Session 1: Leaning Into Our Longing

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Prepare:

As we prepare to enter into prayer, take a few moments to become aware of your breathing. Inhale deeply, and as your lungs fill with air, remember that this is the same air sparked into creation by the voice of God, the same air blown into the lungs of Adam in the garden of Eden, the same air that Jesus breathed when he walked among us. As you exhale, be assured of your place in a sacred lineage.

3:11

Introduction of Scripture:

In today’s Scripture, we’ll encounter a psalm of longing, written by David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. Let’s open our hearts and listen together.

Psalm 63: 1-9

O God, you are my God, I seek you,

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,

and my mouth praises you with joyful lips

when I think of you on my bed,

and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life

shall go down into the depths of the earth.

5:36

Pondering the Scripture:

Imagine yourself in this desert wilderness - thirsty, hungry, longing for sustenance and spiritual consolation. What do you see around you? What sounds do you hear or sensations do you encounter - perhaps heat or chill, wind or silence? Allow yourself to enter into the space of desolation. Dwell here for a moment, experiencing the desert.

Imagine now a dramatic shift: the hearty banquet the psalmist describes, which satisfies his soul and all of his needs. Enter into the richness of God’s mercy and compassion, however that takes on a visual form for you.

Imagine yourself now, even in the midst of the desert and the longing, sheltered in the shadow of God’s protective wings.

9:27

Talk to God:

Take a few moments now to enter into a gentle, loving conversation with a member of the Trinity. As you enter into the peace of Divine presence, speak freely to God about where in your life you feel this sense of longing most deeply. Although our longings might sometimes feel like signs that we have been abandoned, they are, in fact, as David discovers in this psalm, invitations to a more intimate communion with God. How do you feel that God may be speaking to you, warmly and personally, in and through your longing?

If you have been in a wilderness like this one before, what brought you comfort and allowed you to carry on? If you find yourself in such a wilderness now, what grace do you need from God to carry on? Take some time to ask honestly and openly for that grace, and to offer thanks for graces received in the past.

“For your kindness is a greater good than my life,” David writes in this psalm. Call to mind the most powerful encounters with this kindness you have experienced in your life, and make an offering of gratitude.

As you continue through your day, ask God how you might find a way to share that rich and abiding kindness with another.

17:10

Closing Prayer:

You have given all to me

To you, Lord, I return it

Everything is Yours, do with what You will

Give me only Your love and Your grace

That is enough for me.

Amen.