God, listen to my cry; pay attention to my prayer! When my heart is weak, I cry out to you from the very ends of the earth. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I am because you have been my refuge, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy. Please let me live in your tent forever! Please let me take refuge in the shelter of your wings! ~Psalm 61:1-4 (CEB)
“Hunger and thirst for God are universal. We have been created to yearn for God, our true home. And the Bible reminds us that God yearns for relationship with us, our coming home to God. Why then does our hunger and thirst so often go unsatisfied? If God does indeed yearn for us and we yearn for God, why does my life often feel unattached and empty?
My mother insisted that my two brothers and I be at the table before anyone began to eat. She always called me in ample time so that I could be washed and ready when the meal was prepared. But more often than she liked, I was late because I was preoccupied with catching frogs in the nearby spring, filling my stomach with chokecherries from a nearby grove, or just not listening.
God’s yearning for us is more intense than any mother’s desire for her children, and our world offers more enticing distractions than frogs and chokecherries. So how do we bring God’s yearning and our hunger and thirst together? Jesus is our best example. Even though his journey toward God was without blemish, he found it necessary to go aside to rest and to pray again and again. And in the midst of the great needs of the people around them, Jesus called the disciples to come away by themselves to rest. From that times of rest they were thrust back into the ministry of caring for the needs of the crowds that followed Jesus.
Decide today to establish a way of life that includes time for daily prayer, reflection, and regular worship in a congregation. Set aside a day every month when you will “come apart” to read, reflect, and pray in a leisurely and concentrated way. John Wesley was right: don’t wait, begin today!” ~ From A Guide to Prayer For All who seek God, Rueben P. Job
Heavenly Father, Thank You for listening to me and hearing me when I pray. Lead me to a rock that is higher than I am because You are my refuge and strength. Lead me in the way I need to go this day. Amen.
Pieces of the Puzzle 