“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment”.

Matthew 22:37-38 KJV

Passion is a very powerful thing. An emotion often characterised by enthusiasm and excitement about someone or something. Every one of us is passionate about something or a few things. Be it family, friends, a job, a discovery, a hobby or an activity, this overwhelming excitement keeps you continuously invested come rain or shine! So, in this sense, a passion for God is surely an intense enthusiasm for God. Even beyond this, it is zeal, drive, craving, desire, delight, fervency, hunger, and thirst, all pouring from our love for God.

It is what David was talking about when he said, ‘As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God’ (Psalm 42:1, KJV). Or when he said, “My love for your house burns in me like a fire….” (Psalm 69:9, CEV). Paul also speaking about his passion for God said “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death” (Phil 3:10, NLT). He also expressed this passion deeply when he said “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21, KJV). What a passionate commitment to make!

In the days of the bible, passion for God spread like wild fire and it was so tangible in the hearts and deeds of believers despite the fierce persecutions they faced. Today the contemporary believer can be distracted by career, money, power, status and education. These factors and more continue to dwindle and weaken the passion for God in our hearts and deeds. We should ask the Lord to reorder our priorities and renew our passion for Him. 

Here’s our text again, in the passion translation (TPT):

“Jesus answered him, “‘Love the Lord your God with EVERY PASSION OF YOUR HEART, WITH ALL THE ENERGY OF YOUR BEING, and with EVERY THOUGHT THAT IS WITHIN YOU.’ This is the great and supreme commandment”.

Matthew 22:37-38 TPT

Pray now that you will love the Lord with every passion of your heart. Pray that your passion will be evident in every energy of your being. This means you will employ all your strength to loving and serving God. Pray that even your thoughts will be completely overwhelmed by passion and hunger for God.

To further grasp and deepen our passion for God, we must first realise how passionate He is about us. It is a passion that outlives all kinds – so powerful, it brought about His suffering and sacrificial death on the cross all for the sake of mankind! The bible speaks about us as “His bride” (Ephesians 5:22) and Him as ‘our husband’ (Isiah 54:5). What better way to describe His love and passion for us than the sacred union of marriage! Therefore ‘we love because He first loved us’ (1 John 4:19, KJV).

This verse puts it even more clearly:

“FOR IT IS CHRIST’S LOVE THAT FUELS OUR PASSION and holds us tightly, because we are convinced that He has given His life for all of us. This means all died with Him.”

2 Corinthians 5:14 TPT

Pray now that the Holy Spirit will reveal to you a deeper understanding of the love of Christ. Pray that this same love will fuel your passion for God. Pray that it will fuel your personal relationship with God especially your prayer and study life. Pray that it will fuel your commitment to serving God and spreading the good news about Jesus. Pray that our church and the church in Ireland will experience a significant renewal in her passion for God.

Further Reading: Revelation 2:4, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Galatians 4:19, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Job 14:14, Esther 4:16