Like the deer that yearns for running streams,
so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God, the living God.
When can I enter to see the face of God?
Psalm 42:1-2

*A Prayer of One Who Thirsts

Lord,
My soul thirsts like the parched earth,
earth without water,
earth with no life visible.

How often have I lamented and been anxious about dry land—
hardened ground that yearns
for water to restore its pliability,
to restore its potential for fruitfulness,
a gift denied in the dry season
of cracked earth and unquenched thirst,
a gift returned when the gentle, ample rains come.
It is then that the Spirit says:
“All shall be well, be all that you are,
be fulfilled, be alive.”

My soul—my inner being—
in like manner feels the tension of the desert times.
And my soul wonders:
Is the drought from God, from evil, from within myself,
Or is it just the time for drought?

Restore, O Lord, with gentle and loving hands,
my soul’s oneness with You,
For You are the One who sustains me
in times of thirst, before the rains come to renew.
Amen.

—Virgil Fry

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Matthew 5:6*

*For many, the holiday season is a joyful time. But for some, the spirit of the season is diminished by losses experienced along the way. This prayer is for those who know such sorrow.