Several days ago, I spent some time praying about what to write in this post. That night, just as I was laying my head on my pillow, several Bible passages came to mind. I jotted them down before I went to sleep. Here they are with some thoughts about each one.

The Kingdom of God and Desire

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)

You don’t ask for something unless you want it. You don’t really seek unless you are hoping to find what you are looking for. Behind these actions—asking, seeking, knocking—is desire. Desire is important in the Kingdom of God.

Desire and Prayer

Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said to the people of Judah:

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:12-13)

Seeking the Lord with all your heart requires strong desire. Desire is important in the Kingdom of God.

Weak Desires, Competing Desires

Many times, however, we find our desire for spiritual things alarmingly weak. We might even wonder how strongly we ought to desire such things. C. S. Lewis clarifies the matter:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses,New York, Macmillan, 1949, p. 2.

Desire and Spiritual Gifts

When it came to spiritual gifts, the idea I learned at the various churches I attended growing up was that one shouldn’t desire too much. If you have a particular spiritual gift, then great. If you don’t have that gift, then don’t get too bothered about it. After all, you don’t want to fall into error by wanting something that God hasn’t given.

I wonder if the Apostle Paul saw things differently.

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)

Yes, in the context, Paul is prioritizing edifying the church over edifying oneself. But still the principle remains: we can and should desire spiritual gifts.

Desire and Hearing God’s Voice

Learning to hear God’s voice also requires a certain amount of desire. You are probably going to make some mistakes along the way. You may get frustrated and feel like giving up. Desire to be in communion with Jesus will help you continue your journey.

Reflection

So, how strong is your desire? Do you desire to hear Jesus’ voice enough to spend some time learning to recognize how he speaks? Is developing sensitivity to the Holy Spirit a skill that warrants daily practice?

Let me know what you think.

Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash