We all know what it is like to be hungry for food and thirsty for something to drink. Just as our physical body gets hungry and thirsty, our spirit-man can crave spiritual food and water.

Psalms 42:1 puts it this way: "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul thirsts for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" However, when we lived a life-style of sin, we tried to substitute this God-given desire for Him with many other things. Some of those things may not have been bad by themselves, such as hobbies. But when we put those things before God in importance, they became idols to us. Of course immoral things like lust, greed, and pride are certainly idols. Substituting those things for God in our lives is like drinking salt water . It looks delicious but only leaves us more thirsty than we were before! Some things people use to substitute for God in their life are like spiritual diet pills. They suppress the real hunger and prompt people to say things like, "I don’t need God," or "I’m happy like I am." But the hunger and thirst is always there. Only Jesus satisfies.

We were created by God, for God. Therefore, only God will satisfy. Jesus said, "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty again." (John 4:14) Later, Jesus said, "If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37) Meeting with God and worshiping Him His way . . . in the power of His Spirit . . . is the only water that really satisfies. Reading and studying God’s Word . . . the Bible . . . is the only food that really satisfies.

In I Peter 2:2 & 3 we are commanded, "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

We usually make time to do what we want to do. If we want to do something badly enough, we will find a way to do it. When we are very hungry for food, we find a way to eat! The key is being hungry.

Jesus found time to spend with His Heavenly Father. From Mark 1:35 we read of one occasion: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." Matthew 14:22-24 tells of another time Christ got alone to pray: "Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When the evening came, he was there alone."

If Jesus needed to get alone to spend time with God, certainly we must do the same. In fact, Jesus instructs us to do so in Matthew 6:6: "But when you pray go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Meeting with God may be our greatest privilege . No matter how hungry we are for God, He is even more eager to meet with us. He created us to have a relationship with Him. Don’t forget that God is a real Person.

No communication , no relationship! While some people are not easy to talk to, it is easy to talk to God. He always listens.

In our relationships with people, we tend to talk more than we listen . Although God is a great listener, we should be more eager to listen to what He has to say!

We do not have to use any special language when we worship and pray. We simply thank God for His wonderful qualities and for His great works . God wants us to praise Him.

We know that God is everywhere. Yet, we must as we worship the Lord to draw near to Him in a close relationship. In James 4:8 we are given a command and a promise, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." The more we focus upon Him the more He focuses on us.

A big part of praising the Lord is giving thanks. Psalm 118:29 says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." As we praise God for what He has done for us, He manifests His presence to us. In Psalm 16:11 the psalmist proclaims, "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence . . ."

The book we call "the Bible" is God’s word to us. As Christians it is the final authority about spiritual truth. It is our standard for both faith and practice. II Timothy 3:16 states: "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." In short, it is our life’s instruction manual given by God.

Some may say, "But it is a book written by man." The truth is that although there were about 40 different writers who wrote over a period of approximately 1600 years, it has only one Author - God’s Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:20, 21 explains, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, "It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’."

If we are what we eat, and we digest His Word, it will become a part of us. There are great benefits in having God’s Word become a part of us. Psalm 119:11 says, "I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you." We develop greater influence with God when we pray. "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." (John 15:7)

As we eat more our appetite increases. That can be bad when it comes to food. But we can never get enough of God!

Plan now to meet with God every single day. Develop a great appetite for His presence!

by David Logan