When you wake up tomorrow, and the world starts anew, pause and say to the Lord, “Today, I want you to draw me closer to Yourself. I wish to experience a level of intimacy with You that I haven’t yet attained. Lord, I have tasks I need to accomplish today.

I want You to be so real to me that, while I’m engaged in these, I remain aware of Your presence. Awaken that hunger within me. Instill a deeper thirst for You in my heart. Lord, if I’m attracted to something that could pull me away from You, pull me back. Keep me from straying. Create such a longing for You within my life that it completely influences my conversations, actions, and motives all day long.” Do you think He won’t respond to this prayer? He certainly will.

Key points

1. Do we truly grasp hunger and thirst? In the West, we may not fully appreciate these concepts as much as those who originally heard Jesus speak these words. If we feel hungry or thirsty, we go to the refrigerator, but in biblical times, people worked for a full day’s pay to have enough to eat.

2. Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness: We discussed righteousness as ultimately being a hunger for God, as God is at the heart of righteousness.

Main Text

Matthew 5:1-12 (ESV)