If you could define prayer in a single sentence, what would you say? Over the years, I’ve heard some great definitions:
- “Prayer is a conversation between friends”
- “Prayer is a dialogue with Deity”
- “Prayer is resting in the arms of a loving Father”
The best definition for prayer that I have ever heard isn’t even a sentence, but a single word: thirst.
“I thirst”
Prayer is a wellspring where thirsty persons meet to be refreshed and satisfied.
This mutual thirst is captured powerfully in Jesus’s encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-42). This isn’t just a singular story that occurred 2,000 years ago. The Catechism proposes that this is where “Christ comes to meet every human being.” (Catechism, No. 2560).
Jesus’s human thirst reflected a deep and divine thirst for us! “Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours” (Ibid., No. 2560).
How does that make you feel to know that God thirsts for an encounter with you?
If you’ve ever experienced real thirst, you know how all-consuming it can be. You are laser-focused and determined to find a source of water, above all else. It isn’t a luxury, but essential for your survival.
Do you thirst after time with God in the same way?
Does your commitment to daily prayer reflect your laser-focused commitment to meet him at the well of prayer?
A Lenten Invitation
As we journey through this season of Lent, let’s ask for the grace to believe that God truly thirsts for union and communion with us, and that we will be renewed in our commitment, truly thirsty, to meet him in new and transformative ways.
Beside the Well
Father, you sent your Son Jesus to reveal the depths of your desire for us. Grant us the grace of a reciprocal thirst in us for you. Help us to abandon all the wells in our life that can never satisfy and rediscover Jesus as the true Living Water that alone can satisfy our deepest longings and desires.
Jesus, you not only became thirsty at the well, but from the Cross you cried, “I thirst” (John 19:28). Help us to become living water to others, especially those who suffer, feel abandoned, or who thirst for love and acceptance.
Holy Spirit, like Jesus, you are the Living Water, in the heart that prays. Through your sanctifying presence, may we be truly cleansed and refreshed in Christ.
This article was originally posted March 5, 2014.
St. Mother Teresa exemplified the message and meaning of I thirst. Pray that we all can impact the world in the smallest of ways compared to mother. But what a huge and profound effect it would have. I pray that I can thirst for God and his word.