Stay Hungry for More of God Each Day | Morning Prayer

0:02 Today, I was deeply moved by a psalm from the book of Psalms written by the sons of Korah. It's Psalm 42:1-3. A passage many of us know well. It says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living [music] God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'" The passion behind this psalmist's voice baffles and excites me at the same time. Passionately he says, "My soul thirsts

0:49 for God, for the living God." When was the last time you felt such thirst, such overflowing desire for the Lord? When was the last time a church service was more than a gathering? When was the last time you longed for his presence? When you longed for fellowship with him? Enough of pretense today. We must be truthful with ourselves. We must be able to gauge the very depth of our burning desire for him. Only then can we grow into deeper hunger for him. I believe that the greatest prayer we can pray for ourselves as believers is that our hunger for the Lord never dims.

1:36 May it be ever burning. May our hearts always be on fire for him. And may we hunger for even more of him. This brings to mind some verses of scripture in the book of Leviticus today. And these verses talk about fire on an altar. Fire that must never go out. Leviticus 6:12-13 say, "And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it. It shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every [music] morning and lay the burnt offering in order upon it. And he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.

2:22 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar. It shall never go out." See, in this picture, that altar is our hearts. We are the priests. And the wood we burn on that altar every morning is our desire, our love for the Lord, our times of fellowship in worship, prayer, and the word. [music] Those are our peace offerings that keep our hearts on fire continually. Those are the offerings that make us hunger for more of God. And the last line gives us an emphasis we must not miss. It repeats the very words that started

3:08 the first verse as though issuing a warning. It says the fire shall be ever burning upon the altar. It shall never go out. And that is the [music] big question today. How is the fire upon the altar of your heart? Is it still alive? Is it still burning? Is that fire vibrant? Do you feed that fire every day? A fire that is fed every day grows every day. When we feed the hunger in our hearts, when we stay with the Lord in our secret places daily, no matter what little time we spend, our fire grows. That means our desire for him grows.

3:55 Our passion grows. But if we do not spend that time, if we do not make that commitment, that sacrifice to always seek the Lord, our fire dims. And God forbid if the neglect is left for too long, it dies. I remember an account of the patriarch Moses' life. The Bible tells us that after Moses met with the Lord, the skin on his face shone. It was alive. The more the man Moses met with the Lord, the more he grew. Staying hungry for God each day goes beyond a prayer point. We can't just pray and be done with it. We must stay with him.

4:41 We must pay the price for being in his presence. I would say personally >> [music] >> that it is a price of time. Anyone that will grow in hunger, any man who will grow in the spirit, must have time for God. That person must make time for God. In this kingdom, time tells what we will become. The time we spend with him matters. The Bible shows us some words from King David's personal life in Psalm 119 verse 164. [music] And there the king said, "Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws."

5:26 Psalm 55 verse 17 also captures some profound words. "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice." The Bible tells us of the habit of the apostles. We learn from scripture, particularly the book of Acts, of how they kept the hours of prayer. How they returned to their company to pray. As Acts 3:1 records, "Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour." We also have records of scripture in Acts 4:23-24,

6:14 where it was said of the apostles that "On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported [music] all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them." When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, [music] "you made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them." And then there was the man Daniel, known for saying prayers to God three times a day. Daniel 6:10 says, "Daniel always prayed to God three times every day. Three times every day, he bowed down on his knees to pray and

7:01 praise God." Examples abound in scripture. Examples of men and women devoted to feeding their altars. Men and women devoted to making time for the Lord. Hungry men and women. There is no argument for our inability to make time to stoke our fires. There are no arguments that work. We can't say it is a lack of time. Time can always be made if we want to make it. I'm sure David and Daniel were very busy men. Even the apostles being in full-time ministry, but order was order. And the order of daily life as believers demands that we keep our altars burning.

7:46 Always burning. Ever burning so that our hearts will not grow cold. And there are several hearts growing cold right now. Hearts that the Lord is reaching out to. Hearts that the Lord is calling back to relight their fires. Hearts the Lord is calling out to for a return back to their secret place. Back to their place [music] of fellowship. Priests, we must burn wood on our altars. We must sustain our hunger and we must grow hungrier still because it is truly [music] the hungry that are filled. Matthew 5:6 says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

8:32 for they will be filled." If you know you are in that place today where you can't really tell where your hunger [music] is. Maybe you haven't even felt any kind of hunger for God or for the things of God for the longest time. Maybe you have completely been inconsistent in your place of fellowship. Maybe you have not been able to make time for the Lord. This prayer call today is a call to you. It's a call for you to return back to that secret place. A call for you to return back to his presence. If you are ready to answer that call today, then I ask that you join me here right

9:18 now. And let's say this prayer in faith. Heavenly Father, I realize I haven't really looked at my spiritual life for some time. But now I see myself clearly. I see where I am and how far I've drifted. I notice how I've let other things take the place that belongs to you. Your word has opened my eyes and I can't pretend everything is fine anymore. I can't act like nothing has changed in me. I can't ignore the quiet coldness that's been growing in my heart. Lord, I remember when I was full of life.

10:03 I used to feel passion for you. My heart was hungry for you. My soul longed for your presence and I wanted to spend time with you. Being close to you was never a burden. Prayer came naturally and your word felt close. Worship came from deep desire. But today, Lord, I realize I haven't felt these things in a long time. I can't remember the last time I truly prayed with all my heart. I can't remember when I last sat with your word and let it shape me, feed me, correct me, and give me strength.

10:49 I can't remember the last time I worshipped you with my whole heart. I can't remember the last time I praised you without feeling distracted. It feels like my spiritual life has taken a backseat and now I'm just busy with responsibilities, [music] concerns, and plans. I've let everything else take over and my walk with you has grown weak. Lord, today I find myself making excuses. I have reasons I could give you. I could say I am tired, that life has been hard, or that my mind is crowded with worries.

11:34 Many things have needed my attention. But deep down I know these excuses do not really explain why my faith feels weaker. Or why I have let my passion for you fade. They cannot justify why I have grown comfortable without the deep hunger I once had for you. My heart feels cold, Lord. I have lost my fire. That is why I am coming to you now. I do not want to keep going like this. I do not want to drift any further. I do not want to wake up one day and realize I am so far from you that I do not even notice it. Lord, please help me stay close to you.

12:19 Do not let me become numb. Do not let me take your presence for granted. Do not let me keep putting off my relationship with you. Heavenly Father, I ask you to restore me today. I'm not sure how much my passion has faded, but I know it is low. I do not know how long I have been drifting, but I know I need to come back. Please help me find that fire again. Help me return to my quiet place with you. Bring me back to the time when your word excited me, when it made sense, and when reading the Bible filled my soul

13:04 instead of feeling like a routine. Bring me back to the place where I finished reading and felt blessed, when my heart felt full. Bring me to the place where your voice was clear in scripture, where conviction brought me closer to you, where correction felt like love. Lord, I do not want my relationship with your [music] word to be dry. I do not want to read without understanding or hear without responding. I want my heart to be alive before you again. Help me return to prayer, to the place where prayer was truly a part of my daily life and joy.

13:52 Bring me back to where I could speak honestly with you, pour out my heart, and sit quietly in your presence, knowing I was never alone. Restore me to the kind of prayer that shaped my days, strengthen my spirit, and kept my heart open to you. Bring me back to worship, praise, and steady fellowship. Show me again how to lift my heart to you, even when I feel weak. Lord, >> [music] >> I truly want my spiritual life restored. As you renew me today, give me the grace to keep seeking more of you. Let my desire for you keep growing.

14:39 Do not let me fall back into old habits. Help me protect what you restore, and keep the fire you light in my heart. I pray for grace and wisdom to build habits that help me stay consistent. Let me keep filling my life with your word, and keep my [music] daily prayer strong. Lord, help me manage my time, and arrange my days, so I can keep growing. Thank you for today. In Jesus' name, amen. I hope this prayer helps you return to the secret place, rebuild your prayer altar, and and the fire of your love for God burning again. If you have any prayer requests, share them in the

15:25 comments. We would be honored to pray for you. May the peace of Jesus Christ be with you always.