Hunger for God in New York City

One of the greatest challenges of seeking God in our time seems to be the immediacy with which we can try to satisfy our hunger. Everywhere we look, there’s an attempt to solve the feeling of our own lack and an enticing pull to live for ourselves rather than finding all we need in God.

I live in New York City, a city known for its bright lights and lavish living. It’s a city deeply rooted in systems of power, money, and sex. Though in the midst of the noise, it’s beautiful to see how God’s people are making space for the presence of God and reorienting their hearts to seek Him.

The word “hunger” is what first comes to my mind when I think about what God is doing in this city. NYC isn’t an easy place to be a Christian for a lot of reasons, and yet in many kingdom communities, there are folks living on fire for God with an intense longing to know Him and to make Him known.

I work in the performing arts and lead an organization called Rise Collective. Rise Collective exists to multiply disciples of Jesus through cultivating space for them to get to know God and His Word in community. This ministry came about in response to a time God spoke to me in college through Isaiah 60: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.” Through this verse, God gave me a vision to help women in NYC live rooted in their identity in Christ and rise with the light of Christ through their lives. I’ve been seeing God change women’s lives through this ministry for the past four years.

What I am finding through Rise Collective and many other kingdom communities in NY is that God seems to be saying “arise” as he awakens people to a longing to be satisfied in Him. He is calling people out of darkness and stirring in them a hunger for His presence over the things of this world. And the ripple effect of this? His Kingdom is coming.

His Kingdom is coming to Broadway, to fashion, to finance, to Wall Street, to the UN. Because behind the power, money, awards and high rise buildings, people are searching for the satisfaction that is only found in God. And God is accomplishing this the way he always has. He is inviting people to “come” to him, to come and feast on him.

Isaiah 55:1-2 says, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat . . . Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?”

The church I attend, Church of the City NY, has a prayer room open 4 hours a day fully staffed with volunteers. People come in each morning before their work days and spend time in prayer and worship. These are not required meetings for church members, and they are not led by church pastors or professionals. They are led by lay-people who desire God’s presence. At 6 am each day of the week on West 57th Street in New York City, you can step into a room full of people, with heads bowed in prayer and arms lifted in worship. People are hungry for God.

In Rise Collective, women show up in packs to our gatherings. They come to seek God through His Word and prayer with others. They want to become the lights God has called them to be in this city. This is not easy to do, so they come to join a community that desires to carry out this mission together. People are hungry for God.

God is at always at work in unplanned, everyday personal encounters as well. For example, I recently got to know the barista at my local coffee shop. Through a few conversations, the woman told me that God has been changing her life. I also met up with my neighbor at the gym recently, and our conversations also turned to God. What these unexpected interactions tell me is that God’s love is reaching out to his people, and people are hungry for God.

There are plenty of Godless spaces in NYC, as is true for places all over the world. But what I am seeing is that where there is great pressure and pushback against the things of God, there is also great fire for the presence of God. Small, kingdom-minded communities make a powerful difference. They create spaces for people to be fed by God’s presence. And they are made up of people like you and like me.

Wherever we are living, we can come to God with our own hunger for him, delight ourselves in him, and make space for others to encounter him as well. Think about your own life and the people you come in contact with. How might God be calling you, and other kingdom dwellers in your city, to awaken to his movement, to feast in his presence, and to invite others to join?

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come’ and let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come.” (Revelation 22:17)