Hungry for God: 10 Ways to Increase Your Spiritual Longing
I’ve been watching the squirrels gather acorns in the forest behind our house, and their preparations draw me to think about spiritual hunger. How do we stay hungry for God when the world offers so many ways to fill our inner hunger?
When our hunger for God becomes the driving force in our lives, we experience transformation in his presence.
Today, we’ll explore 10 ways to stay hungry for God as we respond to his pursuit.
Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help fuel your hunger for God.
How to Be Hungry for God
Let’s take a closer look.
10 Ways to Stay Hungry for God
1. Pursue spiritual nourishment in God’s Word.
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deut. 8:3, ESV).
Jesus quoted this verse to Satan during his temptation in the wilderness. Satan had tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread to satisfy his hunger after 40 days of fasting. Jesus replied, “Man does not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
God wants us to remember that we need more than physical nourishment for our bodies; we all need spiritual nourishment as well.
God’s Word is our spiritual food. Reading, memorizing, studying, and meditating on Scripture fuels our hunger for God.
2. Turn to Jesus.
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” (John 6:35).
We cannot access God apart from Jesus. For this reason, we begin to become hungry for God when we turn to Jesus, receiving him as the Lord and leader of our lives.
3. Seek the Lord with all your heart.
The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10).
Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. If your life feels like something is lacking today, turn to God.
Talk to him in prayer.
Worship him in song.
As you seek God, your hunger for him will increase. He promises to draw near to those who draw near to him. He will satisfy your hunger.
4. Become hungry for God by resisting the temptation to fill up on worldly things.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Matthew 5:6).
We all face the temptation to fill ourselves with comforts of this world. Sadly, when we are satiated with worldly comforts, we have little spiritual hunger for God.
Rather than escaping into food, entertainment, shopping, or other things of this world, what if we learned to turn to God in our emptiness? Perhaps we would find that he satisfies our spiritual hunger.
5. Crave the Word.
Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation (1 Peter 2:2).
In his first letter, Peter encouraged his readers to crave the pure spiritual milk of God’s Truth.
We can train ourselves to crave God’s Word. Just as our bodies can settle into habits involving sleep, exercise, and eating, we can train ourselves to crave God’s Word by establishing habits of reading his Word at certain times.
Studies show that it takes just over two months to build a habit.
6. Treasure the Word.
I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food (Job 23:12).
Job suffered immense loss. Nevertheless, he continued to treasure God’s Word.
When we treasure God’s Word more than anything else in our temporal lives, we will find satisfaction in him. We will also become hungry for God because Scripture fuels spiritual hunger.
7. Delight yourself in the Lord.
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food” (Isaiah 55:1-2).
When we listen diligently to God, he satisfies us.
Turn to God in prayer. Seek him in his Word. Learn to delight yourself in him, and he will increase your spiritual hunger.
8. Create space for longing.
For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things (Psalm 107:9).
We all need to create space for longing.
This might look like taking a moment to sit with God before the day begins. Talk to him about the longings and desires of your heart. Dig deep. Acknowledge your deep longing for face-to-face communion with him.
9. Become hungry for God as you join him in his kingdom work.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33).
Faith produces action.
Ask God to show you what he is doing in the world around you. Join him in his kingd0m-building work. He will fuel and increase your spiritual hunger in the process.
10. Spend time with people who sharpen you and stir your hunger for God.
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17).
Our hunger for God also increases as we spend time with people who long for him.
We were created to help each other grow in every way.
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In conclusion, hunger for God increases as we seek him. The more we find satisfaction in his presence, the greater our hunger becomes. Continue responding to God’s pursuit of you. He wants to fuel and fill your spiritual longings.
If these thoughts on being hungry for God encouraged you, I also invite you to explore our family devotional books and library of free devotionals and eBooks below. Be blessed as you draw near to God!
Calling All Parents and Grandparents!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 7, 12, and 16, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. I also recently released a teen devotional called Anchored, designed to help teens learn key biblical narratives and apply them to their lives. You can find these books here or read more below. 
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Devotions for Boys by Boys
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
These Books Are Free on Kindle Unlimited: God Wants to Heal, Restore, and Refresh You
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. He also wants to help you establish a rhythm of meeting with him daily as you trust him with the hard parts of your life. Click here to explore two books that will guide you: Be Still and Trust and Lean Into Grace. They are free on the Kindle Unlimited program and for sale in print.
Download Your Free Devotional Here
Set Free: Let God Do What You Cannot explores ten realms in which most of us need God to work in our lives and bring deliverance. We’ll talk about finding freedom from fear, worry, insecurity, bad habits, emotional pain, and more. This short online devotional will bless you as you let God accomplish what you’ve been unable to achieve through willpower. Get your download for free with promo code GRACE or for a donation of 3.99 here. Thank you. This small gift helps keep this ministry running.
I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
