Longing For God

Isaiah 26:9 (HCSB)

I long for You in the night; yes, my spirit within me diligently seeks You.


Psalm 42:1-2a (HCSB)

As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. I thirst for God, the living God.

 

Psalm 63:1

(HCSB) God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You. I thirst for You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.

(NASB) O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 

St. Augustine

Look upon us, O Lord, and let all the darkness of our souls vanish before the beams of Thy brightness. Fill us with holy love, and open to us the treasures of Thy wisdom. All our desire is known unto Thee, therefore perfect what Thou hast begun, and what Thy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer. Turn Thy face unto us and show us Thy glory. Then shall our longing be satisfied, and our peace shall be perfect.


Works of St. Anselm, tr. by Sidney Norton Deane "Proslogium": Chapter I.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/ans/ans007.htm 

UP now, slight man! flee, for a little while, thy occupations; hide thyself, for a time, from thy disturbing thoughts. Cast aside, now, thy burdensome cares, and put away thy toilsome business. Yield room for some little time to God; and rest for a little time in him. Enter the inner chamber of thy mind; shut out all thoughts save that of God, and such as can aid thee in seeking him; close thy door and seek him. Speak now, my whole heart! speak now to God, saying, I seek thy face; thy face, Lord, will I seek (Psalm 27:8). And come thou now, O Lord my God, teach my heart where and how it may seek thee, where and how it may find thee.


Richard Rolle of Hampole (c. 1290 - c. 1349)  Fire of Love

Verily God is of infinite greatness, more than we can think. Unknowable by created things; and can never be comprehended by us as He is in Himself. But even here and now, whenever the heart begins to burn with a desire for God, it is made able to receive the uncreated light and, inspired and fulfilled by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it tastes the joys of heaven. It transcends all visible things and is raised to the sweetness of eternal life. Herein truly is perfect love; when all the intent of the mind, all the secret working of the heart, is lifted up into the love of God. 

Richard Sibbes  The Soul's Conflict With Itself

A heaven (minded) soul is never satisfied, until it be as near God as is attainable. And the nearer a creature comes to God, the more it is emptied of itself, and all self-aims. Our happiness is more in Him, than in ourselves. We seek ourselves most when we deny ourselves most. And the more we labour to advance God, the more we advance our condition in Him. It is our chief wisdom to know him, our holiness to love him, our happiness to enjoy him.

 

Thomas Watson The Lord's Prayer

God's children desire God, like the beating of the heart indicates life. A little of God will not satisfy. We are thankful for grace received, but desire more: more knowledge, purity, and more of His presence. We long to see him face to face, and be perfected in glory; to plunge into His sweetness and be swallowed up in Him.

 

Samuel Rutherford The Loveliness of Christ

Christ is a well of life, but who knows how deep it is to the bottom? I have little of him, yet long for more.

 

Richard Baxter The Saints' Everlasting Rest

Lord, I surrender. I am completely overcome by your love. Your captive will gladly proclaim your victory. Though I cannot say that I love You as You love me, yet I can say, "Lord, You know that I want to love You. I am angry with my heart that it does not love You more."


Thomas Shepard  The Parable of the Ten Virgins

There is in true grace an infinite circle, a man by thirsting receives, and receiving thirst for more. 


Blaise Pascal  Pensees (Thoughts)

Be of good cheer - you would not seek Me if you had not found Me.


C.H. Spurgeon  "The Panting Heart" 

https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=92223183127238 

When a man pants after God, it is a secret life within which makes him do it: he would not long after God by nature.


A.W. Tozer    

        The Root of the Righteous

The great saints of the past have all had yearning hearts. Their longing after God all but consumed them; it propelled them onward and upward to heights toward which less ardent Christians look with languid eye and entertain no hope of reaching. May we offer this word of exhortation: pray on, fight on, sing on! Press on into the deep things of God. Keep your feet on the ground, but let your heart soar as high as it will!

        The Pursuit of God

"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long."

        Jesus, Our Man In Glory

It has been my feeling that the whole race has harbored a yearning to go back to God’s presence, to return to Eden. I do not mean that everyone in the race wants to be a Christian. Too many are satisfied with the world, the flesh and the devil. But when you come to really know men and women, you often will find a wistful yearning, a longing probably not identified, to know what it meant for Adam and Eve to be able to dwell contentedly in the presence of their God and Creator.

In it all we see the blinding effect of sin. Men and women do not really want to be good. They do not want to submit to the will of God. Yet the longing for that Presence still is there.

        Rut, Rot or Revival

To be fascinated, according to the dictionary, is to be held spellbound by some irresistible charm. If something does not fascinate us, we can take it or leave it. It is like the various art exhibitions. I can take them or leave them. I am not drawn to them by a charm that I cannot break. 

In the kingdom of God there is also the law of fascination. Christians who do not know the law will never be anything but half-Christians all their lives. They will always be in the rut. The law of fascination as seen in the world is often a personal tragedy. Being fascinated by something evil, base or unworthy can be a terrible tragedy...(but)...our Lord says, "Come to me and be fascinated by me. Concentrate upon me, surrender to me and yield so completely to me that you can give all to me."

Fernando Ortega  "I Need Thee Every Hour"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZIMDcgrF-Q 


Psalm 107:9 (ESV)

For (the LORD) satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.