Hungering for God

Matthew 5:6 - “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Psalm 37:3-5 - Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires and petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will do it.

Psalm 119 – How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord…..who observe His testimonies and seek Him with all their heart….who do no unrighteousness and walk in His ways.

Action Statements:

  • I will give thanks
  • I will keep & rejoice in Your ways
  • I will seek & meditate with all my heart
  • Do not let me wander
  • I will treasure & store Your word
  • With my lips I will tell of You
  • My soul is crushed with longing for You
  • I cling tightly to Your testimonies
  • Give me understanding
  • Restore me with renewed energy in Your ways
  • Your word revives me and gives life
  • Give me understanding & a teachable heart
  • Establish my steps in the ways of Your word

John 6:35 - Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

2 Timothy 4:2 - Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

Matthew 6:33 - But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

1 Timothy 4:13 - Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

Romans 12:1 - I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Mark 4:19 - But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

  • Cares = anxiety and means the dividing and fracturing of a person’s being into parts.
  • Deceitfulness means lust stirred by seduction of riches in this context.
  • Enter in = affections enter the soul.
  • Choke = like weeds choking out plants or cutting off life support needed to live.
  • Proves = ginomai – emerges / transitions from one point to another. A change of condition.
  • Unfruitful = not birthed & empowered by God. Not born of faith. Romans 14:23 says, ….whatever is not from faith is sin.

Philippians 2:16 - Holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Psalm 63:1-11 - A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 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. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, ...

2 Corinthians 7:1 - Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

2 Corinthians 3:18 - And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 8:8  - Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 42:1-11 - To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah. 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? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation ...

Psalm 19:1-14 - To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. ...

2 Chronicles 7:14 - If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Peter 3:18  - But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

1 Peter 2:1-3 - So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 2:15 - Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Ephesians 6:1-24 - Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, ...

Acts 17:11 - Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Jeremiah 15:16 - Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.

Psalm 40:1-17 - To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. ...