“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” Ps. 42:1–2
Jesus, many of us remember what this felt like. When worshipping you meant more than having access to oxygen. When fellowshipping with you was more essential than water, bread, and sleep. When being alive to your love was more life-giving, joy-fueling, peace-enlarging than anything else. What happened? Because of the Gospel, we don’t feel condemnation about this loss, Jesus, but we do feel conviction, grief, and the stirring of a fresh work of your Spirit in our hearts.
How did we bring this heart-chill on ourselves? How did our panting (desiring, craving, longing) for you get replaced with lusting for other things and people? Once central to our existence, you become an add-on in our lives—important, but not vital. We went from panting for you… to occasionally sipping living water… to yawning in your presence. We exchanged delighting in you with defending “Christian values.” Fear replaced faith; anger replaced joy “You-for-us” got pushed aside by “us-versus-them.” That’s simply not okay. Help us, Lord.
Jesus, we need you now. Would you renew, reinvigorate, and restore us to our “first love,” first passion, and first freedom we had in you? You still cry out in a loud, loving, persistent voice, “If you’re thirsty, come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, streams of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:38). Make and keep us so thirsty for yourself nothing else will satisfy us. So Very Amen, we earnestly cry out.