Stay Hungry

The Sign You Are Still Alive in God

Beloved Friend,

Hunger says a lot about the health of a person. Loss of appetite is hardly ever normal. It is usually a sign of sickness or emotional strain. Even people who suppress hunger do it intentionally. Nobody just stops eating without a reason.

Spiritual hunger works exactly the same way. A believer who suddenly loses taste for prayer, scripture or fellowship is not passing through a harmless phase. Something is wrong. Hunger is proof of life. A return of hunger is one of the first signs that a soul is getting stronger again. Doctors even use appetite to judge recovery.

I have also noticed something about hunger in everyday life. People respond to it differently. Some feel the effects immediately. They miss one meal and their body starts announcing it. Others do not look hungry at first. Their weakness shows later. Spiritual life has the same pattern. A person who stops engaging the Word may still look fine for a while. Their strength starts leaking slowly until it becomes obvious that something has shifted.

There is also the part we do not always talk about. Hunger affects comprehension. Nothing makes sense when your body is empty. Even your sight can feel strange. The same is true spiritually. Confusion becomes louder when the Word becomes faint. A person who has not been eating well spiritually will struggle to hear the voice behind them saying this is the way walk in it. Clarity gets lost because nourishment is missing.

My supervisor in Edo State, Hellen, used to say something funny. She always said na strength person dey take craze. She asked me once if I had ever seen a hungry mad man wreck havoc. They usually sit quietly in one place. Once they eat even a little, wahala activates immediately. She knew what she was saying. Auchi and craze people are like five and six. You cannot go a day without seeing at least one. Even some who look normal are not entirely okay. That area has stories for days.

A hungry Christian cannot wreck havoc in the kingdom of darkness. Even when trouble shows up in a dream and the person shouts blood of Jesus, the enemy can tell if the believer’s strength is low. The prayer comes out like God help me, na die I dey. It is why God had to feed Elijah in 1 Kings 19. Hunger made him start speaking carelessly. Once he ate, clarity returned. Strength always returns where food is present.

Something else about hunger has been heavy on my heart. God uses it to open people into new seasons. Hunger is often His first invitation. Before He shifts your path, He shifts your appetite. A new desire rises quietly. A fresh longing pulls your heart toward something deeper.

This showed clearly in scripture. Hannah’s longing for a child was not ordinary. It was God stirring a hunger that would bring Samuel into the world. Elizabeth carried years of silence in her womb yet when her season came, her hope awakened again. David’s thirst for God in the wilderness was not random. God was preparing him for kingship by deepening his appetite for Him. Jesus Himself taught this principle. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled. Filling comes after hunger.

It shows up in real life too. A person can suddenly become restless about their job without knowing why. Clarity usually comes later when the new thing God was preparing them for appears. Many believers discover that a sudden hunger for prayer or the Word was God strengthening them ahead of a new responsibility. Hunger reveals what the mouth has not yet spoken.

Whenever God wants to grow you, He touches what you crave.

We have entered the last month of the year. This is not the time to lose appetite. December has a way of distracting people. Plenty of activities. Plenty of noise. Little hunger. A believer cannot eat one big meal and remain full forever. Even people who say I am so full I cannot eat again still wake up hungry the next morning. Spiritual life works the same way. Yesterday’s strength cannot carry today’s assignment.

My prayer for you this week is simple. May hunger return where it was lost. May your appetite for God deepen. May the Word feel fresh in your mouth and prayer feel like breath again. Growth meets those who remain hungry.

With thoughts of kindness,

ABBA’s Shofar