My Soul Thirsts for You

O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:1-8, NRSV)

Love is clearly a relationship word. Faith and hope are also relationship words, words that describe the nature of a relationship. These theological virtues, faith, hope, and love (1 Cor 13:13), are thought to come to us through the grace of God, and their object is God. I want to be more faithful, more loving, and more hopeful. I want to continually grow in my relationship with God in Jesus Christ.

As I read the Psalms, it is obvious to me that the writer of the psalms has a deep yearning for God, a heartfelt desire to connect with the Lord of the universe, and is continually calling out for an increase in that relationship. The psalmist’s words are my prayer as well.

Believing the Word, I seek to increase my strength, my contentment, and my yearning for justice through relationship with God revealed in Jesus Christ. Through contemplation of the Law and the Gospel, I seek to journey on the Way and to the Way which is Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:6). Through meditation on the Word, I desire to open myself to the work of the Holy Spirit which includes faith and sanctification.

May you likewise yearn, desire, and long for God. May you increase in faith, hope, and love, and deepen your relationship with the one who loves you first, and will always love you more, and has revealed that to you through Jesus Christ our Lord.