Listening to Peace

JESUS COMMANDS US to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. I understand now the best way to do that is by listening. When we stop talking, arguing, and judging, we begin to hear. We hear God’s voice of love for us, and can only respond in love. It has become clear to me, and, hopefully, to those students: listening is the first step towards peace in our world.

Weavings, May/June/July 2013. From “Beads of Prayer, Beads of Peace” by Kristen E. Vincent, in Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, May/June/July 2013 (theme: Diversity). Copyright © 2013 by The Upper Room. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book

Longing for God

Read Psalm 42:1-11

The psalmist wrote, “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for . . . the living God.”

Psalm 42:1-2

The corça is a small deer. As a desert animal, the corça has a sensitive sense of smell that enables it to smell water miles away. It is able to detect water even several feet below the ground. Even when the corça finds a source of water it does not stay there for an extended period of time; it keeps moving. Once thirsty again, the corça has to seek other places to quench its thirst.

Sometimes we can become too comfortable with daily life. We think everything is fine; but if we do not seek God in new ways, we may miss opportunities to continue to grow in our faith. We may miss experiences and lessons we only learn in communion with God — by drinking from the Living Water. (See John 4:14.)

Just as the corça constantly seeks fresh water, we can leave the comfort zone of our spiritual life and seek to grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus, expressing each day our longing for God.
Francisco de Castro Maria (Luanda, Angola)

Thought for the Day: How can I seek God in new ways today?

Prayer: Dear God, remind us to seek you in new places and never grow complacent in our longing for you. Renew us with your living water, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer Focus: THOSE WITHOUT ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER