stop oppressing the helpless and stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumors!  10Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day. 11The LORD will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. I like that idea of having God as my rear guard.  Remember we are told that Satan acts like a lion stalking his next victim.   God then goes on to tell us that our light will shine in the darkness.  Our darkest nights will be like noonday.  We will not want for anything.  Sounds like a good deal to me if only we fast like He wants.   Do you notice that if we are living a worldly life that the Lord tells us we can fast until we die and it just will not get us anywhere?   If you want to meet the Lord face to face the only place is where He says, not where we say. We do not get close to the Lord on our terms.  It is on His terms.  So if a pastor tells you that you have the right as a child of God to tell God what to do, you had better run in the opposite direction.   David told us Psalm 91:1 (KJV) 1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  What is the secret place of the most high?  Think about it!  It is being in the will of God and following his scriptures.  It is not following the latest Christian fad.  It is not following the latest "great" man of God.  It is very simply following the word of God and what it tells us.  Does the above in Isaiah sound familiar?  If you have read your Bible it should.  Jesus when talking about the final judgement used some of the same criteria, He said Matthew 25:35-36 (NLT) 35For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.  36I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.   The word of God is very clear if we will listen.  It will do you no good to seek God and His presence through fasting if you are not in the will of God in the first place.  If you want to see the face of God you must be in the right place with God to start with.  Do you think God would have honored Moses' request to see Him if Moses had been rebelling from God.  Nope.  Moses was right in the middle of the will of God for his life when he made the request and the Almighty God of Heaven and earth passed by Moses to see.  This moment in Moses' life was so impacting that he glowed from the power of the presence of the Lord. 
        Have you ever been so close to the Lord that you glowed from His Presence?  Well, apparently Mary and I have because at times in our lives we have had people comment that we glow with the Spirit of God.  But this does not happen quickly.  Isaiah tells us  Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) 31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

When I was a kid I was to say the least hyperactive.  I was a typical boy who was exploring everything I could get my hands on,  and in the process usually getting myself in trouble along the way.  I would find myself getting frustrated if I could not immediately  accomplish some thing.  But I will always remember my father’s words.  "son if it is worth having or doing it is worth the time and effort it takes to get there.  To get there, God’s presence, it takes time and energy.  The average Christian today is hungry for more but they do not want to take the time or energy.  We have an instant society and it has wiggled its way into our Christian lives.  Be honest when was the last time you spent time fasting and in prayer?  This is why all the false prophets and "great" men of God that promise new and better things are so popular.  It is easier to listen to them then to make a sacrifice and wait upon the Lord. 
        All the great revivals that I know of have happened because someone was spending time in prayer and fasting.  Want to find the face of God?  Then start spending sometime alone with Him.