20. God’s Spirit speaks to me in my desires, deep longings, and often with little information, only a hunger or thirst.

(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.) 

Every person has a longing or desire for something more than the experiences of daily life. What do you long for, deeply desire, hunger or thirst for?

Noticing our deep desires can be difficult. We are more accustomed to focusing on immediate, temporal, and visible things. What keeps you from “hearing” your deepest desires?

The deepest desires of our souls are always spiritual, not physical. They can’t be touched, bought, or sold and include things like peace, joy, contentment, and love. Which of these do you most long for?

Consider the possibility that these longings are actually God speaking to you, inviting you into these desires, longing for them with you. How does this make you feel?

What if your desires, these deep longings of your heart, are not only from the Spirit, but they are the Spirit, the evidence of God living in you?

Reflect on the possibility that one of the ways God speaks to us is through our longings. What if, to hear Him, we must (simply) pay attention to our longings? What if noticing our longings became a major pathway to experiencing more conversation with God?

The Spirit of God lives within us, in much the same place that our deepest desires originate. We are not talking about physical desires for possessions, approval, appearance, control, security, and so on. Our deeper desires and longings, always hidden beneath these surface desires, are given to us by the Spirit. These include desires and longings for peace, contentment, freedom, and love. Could it be that these desires are not just from the Spirit but are the Spirit?

The evidence of God in our lives is manifested in these deep longings. As we pay attention to these longings, we learn to recognize that the Spirit is inviting us into these deep, good desires as a way of leading us into a conversation with God. These longings and desires cannot adequately be described by words in our minds; they are deeper than words, and deeper than our minds—they come from our hearts.

It is in our hearts that we not just hear God, but come to know Him, His love for us, His desire for our good, and the abundance He offers. The language of the heart is God’s preferred voice. It surpasses words and feelings. It goes beyond understanding. Better than thoughts or feelings, it communicates God’s love. More than affirming words, or satisfying feelings, or even affectionate touches, this longing-voice of God fulfills our deepest needs and makes us fully human.

As we learn to know the voice of God, we are likely to find that we will need less and less of God’s words, less specific information or answers, and that our communication with God will grow to be more and more a speaking and listening with our hearts.