Here is a devotion to start your day!
A spoken version of this devotion is available through the Still, Here audio reflections podcast.
Scripture: Psalm 63:1–8
God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water. So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory. Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you.
Reflection
King David didn’t write all of his psalms while sitting on a throne. Some came from the wilderness. Sometimes his language is not polished theology but bodily ache: thirst, longing, fainting for God.
The wilderness has stripped away lesser comforts; what remains is desire.
Notice that he does not ask for rescue alone. He seeks God Himself. He remembers seeing God’s power and glory in the sanctuary, and that memory stirs a deeper truth: God’s lovingkindness is better than life. The desert becomes a place where he clings to God, not just to outcomes.
Lent often awakens buried thirsts. When we fast from familiar distractions, the restless hunger beneath them surfaces. We realize how often we have tried to satisfy soul-born desires with body-sized solutions—food, noise, busyness, and affirmation. In the silence, our thirst finally points where it was meant to be all along.
Love in the wilderness does not shame our desires. It redirects them. God is not annoyed by your ache for more; He is the source and satisfaction of your desire for Him. The question is not whether you are thirsty, but where you turn when you are.
Today, don’t rush to fill the emptiness. Let your desire become a prayer.
A Prayer of Presence
God of lovingkindness,
Meet me in my restless hunger for Your presence. Turn my thirst away from lesser comforts and draw it toward Your presence. Lead me to the only source where my soul is truly satisfied. – Amen
Practice for Today
When you feel a familiar urge—to snack, scroll, rush, or distract—pause. Place a hand over your heart and simply say: “My soul thirsts for You.” Let that moment of awareness become a doorway into God’s presence.
Consider This...
What desires or longings emerge when I allow myself to be still—and how might they be invitations to seek God more deeply?
Carry This Prayer With You Today
Breathe in: My soul thirsts for You…
Breathe out: … help me feel Your presence
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