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Spiritual hunger like a heat-seeking missile

Gabe Landes is finishing up another round of men’s blog discipleship focused on learning listening prayer. It’s been a great time of growth for all. Gabe reports, “Some of these guys are like heat-seeking missiles, relentlessly determined to hear his voice and walk in his power in a way they’v…
By Seth Barnes
Gabe Landes is finishing up another round of men’s blog discipleship focused on learning listening prayer. It’s been a great time of growth for all.

Gabe reports, “Some of these guys are like heat-seeking missiles, relentlessly determined to hear his voice and walk in his power in a way they’ve never experienced.  I love it!  And Jesus is speaking to them, softly, gradually, sometimes in whispers, sometimes a little louder, but always fulfilling His promise that “those who seek will find.” (Matthew 7:7).  

He continues, “Something powerful happens when men join together to seek the kingdom.  We’re used to feeding on things which ultimately aren’t satisfying – work, internet, television, sports, etc. – and over time we become so spiritually malnourished that we have nothing substantial to offer to people around us!  These last seven weeks have awakened us to the reality of the kingdom of God.  The kingdom is not a theory or abstract ideal; it’s something to be experienced today.”
 
I don’t know about you, but my spiritual hunger waxes and wains. I’m stuck in this mortal body, responding to regular stimulus to my five senses. But all it takes when I’m in the spiritual doldrums is to get quiet and enter his presence (or perhaps, to read a blog like this one) and then I realize afresh that God designed me to respond to stimulus to my spirit as well. It’s like an extra sense that we need to cultivate. He designed us to live keenly aware of his presence. I don’t know about you, but nothing energizes me like being in his presence.
 
I can’t control my circumstances, but I can control how much I press into God. And as I set aside time to do that, he responds in ways that fill my soul. If I had a gift to give you, it wouldn’t be spiritual power or maturity, it would be a hunger for God and for his presence. My friend Mary Liechty pointed me to this blog by Dorothea Shields on the subject.
I spoke with a friend on the phone the
other day and she was sharing with me some things the Lord had put on
her heart for the church she and her husband pastor. The Lord said
something like this to her: My people are crying out for more of Me,
for a deeper and greater hunger, but My people are not responding to My
stirrings. They aren’t getting up in the middle of the night to pray,
they aren’t in the word as they should be and if I give them a greater
hunger for Me, they will starve – it will be spiritual anorexia.

This stirred my heart because that is one of my most frequent
prayers! Hearing this word from the Lord convicted me of the times I
hadn’t responded to the Lord’s stirring, but it also convicted me that
I would be sensitive to respond in the future. We can’t be satisfied to
just be hungry and think this is good! We need to feed the hunger. This
morning I was praying and found myself crying out for more of the Lord.
I remembered this word and I stopped and asked the Lord to teach me how
to digest His presence so I wouldn’t be starving myself. He immediately
replied, “feed yourself on Me three times a day.” Further, I sensed I
should feed upon Him any time I was feeding my physical body. Simple. I
began thinking about what that would look like.

I normally eat three meals a day so that means I would need to read
my bible and pray three times a day (I’m talking about focused prayer,
reading, and listening like I do in the morning when I get up in the
morning). I enjoy my mornings with the Lord and am often sad to leave
that place of intimacy with the Lord to tend to my children (not that I
don’t want to tend to my children, but when in His presence, the time
seems too short). I always think that I will return to that place at
some point during the day, but rarely does it happen. Not only do I
miss it, but I’m sure He does too.

Father, give us a hunger for Your presence, Your ways, and Your
word but also give us the grace to answer the stirrings of Holy Spirit.
Teach us how to feast on Your presence.
Let me encourage you: Resolve to become a heat-seeking missile after Jesus. If any of you (men or women) want to link up for seven weeks, we’re starting more groups beginning in October.  Contact us through the discipleship link at the top of the page.

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