In preparing a recent presentation on prayer, I was struck by the Catechism’s definition of prayer. “Prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him” (CCC 2560). I find that imagery of thirsting just so beautiful. Think about that for a minute – the living God thirsts for us to come to Him in prayer, to thirst for Him! Thirsting implies this sense of desperation and longing. David cries out with this longing for God numerous times in the Psalms. “My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1-2). The reality is that just as water is the one thing which we physically can’t live without, God is the one thing our hearts cannot live without. Because they were created for Him! “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for” (CCC 27). It is God alone who can fill the longings of our hearts, those things for which our heart thirsts! It’s similar to standing at the base of a waterfall. At the base of a waterfall, there is more water than you could ever drink. All your thirst is satisfied. This same thing happens in prayer, in relationship with God! All of our thirst is satisfied. Additionally, while standing at the base of that waterfall, the power of the water pouring over you washes off any dirt, any impurities, and you are completely cleansed. The same thing happens in prayer when we allow the power of God’s love and mercy to pour over us and cleanse us. He is thirsting for us to come to Him that he might satisfy all of our longings and desires.
What I find to be so profound about this whole notion is that it is God who first thirsts for us. “The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desires for us” (CCC 2560). Prayers itself is a gift because it is God who first thirsts for us to thirst for him! “God calls man first…the living and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as prayer…our own step is always a response” (CCC 2567). We see this clearly if we look at salvation history. It’s the story of God pursuing his people, extending himself in relationship and covenant with them, over and over again so that he can be with them. And what do we find at the culmination of salvation history? We find a God who thirsts for us so much that He sent His dearly beloved son, Jesus, to die for us. The crucifix is a reminder of God’s thirst for us. As He is hanging on the cross dying, Jesus cries out, “I thirst.” (John 19:28). He thirsts for our love in prayer. His thirst led him to the cross. Will our thirst lead us to prayer?
by Sarah Houde
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