Do we REALLY believe God satisfies us? While we may be quick to answer in the affirmative, our actions tell a different story. Despite Christ’s promise of abundant life, we continually look to other things to make us happy–a job promotion, bigger house, new car, additional income, more approval, and extra attention. The Bible is emphatic that only God can satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts. So why do we go on looking for lesser things to satisfy us? The prophet Jeremiah speaks on God’s behalf, “My people have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jer. 2.13).
Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) was a well-known Catholic priest, writer, and theologian who taught at leading universities: Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard. Yet the place that brought him the greatest joy and purpose was far away from the corridors of status and influence. He shocked the academic world in 1986 when he became priest-in-residence for a home of intellectually challenged adults outside Toronto. The following prayer was part of his six-month collection of prayers, A Cry for Mercy, among the most personal of his thirty-nine books. Henri said of prayer, “Prayer is the most concrete way to make our home in God.” Today’s prayer from Henri looks to God for ultimate satisfaction and pleasure: