Opening Prayer:
O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. (The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer)
Psalm for the Week: Psalm 63
Scripture for the Day: Romans 8:18-27
Reading for Reflection:
Indeed, if we will listen, a Sacred Romance calls to us through our heart every moment of our lives. It whispers to us on the wind, invites us through the laughter of good friends, reaches out to us through the touch of someone we love. We've heard it in our favorite music, sensed it at the birth of our first child, been drawn to it while watching the shimmer of a sunset on the ocean. The Romance is even present in times of great personal suffering: the illness of a child, the loss of a marriage, the death of a friend. Something calls to us through experiences like these and rouses an inconsolable longing deep within our heart, wakening in us a yearning for intimacy, beauty, and adventure.
This longing is the most powerful part of any human personality. It fuels our search for meaning, for wholeness, for a sense of being truly alive. However we may describe this deep desire, it is the most important thing about us, our heart of hearts, the passion of our life. And the voice that calls to us in this place is none other than the voice of God. (The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis & John Eldredge)
Reflection and Listening: silent and written
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Song for the Week: Satisfied
All my life long I had panted
For a drink from some cool spring
That I hoped would quench the burning
Of the thirst I felt within.
Hallelujah! He has found me
The One my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies all my longings
Through his blood I now am saved.
Feeding on the filth around me
‘Till my strength was almost gone.
Longed my soul for something better
Only still to hunger on.
Poor I was and sought for riches
Something that would satisfy.
But the dust I gathered ‘round me
Only mocked my soul’s sad cry.
Well of water ever springing
Bread of life so rich and free.
Untold wealth that never faileth
My Redeemer is to me.
Closing Prayer:
Teach me to seek you, for I cannot seek you unless you teach me, or find you unless you show yourself to me. Let me seek you in my desire, and desire you in my seeking. Let me find you by loving you, let me love you when I find you.~St. Anselm
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