What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

What Does The Bible Say About Desires? The word “desire” covers a wide range of human emotions, wants, and cravings. The word can be used to describe natural desires among which we have the desire for God, hunger for food, and sexual longings. It can as well be used to describe unnatural desires or cravings among which are lust and greed. Although in most cases, desires are ascribed to man, we do have a few cases that they are ascribed to God. A good example of such is Psalm 51:6 where David himself writes that God desires “truth in the inward parts” of men. The right desires ascribed to man are said to come under the scrutiny of God.

As followers of Christ, we’ve all been called to strive for righteousness as we flee away from sin. And as we know, sin is anything that we think, say, or do that is not pleasing to God. From the definition of sin, it is clear that God is concerned about the desires we develop and follow. If our desires are inline with His will, we are free from sin else we’ll be unfolding the wrong path. Created in the likeness of God, it is His will that our thoughts, words, and actions go inline with His. Failing to do these things is going against the commands of God. And he who goes against His Commands is out of His mercy, favor, and gift of eternal life through Christ. That’s why you should guard your desires as you obey the Key Teachings of Jesus Christ.

What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

There are 27 Hebrew words in the Old Testament that are translated “desire” (this is a sum of root words together with their derivatives). Hapes [ep’j] which is found 71 times in the Old Testament means feeling great favor towards something. Kasap [@;s’K] literally means to yearn for or to long after. Baqas [v;q’B] literally means the act of earnestly seeking for something or someone. One of the most frequently used words in the Old Testament to indicate desire is awa [h”w’a] together with its derivatives that can be found almost fifty times. Nephes [v,p,n] is often the subject of this verb. It literally means appetite, self, or soul. The term can be translated as “desire,” “will,” “lust,” “desirable,” “dainty,” and “greed.”

In the New Testament, Matthew 9:13 which quotes Hosea 6:6 is the first instance to mention the word “desire.” Here, the Greek term used us thelo [qevlw], which can be literally translated as want, will, desire, or be willing. This very term is found 208 times in the New Testament. In most cases, it is translated as “willing,” but it is also translated as “desire” in the two Matthean passages, Hebrews 10:5,8 and Luke 20:46

What you should know about Desire as a Christian

In simple terms, desire means “strong yearning.” Desire is normal although at times, we feel a little guilt about it. Remember that God created us with the ability to have desires. Through desires, we are motivated and moved to the accomplishment of our goals. In 1 Corinthians 12:31, Apostle Paul exhorts the brethren to “earnestly desire the best gifts of God.” David in his writing mentioned that God desires truth within men (Psalm 51:6). However, it is worth noting that some desires are destructive to both our physical and spiritual lives. The Bible refers to such desires as “lust.” They are manifested as craving for the satisfaction of physical appetite of things like money, power, sex, pleasure, alcohol, food, and drugs.

While desire in itself is natural and not evil, it can lead us into evil when embraced out of God’s light of righteousness. Hence, we should tame all our desires under the will of God and seek His guidance and support in overcoming all thoughts, words, and actions that are not from Him. And for sure, God is more than ever willing and ready to help us in overcoming everything that is not in accordance with His Holy Will. Request the strength from God to learn self-mastery, self-governance, or self-control. Self-control is the foundation of living a strong godly life that bears everlasting fruits. Failing to discipline yourself is failing to control your passions. And such will lead you away from God. As followers of Christ, we’ve been called to behave in orderly manners, to be sober, sane, serious, discrete, sound-minded, moderate, prudent, and self-disciplined.

What The Bible Says About Desires

1 Corinthians 7:2 – “But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband.”

Proverbs 6:28 – “Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?”

James 4:2 – “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.”

Galatians 5:16 – “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Colossians 3:5 – “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”

1 Corinthians 6:12 – ““I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.”

Job 31:1 – “I made a covenant with my eyesnot to look lustfully at a young woman.”

Matthew 6:21 – “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Galatians 5:13 – “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

1 John 2:17 – “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

Group 1 – What The Bible Says About Desires

1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

Psalm 42:1 – “As the deer pants for streams of water,so my soul pants for you, my God.”

1 Peter 5:8 – “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.“

Hebrews 13:4 – “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”

Proverbs 21:26 – “All day long he craves for more,but the righteous give without sparing.”

Isaiah 26:8 – “Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.”

James 1:13 – “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.”

Matthew 26:41 – “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

1 John 2:16 – “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”

Group 2 – What The Bible Says About Desires

1 Timothy 6:10 – “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Proverbs 23:5 – “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”

Galatians 6:1 – “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”

2 Peter 1:4 – “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

Proverbs 10:24 – “What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.”

Jeremiah 29:13 – “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Romans 7:7 – “What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.””

Matthew 6:13 – “And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from the evil one.”

Group 3 – What The Bible Says About Desires

Luke 10:42 – “But one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Proverbs 2:3-5 – “Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Matthew 5:6 – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

Isaiah 40:31 – “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Hosea 6:6 – “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

Psalm 145:19 – “He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.”

Romans 13:13-14 – “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Lamentations 3:25 – “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”

Group 4 – What The Bible Says About Desires

Isaiah 26:8 – “In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.”

Luke 6:21 – “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.””

Proverbs 8:34 – “Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.”

Psalm 119:10 – “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!”

Colossians 3:2 – “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Proverbs 19:2 – “Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.”

Lamentations 3:26 – “It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

Proverbs 19:2-3 – “Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way. When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.”

Matthew 9:13 – “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Philippians 3:12-14 – “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

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Group 5 – What The Bible Says About Desires

Colossians 3:1-25 – “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. …”

Proverbs 4:27 – “Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”

Psalm 40:8 – “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

Philippians 2:12-16 – “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”

Psalm 119:20 – “My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.”

Group 6 – What The Bible Says About Desires

Matthew 16:23 – “But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.””

Psalm 34:10 – “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”

1 Peter 2:2 – “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—“

Philippians 2:13 – “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Psalm 37:7 – “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”

Psalm 119:133 – “Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.”

Psalm 42:1-11 – “To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah. As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation …”

Group 7 – What The Bible Says About Desires

1 Peter 1:24 – “For “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,”

Psalm 94:19 – “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”

Luke 20:46 – “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,”

Psalm 118:17 – “I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.”

Isaiah 26:9 – “My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.”

Song of Solomon 7:10 – “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me.”

James 4:1-17 – “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder, You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel, You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions, You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? …”

Group 8 – What The Bible Says About Desires

Hebrews 10:5 – “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;”

1 Corinthians 2:1-16 – “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. …“

Romans 10:1 – “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.”

Psalm 70:4 – “May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!””

Psalm 69:32 – “When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.”

Proverbs 8:17 – “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.”

Habakkuk 3:2 – “O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known, in wrath remember mercy.”

Lamentations 3:41 – “Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:”

Group 9 – What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

Psalm 105:4 – “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”

John 9:31 – “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.”

1 John 2:15-17 – “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Philippians 4:19 – “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Isaiah 55:1-13 – “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, …”

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Group 10 – What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

Romans 8:25 – “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

2 Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Matthew 5:28 – “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Psalm 86:12 – “I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.”

Genesis 4:7 – “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

Romans 2:6-8 – “He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”

James 1:1-27 – “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ...”

Group 11 – What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

John 15:7 – “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

1 Corinthians 14:1-40 – “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. …”

John 14:8-31 – “Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. ...”

Group 12 – What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

Proverbs 16:3 – “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”

Song of Solomon 6:12 – “Before I was aware, my desire set me among the chariots of my kinsman, a prince.”

Isaiah 8:17 – “I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.“

John 3:27 – John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”

Mark 11:24-25 – “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Psalm 40:1 – “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.”

Psalm 37:34 – “Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.”

Proverbs 15:29 – “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”

Ecclesiastes 6:10-12 – “Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?”

Group 13 – What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

Psalm 143:1-12 – “A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. …”

Psalm 130:1-8 – “A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; …”

Psalm 25:15 – “My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.”

Psalm 33:20 – “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.“

Psalm 65:1-66:20 – “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; …”

Group 14 – What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

Psalm 27:1-14 – “Of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. …”

Psalm 119:1-176 – “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! ...”

Psalm 9:1 – “To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David. I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”

Exodus 20:17 – “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

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Group 15 – What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

Hebrews 11:1-40 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. …”

Jeremiah 29:1-32 – “These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. …”

Group 16 – What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

Psalm 63:1 – “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

Matthew 14:1-36 – “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. …”

Psalm 69:3 – “I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.”

Psalm 68:28 – “Summon your power, O God, the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.”

Proverbs 19:1-29 – “Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool. Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way. When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord. Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend. A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape. …”

Group 17 – What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

John 4:1-6:71 – “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. …”

Psalm 122:1-123:4 – “A Song of Ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David. ...”

Romans 13:14 – “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Galatians 5:19-25 – “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. …”

Group 18 – What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

Psalm 62:1-63:11 – “To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position, They take pleasure in falsehood, They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. …”

Genesis 3:16 – “To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.””

Mark 10:1-12:44 – “And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. …”

Group 19 – What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

Proverbs 3:1-6:35 – “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. ...”

Matthew 6:1-34 – ““Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. ...”

Group 20 – What Does The Bible Say About Desires?

Psalm 77:1-81:16 – “To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago. …”

Psalm 84:1-88:18 – “To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. …”