Well, we might not like to hear it, but the way to desire more of God is to come closer to where He pours out his grace. That is in the Church, where Jesus speaks through orthodox preaching, and feeds his people thru the sacraments. The Fathers were adamant that sin is a terminal disease like cancer, and the only way to overcome it is to get what they called “the medicine of immortality” that comes in the humanity of Jesus through the sacraments. Feeding on Jesus through his Church and the means of grace it offers—Word and sacrament—is the best way to grow in God, which means becoming a true disciple.
The great temptation today is to think that we can be Lone Ranger Christians and grow outside of the orthodox Church. That is a myth that comes from the devil himself.