Two months ago, I attended a three-day prayer and fasting retreat organized by my church. It was an invaluable moment of basking in God’s sweet presence. There were no distractions, zilch.

For three days, all we did was pray, read the Word, and attend an evening service. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The presence of God felt so tangible. God was right there, and my flesh had never been more tamed.

On our last day, I didn’t feel like leaving the prayer centre. I wanted to linger and gobble up more of God’s sweet, indescribable presence.

For a moment, I felt that my family could wait. My work and responsibilities lost urgency momentarily. I could live in this place forever!

Admittedly, there was a stark difference in my hunger for God on a normal day and while nestled away in the glorious prayer center.

This got me thinking about my spiritual appetite. What if I woke up each day with an insatiable hunger and thirst for God?

What if I couldn’t bear a morning without talking to the lover of my soul and poring over His statutes?

Is it possible to be attuned to God every waking moment without having to hurtle away for a couple of days? Here’s what I found out.

Daily Renew Your Mind

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

It is possible to walk in the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God- just not with our carnal minds.

After receiving Christ, we become new creations. Our spirits are rejuvenated, but our minds need daily renewal.

This means that we have to overhaul the stuff we expose our minds to.

• We have to seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
• We have to seek the kingdom of God and its righteousness first.
• We need to set our minds on things above, not on things on earth.(Colossians 3:1-2)
• We have to meditate on the word of God day and night, not veering from it to the left or right (Joshua 1:8).

By constantly renewing our minds, seeking and focusing on heavenly things, our spiritual appetite is reinvigorated.

It morphs from an earthly one to a God saturated one. Because a sponge only oozes the liquid it was drenched in.

Retrace Your Steps

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Revelation 2:4-5).

The church at Ephesus was commended for its doctrinal integrity and perseverance in the face of adversity.

They, however, had one glaring undoing. They had forsaken their first love for God.

Like this church, many of us start our Christian walk blazing hot—a spring in our step and fire in our belly.

We want nothing to do with our former ways and are zealous in seeking God.

Like newborn babes, we eagerly desire the pure milk of the word and can not fathom spending a day without quarrying heavenly gems from the scriptures.

We spend hours communing with God in prayer and leaning in for His voice.

But along the way, as the novelty of our relationship wears off, lethargy kicks in. Our zeal dwindles, our spiritual palates go bland.

God is constantly calling us to go back to our first love. He wants us to retrace the old paths and walk in them. Only then will we find rest for our souls (Jeremiah 6:16).

Adopt an Eternal Perspective

“ The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:17)

This world is temporary. Awfully, painstakingly temporary. One day Christ will return for His bride. Those who died in Him will rise first.

Those still alive and have their garments clean will be caught up together with them in the clouds, and meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

The world and everything in it will pass away.

The flurry of things that distract us, tainting our spiritual appetite, will grind to a thunderous halt.

Little wonder that Paul counted earthly things as rubbish. Dung. He traded them for the excellence of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8).

Did you see that? Trading dung for excellency. What a mighty exchange!

Paul further instructs us to live circumspectly, not as unwise but wise (Ephesians 5:15).

Seeing that the world is just a temporary facet of our lives, why do we allow ourselves to be derailed from eternal things?

When we adopt an eternal perspective, laying up treasures in heaven, we recoup our appetite for godly things.

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Gouge Out, Amputate!

Jesus suggested a rather rigorous approach towards distractions. He prescribed gouging out eyes and amputating limbs if only to keep our focus solely on Him (Mathew 5:29-30).

This depicts the seriousness with which God wants us to obliterate our distractions, thereby realigning our spiritual appetite.

You know best the things that keep you from leaning in to God, praying, reading His statutes, and fellowshipping with other believers.

We are in a race, and we must make it to the finish line by hook or crook.

We are therefore to lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us (Hebrews 12:1).

Like an athlete competing in a race, we are to be temperate in ALL THINGS (1 Corinthians 9:25)

Let’s be ruthless in tossing away distractions. They are not worth it.

Isolate for Intimacy

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:16)

Jesus was one with God, but still relished intimate moments of fellowship with the Father.

Besides, He needed to be empowered for the rigorous ministry ahead of him. Alone in the wilderness, he enjoyed uninterrupted moments with His father. His Numero uno.

We live in a noisy world peppered with distractions. Retreating enables us to seek Him wholeheartedly.

God promised Israel that they would seek Him and find Him when they searched for Him with all their heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

He is not unjust. He rewards those who seek Him diligently (Hebrews 11:6)

Retreating in prayer and fasting accelerates our zeal for Him and recalibrates our spiritual cravings.

Start Your Day Right

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” (Psalm 90:14).

How you start your day matters (I wrote about it here). When we kick off the day in prayer, reading, and meditating on God’s word, we position ourselves for a victorious day.

We set the pace for the rest of the day, tethering ourselves to the narrow path.

Our spiritual hunger also gets satiated bright and early.

Jesus commanded us to seek His kingdom first and its righteousness (Mathew 6:33).

Seeking Him first every day before we attend to life’s demands helps us guard our spiritual appetite

Final Thoughts

Jesus applauded Mary for sitting at His feet. He then reminded Martha that only one thing was needful and Mary had chosen it. Have you?