I have an 18-month-old granddaughter whose first words in the morning are generally “Eat, eat.” Yesterday, she actually climbed into her high chair, strapped herself in, pulled the tray into place and waited, not patiently, to be served. When she’s full, she starts to play with her food or she throws it on the floor. If you offer her something she doesn’t want, she looks insulted, turns her head away and shouts “No!” But if she likes what she’s eating and is still hungry, she yells, “More, more!”
Whenever she starts up the “More, more” chant, whoever’s with her takes notice and gives her more of what she wants. Why? Because she’s little for her age, she needs to eat, and she can’t get it by herself. We’re happy to deliver, unless of course she becomes perfectly obnoxious, and then her mother pauses to give her a little instruction on manners and patience which she generally ignores.
For about seven years I was blessed to attend worship at various churches where the leadership and congregations were as innocently demanding of God as my granddaughter is of any adult who will listen. In one of those churches, the Toronto Airport Church, the attendees were actually taught to cry out, “More, Lord!”
What did they want more of? His presence. Some people are content to taste His presence the way a cook sticks her pinky into the sauce and dabs it on her tongue. Other people want a barrel of it dumped on their heads.
When I spent a week at the Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida, the seat of a seven-year revival, the presence of God manifested as a weighty, bluish haze, what the scriptures call the “kabod” or heavy presence of God. I can remember putting my hand on the wall of the sanctuary and thinking, God is in this place, but outside of this building, everything is going on as usual. Why?
“More, more!” shouts my granddaughter.
We don’t get mad, we deliver. So does God. Jesus said in Luke 11:9-13:
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
But He also said in Revelation 3:17 and 20 to the Laodicean church:
"You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. …be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."
Do we sit at God’s table, politely stifling a yawn, saying, “No thanks, I’m full,” or do we shout, “More, more!”? I want to remember during this Christmas season that when Jesus was born, everything was going on as usual in Judea. Only a few shepherds were invited to witness this magnificent event. Perhaps they were the only ones in all the land whose hearts had been crying out “More, Lord!”
Cathy Fiorello is a worship leader at Bakerville United Methodist Church. A published poet, she is currently working on a novel that incorporates some of her thoughts about worship. Cathy works as a marriage and family therapist when she isn’t writing or singing. She has five grown children, three granddaughters and has been married to a wonderful man for over 30 years. You can visit her blog at cathyfiorello.com.