When Hunger for God Rises Within, Feed the Fire

We’re hearing ripples of revival. Seeing fresh hunger for God in unexpected places. Feeling the stirring within our own souls.

God is on the move, as always. But we’re noticing it now.

The cracks in our culture—the very things that deeply grieve us—let the light of Christ in. Light is always brightest when the dark is darkest. And isn’t it like God to bring uncontainable hope alongside the hard-to-reconcile and still-being-redeemed?

Isn’t it like God to bring uncontainable hope alongside the hard-to-reconcile and still-being-redeemed? (Twyla Franz quote about hunger for God and stirrings of revival)

The holy rumble of God’s kingdom coming here “on earth as it will be in heaven” (Matthew 6:10) begs the question: how do we fan the fire?

What will keep our hearts expectant? How can we nurture this new hunger for God?

The Simple Way to Keep Hunger for God Strong

These questions invite me back in time to a large room with a small wood stove in New Zealand. It’s summer 2002 and I’m here with 70+ teammates for a mission trip.

I’ll never forget what I learned from a team leader that day.

“Picture your heart like a wood stove,” he said. “What keeps the fire from going out?”

“Wood,” we responded in unison.

“Yes! You keep your fire for God going when you continually restock the wood.”

What is this wood?

The Word. Worship. Prayer. Gratitude. Christ-centered conversation. Giving. Serving. All that spiritually nourishes the soul.

Feed the fire within with Christ. He’s fuel for our souls. Bread and Living Water.

It’s as simple as that, yet we tend to overcomplicate it. We put on parameters like the length of time we spend with Jesus, the time of day we meet with Him, and how much we read in our Bibles. We compare our morning routines to others’ and get stuck in defeat.

This too: we view our “God time” as entirely separate from the rest of our lives, as if God cannot be on our minds the rest of the time.

But what if there’s grace for flexibility in the practices that pull us closer to God? What if we can keep ongoing conversation with God as we go about the rest of our day? What if there is room for the holy in the ordinary rhythms of life?

Prayer Meets Actual Life

Brother Lawrence, a 17th century monk, certainly thought it possible.

Here’s what he discovered: “In the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees.”

best Brother Lawrence quotes from The Practice of the Presence of God

It’s been a while since I read The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence’s book, but this quote has stuck with me over the years. It invites us to know God in a way that doesn’t fluctuate throughout the day. That fills us with peace, joy, strength, and hunger for God, moment by moment.

Brother Lawrence kept the fire in his heart stoked by constant conversation with God. Prayer was not an obligation to him but sheer joy. Not overthought, but simply practiced in many small ways. As Brother Lawrence explains of God,

He does not ask much of us, merely a thought of Him from time to time, a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for His grace, sometimes to offer Him your sufferings, at other times to thank Him for the graces, past and present, He has bestowed on you, in the midst of your troubles to take solace in Him as often as you can. Lift up your heart to Him during your meals and in company; the least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to Him. One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think.

God is closer than we often realize. Nearer than we expect. Expectancy opens our eyes to see Him, bending towards us. And this habit of prayer throughout the day Brother Lawrence taught us is one way to stoke the fire burning in our hearts for God.

Talk to God, often. Talk to Him like He’s listening (because He is). Talk to Him like He cares (because He does). Talk to Him with expectancy (because He wants to overwhelm you with His weighty glory).

Keep It Uncomplicated

When we invite God into the ordinariness of our lives, adding wood to the woodstoves of our hearts feels less like a chore and more like a natural overflow. We desire God, so we move towards Him. We engage. We pray with openness and trust. We talk to Him like He’s right next to us. We talk about Him to others like we can’t stop thinking about Him.

A consistent quiet time teaches us to make God a priority. We learn to show up, open up the Word, and pour out our prayers daily, whether we feel like it or not. But when our quiet time becomes a to-do list item or something we grade ourselves on, we miss the fluid, informal ways we can connect with God throughout the day.

The truth is you don’t need lengthy uninterrupted time with God so much as you need time with Him throughout the day. Alone time with Him is meant to be a launch pad for conversation throughout the day, not the sole goal.

The key is to keep coming to Him. That’s how our hunger for God grows.

So let your morning routine flex. Worship God in the minutes you have, even if they are few. Soak in Scripture, even if it’s a single verse. Invite Him into your day, even when it’s as short as a breath prayer. Make time in the Word–time with The Word, Jesus Himself–your favorite part of the day. But don’t stop conversing with God and about Him when you close your Bible, rise from your knees, or set your pen aside.

Here are a few practical ways to keep God on your mind throughout the day: