Hunger & Desire
Steve Sampson

The greatest possession we have as believers is hunger! Jesus said, “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Mt. 5:6

It does not matter how big God is or how willing God is, but rather how great our hunger is. GOD IS LIMITED TO
OUR LEVEL OF HUNGER!

Over the years, I have noticed that Sunday morning meetings are often more difficult to experience a move of the
Holy Spirit. For a long time I never understood this that there would seem to be a struggle and sluggishness in that
Sunday morning meeting more than any other time of the week. In fact, I used to think I was having a battle with the
devil, but finally I realized that it was more a battle with God. Too many people are present on Sunday mornings
that are attending because it is Sunday, than with a desire to seek God and know God. They are attending out of
duty rather than desire! God is not pleased because He does not respond to duty, but desire!

One word for desire means, de(of) and sire(the father). As we commune with God, He births desire in our hearts.

God is putting hunger pangs in us. It is not enough to be curious, to be interested, or even to appreciate the Lord.
We must be hungry!

The Syrophonecian woman had a demon-possessed daughter. Because of her great need, she came to the Lord
with a tremendous passion and desire. At first, the Lord totally ignored her. Perhaps this stirred up even more
desire. He was provoking her to a higher level of hunger. She evidently approached the disciples as well, because
they entreated the Lord to send her away. Then He called her a dog, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and
throw it too the dogs.” He offended her! But the offense caused her desire to become even greater! Her response
was a classic. “Yes, Lord, but even the little puppies eat the crumbs which fall from the table.” I believe His attitude
at that point was, “I wasn’t going to help you, but you got me there!” Her hunger caused her to receive an amazing
insight—crumbs will always fall off the table, and there is enough power in a crumb to make my daughter well.
Jesus was overwhelmed with her insight and declared, “Woman, great is your faith, let it be done to you according
to your desire.” Mt 15:28 The word, desire, is thelo, which means, as you have previously determined. Jesus
recognized and honored her desire. She had made up her mind ahead of time that her daughter would be healed
and delivered.

Think about Hannah. God used Penninah, her rival, to provoke her to desire! This other wife agitated her so
severely that she was depressed and couldn’t eat. Her husband tried to encourage her saying, “Am I not better to
you than ten sons?” But she could not be comforted. She was provoked to desire for a child. Her desire was so
passionate that it was pure. In effect, she asked the Lord just to use her as an instrument to bring a man-child into
the world, vowing she would give him to the Lord to live in the temple. What an unselfish request. Finally, Eli the
priest saw her praying and rebuked her for being drunk. He was partly right. She was drunk with desire! Then God
put a word in Eli’s mouth, promising her the child. (I Samuel 1:17) Samuel, one of the greatest prophets who ever
lived, would not have been born without Hannah’s prayer. But Hannah would have never prayed for him, if her rival
had not provoked her, stirring up desire.

Enemies of Hunger and Desire

The greatest enemy of hunger is self-satisfaction. It is what ties God’s hands. This is an enemy we all face. The
reality is that God will do little in us when we are self-satisfied. Most came to God out of a great need, that
provoked us to seek Him and find Him. However, once God meets us and blesses us, we have a tendency to slide
back into a less-than-desperate need of Him.

Another enemy is that of distractions. Although many of us have good intentions, we are easily distracted with
things that attract(and seem to require) our attention. Multitudes of believers are distracted with all kinds of
activities(including religious). We have to learn to discipline ourselves to keep priorities in order.
Fellowship(intimacy) with God must be a priority. All power and fruit comes out of our relationship with Him.

Passion, Not Passive

We need passion. God’s people are in need of more passion. Proverbs 13:4 says, “The soul of a lazy man
desires, and has nothing.” This word, desire, means to wish for. It is not enough to wish for something, but it must
be sought for with passionate desire. To say, “I wish I could play the piano,” or “I wish I had a better job” is not
enough.

James said, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not
rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth
produced its fruit.” James 5:17-18
James was appealing to us to pray with more fervency. Elijah was subject to the same weaknesses and human
nature as us, yet his prayers caused great things to happen. We can’t just pray, we must pray with passion and
desire.

One Thing!

We know we are maturing when our desire gets down to one thing. David said, “One thing I have desired of the
Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the
Lord and to inquire in His temple.” Psalm 27:4
Jesus told Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled(distracted) about many things. But one thing is
needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42
Paul passionate desire for the Lord was evident. Although God had already used him in tremendous ways, his
desire was for more. “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended: but one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize
of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
God honors prayers of desire and passion. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God” means a specific seeking(Greek
zeteo).

You Can’t Get Strong Watching Someone Else Exercise!

Probably the strongest rebuke in the New Testament is from Hebrews 5:12-14 “For by this time you ought to be
teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principle of the oracles of “God; and you have come to
need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for
he is a babe. But solid food is for those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses
exercised to discern both good and evil.”
We have to have our own desire, our own passion and our own experiences. We cannot live on another person’s
testimony or experience.

Don’t Be a “C” Student

A student who receives “C” grades is not failing, but neither is he excelling. He is just maintaining a mediocre
plateau. It is a lukewarm position, which carries little honor. In fact, the lukewarm are those who God indicates He
desires to spit out of His mouth. “So then, because you are neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth.”
Rev. 3:16
It is interesting that if you are fervent and passionate for God, you will most likely be criticized. And if you are cold
toward God and His Kingdom, you will be condemned. However, if you are neither of those(right in the
middle—lukewarm) you will not be criticized or condemned. Yet that is the position that God hates the most.

You Can’t Get Fat on Samples

The lady who stands in a grocery store offering samples, has no intention to fill you up. She is hired to give you
samples in order to provoke you to desire—in order that you make a purchase. God does the same thing. He
moves in our lives, wooing us with His presence and stirs us. When we taste His presence or feel His stirring, it
does not mean we have received—it only means that we have tasted. We’ve tasted a sample of His presence. He
is stirring us to desire. Now we must respond and passionately seek Him for more.