"One thing I ask from the lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple." - Psalm 27:4 (NIV)
"I want to know Christ - yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself ywt to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:10-14 (NIV)
When we look at Scrpiture, we don't see stories of morally superior heroes and faultless churches; what we find again and again are people who set their hearts on seeking after God. Even the holiest saint needs to enter God's presence to keep their faith and love for Him from growing cold. Prayer and fasting are a way to accomplish this. Through our actions, Jesus stirs up and renews our love and longing for Him.