A Prayer of Longing

If you could snap your fingers and wind up anywhere, where would you want to be? In full transparency, I’d probably be floating on a lazy river at a resort somewhere in Mexico with an ice-cold lemonade. But on an average weekday, that’s definitely not where you’ll find me.

Some days can feel like an endless cycle of the mundane. Waking up, packing lunches, heading to work or school, washing dishes, changing diapers, grocery shopping—and doing it all over again the next day. Sometimes in the monotony, it can be easy to think, “I’d rather be anywhere but here.”

But what if true joy and contentment aren’t so much about where we are as it is about Who is with us?

I long and yearn for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh cry out for the living God.
—Psalm 84:2

When I was a kid in church, we sang a song about how one day in God’s courts was better than being anywhere else. But I’ll be real—I had no idea what the courts of the Lord actually were. The temple of the Lord was the place He chose for His presence to dwell. Now today because of the Holy Spirit, we get to be God’s temple. How incredible of a gift is that? 

These verses in Psalm 84 have been reminding me that as children of God, in His presence is where we belong (v.2). When our hearts and lives are rooted in the Lord, we can go from strength to strength (v.7). Spending one day in God’s presence is better than anything else this world has to offer (v.10)

When we walk through seasons of pain or when we’re longing for peace, maybe that is our heart crying out for God’s presence. Today’s reading reminds us that happiness doesn’t come from our job title, the neighborhood we live in, or living a life where nothing ever goes wrong. Instead, “Happy are the people whose strength is in you.” (v.5)

Maybe the longing we regularly feel in our hearts for more isn’t about more money, friends, or opportunities. Maybe what we really need is just more of God’s presence. I’m so grateful today that, “He does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity” (v.11).

God thank you for the gift of your presence and for the peace that’s available to us because of who You are. Remind us today that in Your presence is where we belong and that true peace and lasting joy only come from You. Amen.