Hungering for God

” A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek; I want to drink God, deep draughts of God. I’m thirsty for God-alive. I wonder, “Will I ever make it— arrive and drink in God’s presence?”” Psalm 42:1-2 (MSG)

Have you ever been really hungry?  I can say that I’ve been hungry, but I’ve never been desperate for food.  I’ve been privileged with plenty and never had to wonder about when I was going to eat next.  Never really been hungry.  Never been desperate for food.  How about you?

On the other hand, I’ve had some experience at feeling hungry.  It happens a few times every day when my body reminds me that it cannot survive unless I provide it with some nourishment.  Without food I  would eventually starve to death.  I can’t live without food.

Have you ever been really hungry for God?

On Sunday, we looked at the Psalmist’s prayerful cry out to God—“As the deer longs for water…that’s how my soul longs for you, God!”  I admitted that my heart had drifted away from that kind of longing, that kind of thirsting, that kind of hungering for God.  Many of you did, too, as you joined the Psalmist crying out to God asking God to renew your passion for him.

How can we nurture our hunger for God?

Try fasting!  Yes, going without food and creating hunger in our bodies can create a spiritual hunger if as we fast from food we choose to feast on the Lord through Scripture and prayer.  We started 2010 with an emphasis on prayer and fasting…putting God first.  Now, I’ve found it necessary to return to this “holy habit”—this spiritual practice—to renew my hunger for God.

In the fasting guide I provided then (click here: Fasting) it reminds us of the purpose of fasting:  re-focus and center our lives in God during the experience of going without food.  That’s what I need:  I need to readjust my mind and my heart and to re-focus my whole being in God.

Will you join me?  Select a time to devote yourself to the Lord through fasting, prayer, and Scripture.  Make your heart and mind available for God to work his grace into your life.  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal “idols” of your heart that have replaced God-worship with self-worship.  Let God break strongholds of sinfulness and selfishness that keep you from being wholeheartedly devoted to him.  Let God renew your passion for him by purifying your heart, strengthening your faith, and drawing you close to himself.

Hungering for God,

Scott Corwin, Pastor

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