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Longing for God

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
Psalm 42:1

Your Heart Longs for God

The human heart longs for God. He planted this longing in you when he created you. Great Christian writers, such as Saint Augustine and Blaise Pascal, pointed to the restlessness of the human spirit. They saw it as proof that humans cannot find true satisfaction for their longings anywhere but in God. You can easily confirm the truth of their contention by examining your own life.

Through your human longing for God, you encounter a God who is eager to be revealed, who wants you to know him and to experience his love. Your proper response to God's self-disclosure is faith. By faith, you entrust yourself to God's love; by faith, you freely assent to the truth of everything that he communicates to you about himself.

The Gift of Faith

Faith is a gift from God; you cannot produce it by willpower alone. Like all of God's gracious gifts, faith is offered to you, and you decide, in freedom, whether or not to receive it.

Once you possess faith, you must nurture it. You keep it alive by prayer and worship and by leading a life of charity. Faith inspires you with the hope of enjoying forever the God who is your true happiness.

Reflect

• How does your longing for God show itself:
  • There is a hole inside of me.
  • I am so restless.
  • I feel like there is "something more."
• In what ways do you nurture your conscious contact with God?
• How do you express your faith in God's presence in the ups and downs of daily life?
   

Prayer

Ever-present God, My soul longs for you. Open me to your loving presence. Amen.