Cultivating Spiritual Hunger

I. Defining Spiritual Hunger

A. When thinking about the reality of cultivating spiritual hunger we must start by asking two main questions—what is spiritual hunger? And, how do we cultivate and maintain it throughout our lives?

B. Though there are quite a number of definitions of what constitutes spiritual hunger, I would say spiritual hunger has everything to do with an inner longing; an inner craving; a deep thirsting for God and the things of God; a voracious appetite to experience or encounter the very Presence of God. To some this may seem extreme due to a lack of this being a prime motivator on the inside of them, and to others, it describes their thirst to know God exactly.

C. Is spiritual hunger something we just create on our own (we are responsible) or is it a gift from God?

1. It absolutely is a gift from God to us. Any desire we have for God has its origin in the heart of God first. We cannot just will ourselves into spiritual hunger and finally get to a place where God takes notice of us. I like the way St. John of the Cross says it “If you are seeking after God, you may be sure of this: God is seeking you much more. He is the lover, and you are His beloved. He has promised himself to you.”

2. God is the one who initiates desire in us for Himself.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We love because he first loved us.

D. The journey of hungering after God, although beginning with God, must however, be maintained by our intentional and consistent heart responsiveness to Him. That is to say, we must cultivate our own spirituality based on the principles and commands of Scripture, rather than some watered down, diluted version of New Testament Christianity, which is pervasive all over the Church in the West. This is evident in terms of the revolting and alarming level of sin that is rampant in our churches, which has weakened our impact and the witness of Jesus. When we substitute culture and opinions of men above the clear teachings of Scripture we suffer inwardly, which diminishes our lack of spiritual vitality or vibrancy.

E. If you are a believer, the work of God has already begun within you. He has already put His Spirit in you and has already won your heart in measure. The gift has already been given and your heart has already been awakened. All we have to do is respond to the constant wooing of God that is working in us.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. (AMP)

for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

II. Setting A Vision Before You

A. We must have a vision set before us, if we are to cultivate our spirituality. So many are suffering from spiritual boredom and demonic oppression, which has dulled their spiritual sensitivity and desire for God.

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.

B. God desires to give us the highest vision for our lives. He wants to be the pinnacle of our dreams and inner longings. God knows that the greatest gift to us, is Himself!

"After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”" ( NKJV)

1. When God was moving Abram from all that was familiar and comfortable to the land of promise, God spoke to Him in a vision and said that He would be Abram’s exceedingly great reward. This is stunning and gives us an understanding about God. God desires to be our very own reward!

2. We want to be motivated in the highest measure possible, with the greatest vision set before us, which is for the very being of God—God Himself to be fully ours!

C. God has a great desire or dream in His heart for us to be wholly His.

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.

1. God’s dream for you and I is to be fully given, absolutely and radically abandoned, in our love for and towards Him in the deepest way possible. That God would be our magnificent obsession, our supreme affection in every expression possible.

2. Spiritual passions that are awakened in us can not compare to the passion in His heart for us. When we encounter the God of fiery love and burning zeal for us to be wholly His, we in turn are awakened to feel the same way back to Him.

III. Jesus Describes The Ultimate Quest

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

A. Jesus defines eternal life as an eternal discovery of the knowledge of the Person of God. Our supreme quest is an eternal treasure hunt to experience the magnificence of God’s beauty, the awesomeness of His power, and the eternal pleasures of His unfathomable love.

B. The mystery of God is freely available to all that desire to know Him more

9 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"— 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

1. The mysteries have yet to even enter the heart of man

2. The mysteries can only be given by a revelation of the Holy Spirit

3. The mysteries are freely ours in Jesus

IV. Invitations Vs. Disciplines

A. We not only need to have vision set before us, but we also need to learn how to live out our vision; how to apply our inner desires and dreams in a lifestyle of pursuit.

B. Typically, we love the idea of becoming more intimate with God, but where the tension often lies is the actual ‘doing’ of intimacy. We can not just settle for a theology of Intimacy without a corresponding life that actually pursues it. This is where we enter into the equation in our responsibility of cultivating our spiritual hunger.

C. When I speak of invitations vs. disciplines, I am primarily looking to change the way we view the necessary components of spiritual cultivation which include prayer, fasting and study of the Word.

1. Disciplines—tend to have a negative connotation, in that they speak of sacrifice, suffering and loss. The emphasis is on the price that must be paid in order to gain a reward, rather than the reward itself.

2. Invitations—connotes a reward; it speaks of something to be hoped for. The emphasis is on the reward to be received, rather than on the process involved in receiving it.

D. When we look at the process of cultivating spiritual hunger we have to embrace the most fundamental and primary means by which this is stirred up in us:

1. Prayer—this is the vehicle that connects us to God. Our spirit fellowshipping with His Spirit. If we look at it through a disciplined paradigm, we may find it difficult based on the nature of prayer, in that much patience is involved and our lack of ‘feeling’ God, especially in the beginning can be discouraging. However, if we see prayer as an invitation to encountering the heart of God, this becomes more exciting to actually pray, because the reward energizes us.

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

2. Fasting—this is probably the hardest activity to do and the least likely to be employed due to the physical discomfort involved. Once again, if we see fasting mostly as denying ourselves or our personal sacrifice for God, we will never enjoy the power and pleasure of fasting. But, if we see it as it really is, which is ‘feasting’, than we will be more apt to doing it regularly. We may be physically fasting, but we are absolutely feasting spiritually. The reward of becoming more tenderized to the Presence of God over time should be very inviting.

… The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

3. Study of the Word—we are in great need to have the truth permeate our very thinking processes. Our spirit man can only grow by the power of the Word being written on our hearts and in our minds.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

V. Hungering For The Love, Knowledge And Power Of God

1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

A. Proverbs gives the practical expression of hunger and its reward

1. The Word—treasuring God’s commandments by meditating on His Word.

a. Meditating means turning the Word into conversation with a Person – the Man, Christ Jesus.

2. Prayer & fasting—when we lift our voice; when we cry out; when we seek for it as for hidden treasures, then we will be rewarded. Although fasting is not directly mentioned it is certainly implied. To seek God in the Bible has always included fasting.

3. promise of reward—God promises us that we will encounter Him if we respond to Him in this way. This is how we learn how to seek Him. He gives us basic principles and if we do them, we grow in our actual experience of God, which is the very vision we long for.

Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God

B. —the very heart cry of David while in the wilderness

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

C. Three dimensions we long for from God, and three prayers that are very helpful in expressing these desires back to God.

1. God’s love—we so long to ‘feel’ empowered by His love for us, and also our desire to love Him back.

and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

2. God’s knowledge—we long to know the many dimensions of God’s being, which include His attributes and ways.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

3. God’s power—we long to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in two ways: 1) the inner dimension of overcoming sin. And, 2) the external dimension of power demonstrated in healing, signs and wonders, and revival.

29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

VI. Conclusion: Possessing The Attitude of Paul

10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death… 12… but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

A. Paul had an enormous craving for God—he so longed to be more intimate with God. God was absolutely his exceedingly great reward. Whether it was resurrection power demonstrated in his life or it was through the wilderness of suffering, he knew that God was his great prize in all of it.

B. Paul reached forward—he didn’t look back at either the victories or failures of the past, rather he chose to reach forward in God, knowing that as long there was more time for him, there was more opportunity to draw nearer to God.

C. Paul considered this desire spiritual maturity—Paul speaks of his inner longing for God as having a perfect or mature attitude towards God, in fact he basically says that if we don’t think like him, God would reveal the importance of possessing this reality on the inside.