Hungering After God

     “6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
     for they will be filled.”
     Matthew 5:6

As we continue our journey through lent let us reflect on our need for the Lord and His grace.

A common tradition during lent is fasting. The idea is that the practitioner will give up meals and spend the time in prayer and reflection. Unfortunately, in our modern times the “giving up” something has come to mean things like chocolate or swearing or some other habit and little attention is given to the action of prayer and reflection.

If we look to the past, unlike today’s practice, most often those devoted to fasting would give up meals for several days (some even for the entirety of the season) and they would take that time to go to their “prayer closet” and focus on their relationship with the Creator. This time was not only spent in petition to the Lord, but also in meditation on His word and listening for the moving of the Spirit in their lives.

As you may imagine, this type of fasting did cause a truly physiological effect on the body where hunger became real for the individual. It is with this type of hunger that we are to spiritually approach the Lord. It is the aching for something to sustain us that needs to drive us to our knees to truly interact with God. In Matthew, Jesus tells the disciples, “Blessed are those…” when they come to God with a true hunger and thirst for a relationship with the Father. We learn righteousness when we truly hunger to be the people of God. It is in this desire and longing that we find ourselves walking the path that Jesus has laid out for us.

In this season of lent, take time to focus on your relationship with the Father. Do not just take inventory, but truly devote yourself to having a meeting with the Creator of all things. Listen for Him. Be grateful to Him. Be open to His moving in your heart. And as you spend time with the Lord of lords, let yourself absorb the righteousness that has been promised through the Spirit. Let yourself grow stronger in your charity to others. Let your mind stretch into new ways to worship and serve our wonderful, loving God.

A moment of prayer for lent:

Jesus, I come to you right now in this moment. I am weak and tempted in so many ways. But I desire to hold fast to You and to grow spiritually in Your path.

Father forgive me for the times I have walked away from You. Open my eyes and ears to hear Your path for me. Let me be Your tool to reach out to a broken world in love and compassion.
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Spirit of the Living God, I ask You to cover me. I seek to become righteous not in the eyes of man, but in the eyes of the Creator. I long desperately to serve You as a blessed child aware of Your constant nearness to me.

Oh, Mighty God, I turn myself over to You, now and forever more. Amen.

Kathy Hendrix