Collegiate Day of Prayer Global: 40-Day Prayer GuideSample

Day 7: Do You Truly Know God?

By Tiago Suguihara (Tiago is the senior pastor of Relevans Church in São Paulo, Brazil.)

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

— Matthew 5:6

In our spiritual journeys, we often accumulate vast knowledge about God through sermons, Bible studies, and personal reading. But a profound question remains: do we truly know Him? It’s one thing to know about God intellectually—to understand His works and attributes—and quite another to experience His presence, to walk with Him, to hear His voice, and to recognize His heart for us. Knowledge about God can leave us full of information but empty of intimacy.

This is where so many are today: spiritually informed yet relationally distant. God invites us into so much more, calling us beyond knowledge into intimacy. He desires for us to move from knowing about Him to truly knowing Him—personally, deeply, and genuinely.

Our world is filled with people who are spiritually hungry, constantly searching for something to satisfy their inner longing. Some turn to careers, relationships, or even religion, thinking these will fulfill them. Yet, they still feel empty. Ironically, many seek satisfaction everywhere except where it can truly be found—in a relationship with God.

God is not drawn to intellectual knowledge or surface-level religion. He is drawn to hunger. Throughout history, He has poured out His Spirit and brought revival in places where people are genuinely thirsty for Him. God searches for those who will pursue Him with an intense, unquenchable longing—a hunger that can only be satisfied in His presence. His Spirit cannot be forced, but He can be welcomed where hearts are passionately seeking Him. This hunger for God not only attracts His presence but transforms us and, through us, the world around us.

Take time today to examine your heart. Are you seeking to know God personally, or are you merely content with knowing about Him? Ask yourself where you have been trying to satisfy spiritual hunger with temporary substitutes. True hunger for God isn’t just a fleeting emotion but a deep, persistent longing that drives us closer to Him each day. Pray for this hunger to be ignited in your heart, and commit to pursuing God with a fresh, relentless passion that goes beyond routine and embraces intimacy.

Lord, I want more than just knowledge of You. Awaken in me a deep, unquenchable hunger for Your presence. Teach me to seek You, to know You, and to experience Your heart. Forgive me for seeking fulfillment in other places. May my life be a place where Your Spirit is welcomed and where my heart cries out for more of You every day. Amen.

PRAYER POINTS:

• Pray for a deep hunger and thirst in the hearts of Christians that drives them into a true relationship with God.
• Pray that God stirs within us a longing for intimacy that surpasses surface-level knowledge, leading to genuine transformation.
• Cry out for a move of God’s Spirit that will cause even the hardest hearts to be softened, declaring, “There is a God!”