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A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer
Our appetites control much of what we do each day--whether it is the cravings of our stomachs, the desire for possessions or power, or the longings of our spirits for God. But for the Christian, the hunger for anything apart from God is ultimately detrimental to spiritual health and enduring joy. In this classic meditation on fasting, John Piper helps Christians apply the Bible's teaching on this long-standing spiritual discipline, highlighting the profound contentment that comes from delighting in God above all else. Piper helps readers put to death self-indulgence by directing them to the all-satisfying, sin-conquering glory of Christ. This volume is now redesigned with a new cover and a foreword by New York Times best-selling authors David Platt and Francis Chan.
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 3, 1997
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5324 people want to read
About the author
John Piper
614 books4,522 followersJohn Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem.
John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem.
John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 301 reviews
April 10, 2013
In almost every way this is the best book I've read on fasting. Piper really sells the importance of this oft-neglected discipline, particularly for our current satisfaction-obsessed culture.
The only real misstep of this book--and it's a jarring one--is the seventh chapter, in which Piper focuses on the importance of fasting over the issue of abortion. Of course, it makes sense to talk about fasting over a particular issue of world concern. But he doesn't do much to justify the topic's inclusion, and the sudden appearance of a passionate pro-life plea late a book on fasting felt was off-putting, even for someone who doesn't disagree with most of what he said. I can only imagine how others might react to this hot-button topic, hidden like a springy snake in a can and popping into the reader's face with no warning.
Still, despite my concerns about that one chapter, the book is still well worth a read for anyone curious about how fasting might improve their spiritual life.
The only real misstep of this book--and it's a jarring one--is the seventh chapter, in which Piper focuses on the importance of fasting over the issue of abortion. Of course, it makes sense to talk about fasting over a particular issue of world concern. But he doesn't do much to justify the topic's inclusion, and the sudden appearance of a passionate pro-life plea late a book on fasting felt was off-putting, even for someone who doesn't disagree with most of what he said. I can only imagine how others might react to this hot-button topic, hidden like a springy snake in a can and popping into the reader's face with no warning.
Still, despite my concerns about that one chapter, the book is still well worth a read for anyone curious about how fasting might improve their spiritual life.
June 26, 2009
I would highly recommend this book to any and all Christians.
Fasting is not practiced or taught in most churches today and the Bible speaks very clearly to subject of fasting. It's so helpful to look at fasting as a privilege and joy, rather than a duty and dread. Whether we eat or don't eat, we should be joyful. Joyful eating and Joyful fasting make up the Christian's life.
God rewards those who fast, but it's important to know that it's not in a meritorious way. The reward that comes from fasting comes from the death of Christ and it's because of Christ that we are blessed, healed, strengthened, etc. Fasting, like prayer, is a means that God chooses to bless his children. I would once again recommend this book to be read by every Christian!
Fasting is not practiced or taught in most churches today and the Bible speaks very clearly to subject of fasting. It's so helpful to look at fasting as a privilege and joy, rather than a duty and dread. Whether we eat or don't eat, we should be joyful. Joyful eating and Joyful fasting make up the Christian's life.
God rewards those who fast, but it's important to know that it's not in a meritorious way. The reward that comes from fasting comes from the death of Christ and it's because of Christ that we are blessed, healed, strengthened, etc. Fasting, like prayer, is a means that God chooses to bless his children. I would once again recommend this book to be read by every Christian!
February 7, 2022
Actual fire! Must read. can’t recommend enough
March 27, 2019
An convicting read, especially in our culture of comfort and affluence.
Favorite quote:
“If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.”
Favorite quote:
“If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.”
May 8, 2020
Powerful and informative. Thankful for my small group and The Common Rule for pushing me to learn more about fasting!
February 14, 2021
Honestly, I was pretty disappointed by this book. It felt like the same things Piper says in his other books, just with "and that's why you should fast" tacked on, and some chapters felt like he forgot he was talking about fasting altogether. Oddly enough, for a book about fasting he literally said nothing about how to fast or any practical advice about fasting. I did appreciate his theology and how he got to the heart behind fasting, but overall this book just wasn't what I was looking for.
September 26, 2020
The more I listen to and read John Piper, the more I appreciate his gift of teaching and preaching. His mastery of bringing various Scripture to bear on a topic is truly wonderful. This book on fasting is no different from his other tomes. What a great encouragement to follow the Lord in this neglected discipline!
July 19, 2021
Loved this
March 12, 2023
A great book on fasting. It covers so much ground: how christian fasting is distinct from other types of fasting, what is its goal and reward, what it protects us from, what makes it God-pleasing (and what are the dangers of this discipline), how it is both and inward and an outward weapon.
The book is deeply rooted in Scripture (well, the author’s name makes this remark redundant).
It motivates one to take this “hungry handmaid of faith” more seriously and also warns one of the many ways one can go off ways with this practice.
I was particularly struck by the contrast of christian fasting (with its heart of joy, its God-orientation, its “dissatisfied contentment in the all-sufficiency of Christ”, its out-reaching loving energy) with asceticism (that has self-mastery as the reward and pride as the danger and if it is pursued as an end in itself, it can even do us more harm than good, as we end up exchanging gluttony for pride, the animal self for the diabolical self. “Only God can mortify”).
Also, I was awakened to my own need to fast on a regular basis given my insatiability, the deadening effects of innocent delights, the danger of turning gifts into gods, the inclination of using food as an anesthetic for sadness or other frustrating feelings and my indisposition to forgo my own needs and ambitions and reach out for the sake of the needy, my assimilation in the consumer culture that has transformed even fasting in a self-seeking experience of losing weight / feeling great / reaching higher consciousness.
Below i leave a motivating quote from Chrysostom that Piper has used in the book:
“Fasting is, as much as lies in us, an imitation of the angels, a contemning of things present, a school of prayer, a nourishment of the soul, a bridle of the
mouth, an abatement of concupiscence: it mollifies rage, it appeases anger, it calms the tempests of nature, it excites reason, it clears the mind, it disburdens the flesh, it chases away night-pollutions, it frees from headache. By fasting, a man gets composed behaviour, free utterance of his tongue, right apprehensions of his mind”
The book is deeply rooted in Scripture (well, the author’s name makes this remark redundant).
It motivates one to take this “hungry handmaid of faith” more seriously and also warns one of the many ways one can go off ways with this practice.
I was particularly struck by the contrast of christian fasting (with its heart of joy, its God-orientation, its “dissatisfied contentment in the all-sufficiency of Christ”, its out-reaching loving energy) with asceticism (that has self-mastery as the reward and pride as the danger and if it is pursued as an end in itself, it can even do us more harm than good, as we end up exchanging gluttony for pride, the animal self for the diabolical self. “Only God can mortify”).
Also, I was awakened to my own need to fast on a regular basis given my insatiability, the deadening effects of innocent delights, the danger of turning gifts into gods, the inclination of using food as an anesthetic for sadness or other frustrating feelings and my indisposition to forgo my own needs and ambitions and reach out for the sake of the needy, my assimilation in the consumer culture that has transformed even fasting in a self-seeking experience of losing weight / feeling great / reaching higher consciousness.
Below i leave a motivating quote from Chrysostom that Piper has used in the book:
“Fasting is, as much as lies in us, an imitation of the angels, a contemning of things present, a school of prayer, a nourishment of the soul, a bridle of the
mouth, an abatement of concupiscence: it mollifies rage, it appeases anger, it calms the tempests of nature, it excites reason, it clears the mind, it disburdens the flesh, it chases away night-pollutions, it frees from headache. By fasting, a man gets composed behaviour, free utterance of his tongue, right apprehensions of his mind”
June 25, 2023
The spiritual discipline of fasting is pretty straightforward, which is why Piper didn’t write a book on how to fast. Instead, he focuses on the more difficult (and important) matter in fasting — the posture of the heart! This was a great book to read to reconfigure my perspective on fasting as a means to the end of desiring Jesus in increasing measure!
- Desires for other things” — there’s the enemy. And the only weapon that will triumph is a deeper hunger for God. The weakness if our hunger for God is not because he is unsavory, but because we keep ourselves stuffed with other things.”
- “The supremacy of God in all things is the great reward we long for in fasting… fasting is God’s testing ground and healing ground… seeking from God the reward of God’s all satisfying supremacy puts all other desires to the test…And when it reveals that the heart is with God and not the world, a mighty blow is struck against Satan”.
- “We ache and yearn and fast to know more and more of all God is for us in Christ Jesus. But only because he has already laid hold of us and is drawing us ever forward and upward into “all the fullness of God”.
- Desires for other things” — there’s the enemy. And the only weapon that will triumph is a deeper hunger for God. The weakness if our hunger for God is not because he is unsavory, but because we keep ourselves stuffed with other things.”
- “The supremacy of God in all things is the great reward we long for in fasting… fasting is God’s testing ground and healing ground… seeking from God the reward of God’s all satisfying supremacy puts all other desires to the test…And when it reveals that the heart is with God and not the world, a mighty blow is struck against Satan”.
- “We ache and yearn and fast to know more and more of all God is for us in Christ Jesus. But only because he has already laid hold of us and is drawing us ever forward and upward into “all the fullness of God”.
April 16, 2025
3 - So I really liked parts of this book. I think it was very eye opening and a different perspective of fasting that I never considered. It really talked about the humility and sacrifice that comes with fasting for the glory of God, but how to position yourself in a fast to glorify God and not just focus on what you can get out of a fast. Overall, there was a lot of good points, but I honestly don't have a lot that I retained. John Piper is so intelligent and smart and I am dumb so I didn't really understand a whole lot and got really confused and lost so many times and I just did not enjoy this reading experience. I would recommend it and I'm glad I read it, but just know it is a brain on type of book.
January 25, 2022
I love this book. It is a must read for every Christian who is desiring to get a greater hunger for the Lord. Piper calls out many things in our lives that can prevent us from desiring the Lord fully. Things we don’t necessarily think about.
But for starts, Piper really lays a good foundation of what fasting truly means. And throughout the whole book, he gives tons of scriptural examples. Plus examples from trust people in church history.
This book is great. If you hunger to have a greater hunger, this is a must read.
But for starts, Piper really lays a good foundation of what fasting truly means. And throughout the whole book, he gives tons of scriptural examples. Plus examples from trust people in church history.
This book is great. If you hunger to have a greater hunger, this is a must read.
May 31, 2023
Op gennem hele kirkehistorien indtil kun meget kort tid siden, har faste været en ugentlig og fast praksis. Her er en god bog om, hvad denne praksis kan være og blive for os i dag, og hvordan Gud kan bruge den til at føre sit rige ind i verden. Bogen er gratis tilgængelig på desiringgod.org
January 25, 2024
3.5 stars but I’m rounding up bc no half stars !
Some parts were excellent! I just found it repetitive at times / think it could’ve been shortened a good amount and maintained the same level of effectiveness. That being said, this book is convicting & gave me lots of things to consider that weren’t on my radar.
Some parts were excellent! I just found it repetitive at times / think it could’ve been shortened a good amount and maintained the same level of effectiveness. That being said, this book is convicting & gave me lots of things to consider that weren’t on my radar.
May 2, 2025
3⭐️ audio.
November 22, 2021
I found this book to contain motivations to fast, rather than a theology of fasting, but it was very motivational (as well as challenging), thus succeeding at its aim!
June 10, 2022
“If you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.”
I had been thinking about fasting in the Bible and this book is a helpful resource for developing your doctrine of fasting. Not only addressing the facts of fasting, but how you can worship God through fasting and the heart behind doing it.
I also liked his point to make sure you’re not loving, loving God (ie in fasting, singing, the things associated with enjoying God) instead of actually loving God.
I had been thinking about fasting in the Bible and this book is a helpful resource for developing your doctrine of fasting. Not only addressing the facts of fasting, but how you can worship God through fasting and the heart behind doing it.
I also liked his point to make sure you’re not loving, loving God (ie in fasting, singing, the things associated with enjoying God) instead of actually loving God.
March 5, 2024
4.5
“If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.”
Rightfully challenging and insightful. The comforts and extreme riches of 21st Century America so easily drowns my zeal for the Lord. We’re just apathetic. We don’t care that the Bridegroom is gone. We don’t care that there’s hundreds and hundreds of millions of people who have not heard the gospel, heading straight to a Christless eternity. We don’t care that babies are slaughtered daily in our “modern” world. We can talk all day about the wars in Israel or Ukraine, but there is no natural tendency in us towards praying for drastic change. We don’t care about our personal holiness. We don’t care about our unbelieving friends. We’re too busy worrying about our next meal.
Even if we say we care about these things, how much faithful, fervent prayer do we personally dedicate to these issues? Is God’s hand shortened that he can’t sway national laws, bring rulers to himself, and soften hardened hearts? I personally am extremely embarrassed at my lack of confidence in God to perform marvelous deeds (which is a direct correlation to my faithfulness in prayer). Fasting has recently helped me deny my selfish desires and is the physical way of saying,
“This much, Oh Lord, I want you.”
“This much, Oh God, I desire your kingdom.”
It is not natural for us to want him and desire his kingdom. That’s the point. Fasting is the way we directly deny the sinful flesh. We are forced to focus on the Giver and ask if we’ve been making his gifts into gods (we have). It is an acknowledgment that there is something so much greater than our natural appetites.
“If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.”
Rightfully challenging and insightful. The comforts and extreme riches of 21st Century America so easily drowns my zeal for the Lord. We’re just apathetic. We don’t care that the Bridegroom is gone. We don’t care that there’s hundreds and hundreds of millions of people who have not heard the gospel, heading straight to a Christless eternity. We don’t care that babies are slaughtered daily in our “modern” world. We can talk all day about the wars in Israel or Ukraine, but there is no natural tendency in us towards praying for drastic change. We don’t care about our personal holiness. We don’t care about our unbelieving friends. We’re too busy worrying about our next meal.
Even if we say we care about these things, how much faithful, fervent prayer do we personally dedicate to these issues? Is God’s hand shortened that he can’t sway national laws, bring rulers to himself, and soften hardened hearts? I personally am extremely embarrassed at my lack of confidence in God to perform marvelous deeds (which is a direct correlation to my faithfulness in prayer). Fasting has recently helped me deny my selfish desires and is the physical way of saying,
“This much, Oh Lord, I want you.”
“This much, Oh God, I desire your kingdom.”
It is not natural for us to want him and desire his kingdom. That’s the point. Fasting is the way we directly deny the sinful flesh. We are forced to focus on the Giver and ask if we’ve been making his gifts into gods (we have). It is an acknowledgment that there is something so much greater than our natural appetites.
February 9, 2014
I've read so many Piper books that they begin to sound like a broken record in my head. "John Edwards...blah...blah..." I skimmed through this book until I got to his chapters explaining Isaiah 58. Reading these chapters came as an unexpected splash of cold water in the face. I had wanted to read a book on fasting because of this very passage I'd stumbled across in my own Bible study! I went back and reread this book; taking notes and the time to digest (hah!) it all. I loved his explanation of Isaiah since this is what had inspired my further study on the subject in the first place. This book has been a good reminder for me to engage in fasting and to do it with pure heart and motives. I read this as a READS library book for the Kindle and do not own it. Notes are in my S-note, book notes.
February 24, 2023
I’m not sure what happened here. Piper’s understanding of the passages he cites is bizarre. In other works, writers make the clear link between fasting and intense emotional experience. You don’t need to think about fasting because you WILL fast when extreme emotion overtakes you. In the examples Piper cites, he doesn’t seem to acknowledge this link and instead turns the practice into something akin to the works of the Pharisees. Fasting is used as a kind of prayer strong-arming of God or as a way to ‘increase our experience of Him’. Either way, it becomes just another work we can be ‘doing’ instead of being a natural response of the regenerate heart.
I don’t want to be guilty of ‘leaning on my own understanding here’ so I welcome any counter criticism.
I don’t want to be guilty of ‘leaning on my own understanding here’ so I welcome any counter criticism.
December 31, 2018
This was truly a great book. It is one of those books that needs to be reread. I plan to do that. A great quote (there were many) is "Jesus is the light of the world. Living near him is the brightest place in the universe. To find out where he lives, read the gospels and follow his path." The main focus of the book is fasting/going without food in order to hunger for God. An intimate relationship with God is worth it! If you want a more intimate relationship with God, I recommend this book. In fact, I recommend many of the books written by John Piper!
July 28, 2022
This book caused a personal revival for me and filled many theological gaps that would have been left blank without a solid understanding of fasting.
Questions this book helped me answer:
What is the purpose of fasting? (obviously)
What do you want most and how can you be sure it is Christ?
What should you do when you really wish Jesus was physically in the room?
What is the balance between our role and the work of the Holy Spirit in our battle with sin?
Questions this book helped me answer:
What is the purpose of fasting? (obviously)
What do you want most and how can you be sure it is Christ?
What should you do when you really wish Jesus was physically in the room?
What is the balance between our role and the work of the Holy Spirit in our battle with sin?
June 3, 2024
I revisited this book to remind myself of the importance, purpose and rewards of fasting. It is a great book to start this new year. Piper says, “It is a paradoxical spiritual principle in Scripture: as you pour yourself out, you become full. As you give away, you get more.” That is true. This book is probably the most comprehensive work on the topic.
July 9, 2023
This book has been a treasure to read. Every chapter is rich with gems, and I intend to reread it several times. Fasting is something that’s not very talked about, and although I’ve kept an eye out for it for years, I don’t feel like my understanding has been very deep at all. Piper digs very deep into fasting from every angle. Each chapter I read, I walked away more and more thankful for this gift of God to those willing to hunger and thirst and be weak before him.
Perhaps the most valuable thing I’m taking away is this list of all the things fasting says. When I read the book again, I expect the list will grow. For now, this is what I’m taking away to chew on. Fasting says:
- This much, oh God, I want you!
- This much, Lord, you satisfy me!
- Oh God, make me a means of your conquering the nations and your coming again!
- This much, O God, this much, we long for your fullness in the church and your glory in the world!
- Oh God, show us your glory!
- Oh God, we are not able on our own!
Perhaps the most valuable thing I’m taking away is this list of all the things fasting says. When I read the book again, I expect the list will grow. For now, this is what I’m taking away to chew on. Fasting says:
- This much, oh God, I want you!
- This much, Lord, you satisfy me!
- Oh God, make me a means of your conquering the nations and your coming again!
- This much, O God, this much, we long for your fullness in the church and your glory in the world!
- Oh God, show us your glory!
- Oh God, we are not able on our own!
March 16, 2023
a very beautiful and biblical breakdown of the discipline that reveals what are we controlled by, a discipline that is often overlooked and/or misunderstood - the reward we have to seek in fasting is the presence of God himself and not the gifts from God.
one idea that absolutely struck me was that for the Israelites the point of manna was to trust only in the Lord and nothing else (not even God-given food), that sometimes the test is not the withholding of the food, but the giving of the food. that we must see fasting as a reflection of how hungry we are for God, how ready to pick the cross and how eager to sit at the feet of Jesus.
one idea that absolutely struck me was that for the Israelites the point of manna was to trust only in the Lord and nothing else (not even God-given food), that sometimes the test is not the withholding of the food, but the giving of the food. that we must see fasting as a reflection of how hungry we are for God, how ready to pick the cross and how eager to sit at the feet of Jesus.
December 16, 2023
A good encouragement to fast more.
This is the book that I discovered the reason that Piper has such a fanatic emphasis on world missions. He follows George Ladd’s belief that Christ wouldn’t return until the gospel has reached every nation and people. So a desire to hasten the coming of Christ is behind this pressure for world missions. While I don’t disagree with that, it’s easy to overlook the command to also disciple the nations, not merely the people who convert, but the nations themselves. The call of the gospel is to go into all the nations and make them all Christian nations. Piper is right on the edge of postmillennialism
This is the book that I discovered the reason that Piper has such a fanatic emphasis on world missions. He follows George Ladd’s belief that Christ wouldn’t return until the gospel has reached every nation and people. So a desire to hasten the coming of Christ is behind this pressure for world missions. While I don’t disagree with that, it’s easy to overlook the command to also disciple the nations, not merely the people who convert, but the nations themselves. The call of the gospel is to go into all the nations and make them all Christian nations. Piper is right on the edge of postmillennialism
December 3, 2024
This book was so good, and so insightful on a spiritual discipline I had not given near enough thought to. If I had been asked before reading this book why we should fast, I’d probably respond, well, Jesus said, “and when you fast.” Which is true, yes, but Piper unpacks examples all throughout scripture of biblical fasts for a multitude of reasons, and what it looks like to fast today for not just a reward or “deliverance,” but for the return of Christ, unreached people groups, changing world views to honor Christ, etc. Fasting isn’t just starving our physical hunger, but it’s borne out of a deep-rooted, insatiable hunger for more of God, as the title alludes to. Give it a read!
March 21, 2024
3⭐️
This is not a how to book on how to fast, rather a book on the posture of the heart when fasting. I just think that’s important to note before going into it. The book is very informative, for anyone who wants to learn about the Christian view on fasting.
Personally, I picked this book up in hopes of learning more about a practice done for many years throughout all cultures. It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but I finished it and got a lot from it. I leave with this question that I shall ask myself frequently “Will I find spiritual communion with God sweet enough, and hope in his promises deep enough, not just to cope, but to flourish and rejoice in him?”
This is not a how to book on how to fast, rather a book on the posture of the heart when fasting. I just think that’s important to note before going into it. The book is very informative, for anyone who wants to learn about the Christian view on fasting.
Personally, I picked this book up in hopes of learning more about a practice done for many years throughout all cultures. It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but I finished it and got a lot from it. I leave with this question that I shall ask myself frequently “Will I find spiritual communion with God sweet enough, and hope in his promises deep enough, not just to cope, but to flourish and rejoice in him?”
January 7, 2021
Powerful and motivating book on how fasting can express our hunger for God and deepen our understanding of how helpless and hopeless we are without His love and grace. I found the history of fasting through the ages and throughout all religions to be very interesting. The Audible.com version was beautifully read by Cris O’Brien. I tend to speed up my listening speed on many audible books, but this one I had to slow down in order to savor its message. I will definitely be reading this one again.
March 20, 2022
I'm rating this five stars because at one point John Piper is like "there's been a renewed love of worship in our time. That's not to say the music now is better than it has been because....lol it's not by any stretch of the imagination." That's heavily paraphrased but it was a good moment. Also this is a good book on fasting, I guess.
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