I sing songs of thirsting for God. I read passages of hungering and thirsting for God. Intellectually I understand what that means, but in my soul...not so sure it is a craving. Or perhaps it is not the same craving like the Psalmist. There seems to be in the heart, mind and soul a deep longing for God where a powerful relationship exists. That longing changes prayer for when I pray, I'm not simply praying to get something, I'm praying to be WITH someone.
Jerry Sittser reveals his personal story in his book When God Doesn't Answer Your Prayer. In one day, his life changed forever. A drunk driver crossed the center line striking the van his wife was driving, killing her, their 4 year old daughter and Jerry's mother. Her writes, "After the accident I missed Lynda for many reasons...At first I wished she were still alive to help keep my life going at home. I needed her, at least in part, to do chores...to drive the kids to their activities. But I have long since mastered those responsibilities. Yet the ache remains because I miss her, not for what she could do but for who she is. I don't miss a wife in the abstract; I miss the person I was married to. I still see her face. I still miss our late-night conversations. I even miss our fights. I have come to learn that the real pain of widowhood is the loss of the relationship with the one person I had given my heart to."
In the same way he missed his wife, Jerry understood that he had an even deeper longing for God. He wanted to see God's face, like Moses. He desired to meet God for "late-night conversations." That kind of longing, thirsting, craving, hungering does not come easily. It comes by seeing how great God is, his deep love and concern for me, and placing myself in his will for guidance when I don't understand the direction in which he is taking me.
Thirsting for God. I have to be willing to realize the dryness, parchness of life without him. Then I will crave him more than life.
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