Longing for God is the breath of our souls! It is yearning for God with our heart that opens our souls to breathe in the Spirit of Christ and live for him alone.
There’s nothing more important to our lives than longing for Jesus Christ. And the beauty of it is that when we seek God we discover that he was already seeking us! That’s the Gospel! As soon as we focus our heart’s intention on Christ, we enter into his presence and step onto the path of life with him.
I’ll never forget the first time I read A.W. Tozer’s little book that has such an enormous heart for God: The Pursuit of God. As a young adult, Tozer awakened me to my deep yearning for more of God. He taught me to cultivate longing for God:
I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God. The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate. The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted (p. 17).
What helps you to cultivate longing for God? What stokes the fires of your love for the Lord Jesus Christ? Praying Scripture is probably the most important thing I do. There are many ways to do this. You might try one of my favorites:
Hungry Heart Scripture Meditations
Lectio Divina Scripture Passages
Electric Passages from the Bible to Memorize
In our Soul Shepherding ministry God’s Word is our foundation and our source of life in Christ that we share with pastors, ministry leaders, and all kinds of spiritual pilgrims.
