Pant or Rant?

Tom Barnard

 

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for

You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

(Psalm 42:1)

 

“O God, You are my God. Early will I seek You. My soul thirsts

 for You. My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land

where there is no water.”

(Psalm 63:1)

 

“Of course the will of God is the same for all. He has no favorites

within His household. All He has ever done for any of His children

He will do for all of His children. The difference

lies not with God but with us.”

A.W. Tozer, in The Pursuit of God

 

I suppose the Christian world could be divided into two groups: those who pant after God and those who rant about him for not answering all of their prayers to their satisfaction. The psalmist seems to be clear in terms of which group he preferred. He was thirsty for God in the same way that a deer thirsts for the water brooks. Unquenchable thirst. Passionate thirst. Never-satisfied thirst.

 

I still remember hearing evangelists challenging the congregation with these words: “You can have as much of God as you truly want.” As a teen I rejected that idea. Then I met Maude Widmark. Now there was a woman who could never get enough of God. She was always longing for more of Him. When she said, “Let’s pray about it,” she was not mouthing a worn-out response. She really meant that she would join me in prayer until an answer came. Here are the words of one of those gospel songs that are better sung than read:

 

I have a longing in my heart for Jesus,

I have a longing in my heart for Him;

Although I know His presence lingers near me,

I have a longing just to see His face.

 

Longing, longing for Jesus,

I have a longing in my heart for Him;

Just to be near Him, to feel His presence,

I have a longing in my heart for Him.

 

Father, create in me a greater thirst for you. I am not satisfied with an occasional thirst. I want a daily—a passionate—thirst for you. I don’t want a second-hand thirst, or an artificial thirst. I want a thirst that I sense when I awaken in the morning and when I close my eyes to sleep at night. The psalmists longed for this experience because you put it in their hearts to ask for it. I am asking that you put it in my heart as well. In your Son’s name I pray. Amen.