As a Deer Longs for Water

As a Deer Longs for Water

“As a deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.” Psalm 42:1

If you are a regular church-goer and when you come home from church you don’t see any change in your life, what do you do?  Are you satisfied because you went to church, sang songs and listened to some scripture?  Of course you can pray to God wherever you are and at any time. 

Did you know what the average male Muslim does?  He goes to the mosque; prays to Allah and listens to someone reading the Koran.  Then he goes home satisfied that his life is right.  The women can stay home and pray or go to the mosque. He prays 5 times a day and may also do this at home.

Christians in the early churches were in constant prayer because they were being persecuted.  They risked their lives to have secret meetings in order to pray together.  After Jesus was killed, whenever they got together they took communion to remember what Jesus did for them.  It was a solemn heartfelt act of love for their Savior.   

Is it enough what we do, or do you wonder if there is more; perhaps a deeper relationship with God? If you long for more of God, he is there waiting for you. As the above scripture tells us that like a deer pants for water, our soul should long after God.  He should be our heart’s desire and we need to worship him.  Then we shall be changed.

It’s amazing how God uses such natural examples, like the deer.  When a deer is wounded, it will use all the strength it has to get to water.  Why?  Because if a wound is not fatal and the deer can reach water, it will kill the fever and the deer will heal.  A deer will travel great distances to reach water for water is life saving for man and beast.

If we had the common sense of an animal, we would long for what will sustain us in all things; God.  “O God, You are my God; early will I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)  I want to be thirsty for God and drink from his well that never runs dry.  

The day I accepted Jesus as my Savior I became so thirsty for the Word of God.  My soul ached with a longing to know more about Him.  I began to read the Bible day and night that I can only compare it to being hungry.  I was like a starving person eating the Word as quickly as I could.  I read the New Testament in a matter of a few days and then the Old Testament which took a little longer.  My Bible was a King James which can be a little difficult to understand, but God gave me supernatural understanding.  It was amazing because before that I couldn’t understand most of it.  I knew most of the Bible stories because of attending Sunday School as a child, but I didn’t know the truth behind the story.

I then bought a Living Bible and read that all the way through.  This Bible was like reading poetry.  I loved it so much because I have been a poet since I was 9 years old when I was first published.  Looking back on those poems I wrote, almost all of them were about God and some quite prophetic.  I think I was always looking and longing for God.  Since that long ago I have had a passion for the Word of God for out of it flows rivers of living water.

If you seriously long to have a closer relationship with the Lord, the only thing stopping you is you.  If Muslims can pray 5 times a day to ‘Allah’, you can surely spend some time praying and seeking God Almighty.  If you are thirsty for more of God, drink from the river of life. “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” John 4:14 (NLT)

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you wade out into the water.