In the book Longing for God, Richard Foster highlights the story of St. Francis of Assisi, who lived a life of passionate longing for the Lord. He spent his nights praying to God with “intense fervor and devotion,” crying out, “My God and my all! My God and my all!”
The life of St. Francis reveals a study in passionate devotion and longing for God, but what does it really mean to long for God? To be consumed by a raw hunger and thirst for God, to feel that life is nothing without His presence?
Many of us feel a deep hunger for God but mask it with a desire for love and acceptance from peers. Youth especially long to be loved and valued by others, to feel they matter to someone. It’s important to help youth understand real security comes from a devoted relationship with God. Modern society makes it so easy for us to fill the void with distractions, but doesn’t this just leave us longing more for God in the end?
In Psalm 63:8, David calls out for God, saying, “My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.” This was during a desperate time of David’s life; but even in good times, a consuming hunger is essential for spiritual growth.
Take some time and study David’s Psalm 63: “O God, You are my God,” David said in verse 1. “Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my body longs for You in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Sit down with your youth and talk about a time when they have felt a sincere and burning hunger for God. Was this feeling the result of a circumstance or a desire? Did they feel that God answered their cry? Did they continue to seek God after the circumstance passed?
This devotional uses quotes on St. Francis from the book Longing for God by Richard Foster (IVP).
