Journey of the Word

I sometimes don’t agree with prayers people pray. Especially Bible prayers. They’re too . . . extreme.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

“Ha. Are you kidding? There is plenty on earth that I desire besides you! Just check my affections. My thoughts. My calendar. My bank account. I ain’t hiding anything. This is the real me, and . . . hate to break it to ya, but my desires just aren’t always you, Lord!”

If I know David even just a little, I know he was lying. His prayer was obviously unrealistic, at best. And perhaps that’s why he prayed it: because it wasn’t always so. Just as we sing “I Surrender All” without letting go, so we pray “there is nothing on earth I desire” while desiring earthly things so much. We long for God to be our only and truest desire. And perhaps, if eternity were in view, that ultimate desire would shine through. If tomorrow were our last, all other desires might fade.

But we live in the here and now. And we think about tomorrow. And plan for next year. And forget eternity exists.

So those earthly desires pile on and stare us in the face and plead with us and grab us and draw us in when really, those desires are met in Jesus, and he can be our only desire, and if we’re honest, he is our only desire.

He’s the only thing I have in heaven. Which means he’s the only thing I have on earth.

I just may not realize it.

And so I pray in faith. That my desires on this earth may abide in God himself. He is all I need. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

 [image credit: unsplash.com]