Prayer to long for God
Author: Whitney Hopler
Bible reading:
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O my God.” – Psalm 42:1, NIV
Listen or read below:
After a long walk on a hot afternoon or a busy day outdoors, your body begins to crave water. Nothing else is quite satisfying. You may try to distract yourself or continue working for a while, but eventually your thirst demands attention.
Your soul will experience something similar. Psalm 42 uses a powerful image of physical thirst, a deer gasping for a stream of water, to describe a powerful spiritual thirst for God. Deer in arid regions need water to survive and stay healthy, so they rush to find streams. In Psalm 42, the psalmist longs for connection with God’s presence, which is essential to living and thriving.
This verse reminds you that your deepest need is an intimate relationship with God. Throughout your life on Earth, you will have many other needs, but those needs are only temporary. What you truly need most is a connection with God who will fill you now and forever.
There are countless things in the world around you that seem momentarily satisfying, such as work accomplishments, entertainment, and the approval of others. But sooner or later, even if you have those things, you start to feel like something is missing.
The psalmist understood that feeling. Psalm 42 was written at a time when he was far from the temple and unable to worship God in the places where he had once experienced the joy that came from praising God. His circumstances left him spiritually dry, and this dryness aroused deep longing. Instead of ignoring that longing, he turned it into prayer. “As the deer pants for flowing water, so my soul pants for you.”
These words make it clear that longing for God is a sign of awareness of where true life lies. Just as a thirsty animal instinctively seeks water, your soul was created to seek the living God. Only God can truly satisfy that longing within you.
If you are too busy and don’t set aside regular quiet time in your schedule for reflection, it can be difficult to hear from God. It’s because you’re so distracted by constant busyness that you can’t pay enough attention to the quiet messages God is sending you.
However, even if we are not able to hear God’s words well, there is still a natural thirst for God in our souls. God can use that spiritual thirst to draw you closer to Himself. Just as physical thirst reminds us to drink water, spiritual thirst motivates us to return to the source of life, our loving Heavenly Father. When we feel spiritual thirst, we can slow down, turn our attention to God, and ask Him to send us renewal and revival.
Psalm 42:1 reminds us that what we ultimately need is a relationship with God. It will fulfill you more than anything else in this world. Once you have a relationship with God, all your other needs will be met through that relationship.
So, feel your spiritual thirst and change the way you approach prayer. Instead of praying only when you need something, try praying just because you want to enjoy time with God. Then you will start thinking of prayer less as an obligation and more like an opportunity. Your faith will grow stronger in the process.
The good news is that God never ignores those who seek a closer relationship with Him. Throughout the Bible, God invites people to come to him when they are spiritually thirsty. God promises that those who seek Him will find the life and refreshment they need. So if you have a spiritually dry season in your life, don’t be discouraged. Motivate yourself to seek God like a deer seeking a stream. That way you’ll find the refreshment you need most.
Let’s pray:
Dear God, I feel spiritually thirsty and thirsty for You. My life is full of activity, but something important is still missing. The Bible reminds me that my deepest need is a relationship with You. That’s the only thing that truly fulfills me. But we need your help to get through this dry season. Please meet me where I am and help me develop the longing described in Psalm 42. My soul thirsts for you as a deer thirsts for water. Please draw me closer to You and motivate me to seek You every day.
When I feel spiritually dry, remember that you are the living water that refreshes my soul. Teach them to come to you not just when they need help, but because they want to get to know you better. Help me to be aware of your presence, to communicate with you regularly, to hear your messages and to build a closer relationship with you.
Thank you, God. Amen.
Discuss today’s devotion with others in the “Daily Prayer” thread in the Crosswalk Forums.
Photo credit: Unsplash
Whitney Hopler helps people discover the wonders of God and experience awe. She is the author of several books, including the nonfiction books Wake Up to Wonder and Wonder Through the Year: A Daily Devotional for Every Year, and the young adult novel Dream Factory. Whitney has served as an editor at major media organizations including Crosswalk.com, the national publication of the Salvation Army USA, and Dotdash.com (producing the popular Angels and Miracles channel). She currently leads communications operations at George Mason University’s Center for Human Services Advancement. Connect with Whitney on her website www.whitneyhopler.com and on her Facebook author page.
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In this episode of the Unhurried Living podcast, Alan Fadling sits down with theologian and spiritual formation professor Kyle Strobel to discuss his new book, When God Seems Distant, co-written with John Coe. If this episode helps you focus your work and life on God, be sure to follow Unhurried Living on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode.
