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we get the desire for God right, everything else follows.” 6 We love, because God first loved us. We desire God, because God has first desired us. We intercede, knowing that God has interceded on our behalf. We yearn for God and find it amazing that God has first yearned for us. Amazing. We need reminders of this truth, or it will get crowded out amid all the other messages we receive. Hymns remind us: it is grace, amazing grace. Scripture remind us: it is God’s gift, this life, the life to come, all a gift. Worship reminds us: baptism, a new identity; Communion, a renewed promise to feed us and sustain us, like manna in the wilderness. The wisdom and love of friends remind us, in Sunday school classes and in circles and in small groups, and wherever two or three are gathered in his name: we are the beloved children, and God desires us.

      This truth of God’s love leads to another. The abundant life consists of desiring what God desires. How do we make our way through times of dryness and darkness? We continue to say the prayers, even when we don’t feel anything. We continue loving, even when we don’t feel worthy of love. We continue to worship, even when it does not please us to worship. We take one step at a time, even when we do not see very far into the future. We do the next thing; we eat the next meal, remembering that the promise is for daily bread and that God sustained the people with manna in the wilderness each day, enough for that day.

      Our desires as Christians are always translated into small works, practices, gestures. And so we are led to the water, and we take a drink. We hide in the shadows of God’s presence and watch for the morning.

      The good news is that when we are ready for something that is essential, God will give it to us. When we were children, we learned to distinguish between what we wanted and what we needed. What we need is water, living water, like the woman, a Samaritan, who discovered Jesus at the well and said, “Give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty” (John 4:15).

      Maybe you are reading this and reflecting on it, and you are really thirsty, spiritually dehydrated, emotionally empty. Maybe you are listening, you are in the shadows, you are in the dark night, spiritually lost, emotionally bewildered.

      Invitation to reflect: Listen to the good news of the scripture.

      If you are in the wilderness of fatigue, hear the good news—“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want . . . he leads me beside still waters.” (Ps. 23:1-2)

      . . . in the wilderness of depression—“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” (Isa. 12:3)

      . . . in the wilderness of being alone in your convictions—”You are like a tree planted by streams of water.” (Ps. 1:3)

      . . . in the wilderness of the deepest valley—“Though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me.” (Ps. 23:4)

      . . . in the wilderness of grief—“The lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Rev. 7:17)

      If you are in the wilderness, God’s gift to you is Psalm 63. It is a prayer offered in a state of dryness, in a moment of darkness. It is a prayer that pleases God, the God who enters into your wildernesses, the God who desires you, the God who seeks you and finds you, the God who prays for you.

      Invitation to reflect: How might Psalm 63 be a prayer offered for those who do not have the faith or strength to pray it for themselves? Think of someone who is in a place of spiritual dryness or darkness. Consider praying this psalm on behalf of that individual.

      These passages of scripture from the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms remind us of the importance of prayer in the Old Testament. Now we turn to the New Testament, as we deepen our foundation for a life of intercession.

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