When we come to God infrequently and on our own terms, we can expect to encounter very little of Him. Not because He is not there, but because we ourselves are choosing to stay away.
The power and love of God is so abundant and so available that we can get slight glimpses of it almost without trying. We can come only in superficial, circumstantial desperation. God will be there. He might not give us what we ask for; He is not going to degrade Himself to genie status. But sometimes you might receive exactly what you are wishing for, which is just God’s way of trying to reach you at a deeper level. If you take it and leave, you are missing out on further blessing and squandering what you have experienced.
In short, how deep you are willing to go determines the depth of your experience. Our superficial approach will yield, at best, superficial encounters with God. If we approach Him as a Cosmic Vending Machine, we may find some benefit, but nothing compared to what we experience if we come to Him as a family member sharing a table.
God wants more than your circumstances. He wants more than your wishes. He wants your presence. He wants your character. He wants to give you more. Abundantly more. Not more of your appetites or material desires, but more of relationship with Him. More truth. More goodness. More ability to give and receive love.
But we have to be willing to come. As desperately as David cries out for God, we have to long for His presence.