Hungry for God
Earlier this month, I finished the classic The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer, a pastor from the early twentieth century. For the next ten days, I will share a taste of each chapter from Tozer while also ending with a prayer you can pray each day directly from the book.
Question of the Day
If you are saved, are you hungry and thirsty for God?
Psalm 42:1–2
As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
Do I hunger and thirst for God? For most of us, the answer is no. Our minds are swamped with the needs, wants, wishes, and desires of this world. We hunger for happiness, success, comfort, and rest. We thirst for good news, pay raises, and real time off.
Where is God?
Our diet of God is mostly a few bites on Sunday that we hope will keep us full for the week. Maybe we take a sip of His Word or snack on prayer here or there, but for the most part, I bet many of us are malnourished on God while overfed in the world.
Sadly, many of us do not even feel as though we could make a sustaining meal of God on our own. We require someone else to tell us about God rather than learning to know Him on our own.
Enough with the bad news. What is the solution?
Simplify your approach.
Quit trying to impress God.
Come to Him like a child coming to a parent.
Tozer ends with a reminder that it is not:
God and church, God and obedience, or God and happiness. It is simply God whom we seek.
What is one step you can take today to focus simply on God? It does not need to be fancy or elaborate. It does not require special music, clothing, or even a special space.
Simply ask God to fill you up!
Prayer to Pray or Consider
O God, I have tasted Thy goodness and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee. I long to be filled with longing. I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.” Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
