Deepest Longing

“O LORD of Heaven's Armies, what joy for those who trust in you.” (Psalm 84:12 NLT)

I have a long prayer list. I want God to take care of a lot of people who all have a variety of needs and wants. I pray for healing, safety, clarity, happiness, peace, and restoration. I spend most of my prayer energy reminding God about all these concerns. Every so often, I sense that there is something deeper that I long for, but since I couldn’t quite figure out what that was, I kept going back to my surface wants.

“Holy desires are different than surface wants, like "I want a new smartphone” or “I want a bigger office.” Instead I'm talking about our deepest longings, those that shape our lives: desires that help us know who we are to become and what we are to do. Our deep longings help know God’s desires for us, and how much God desires to be with us.” (Fr. James Martin, SJ)

After reading the above quote by Fr. Martin, I sat down and looked at my prayer list. I looked at the underlying desire beneath every request. What do I really want? What are my deepest longings?

I want to stop worrying. I want to hand over my burdens to Jesus. I want to trust God, to be confident in His care. I want to know that it is okay to let go, that He is in control. I want to be held securely by Grace.  I want others to know God and trust Him too. I want everything and everyone to be absorbed in God’s love.

Write down all your surface wants. Be as specific as you can. Then look at each concern and trace it back to its root desire. Keep looking for patterns until you find the underlying, deepest longing. This is the longing of your heart. This is the desire that God has placed in you.

Lord, reveal our deepest longings. Help us to concentrate  on our true desires instead of our surface wants.