The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. Rev. 22:17
Heavenly Father, of all the commands with which you could’ve ended the Bible, thanks for going with the one you did. Instead of “Do more; try harder”, or “Better get your act together,” or some other performance-based command, you went with, “Come, thirsty ones! Come, desiring ones! Come and take the free gift of the water of life.” What a generous, caring, and loving God you are. We are thirsty, we do wish to come, and we do so right now.
From the day you first convinced us of our need of Jesus and gave us faith to trust him, you placed an unquenchable thirst for the water of life in our hearts—the living water Jesus alone can give, the artesian spring of healing grace, the life-giving libation of your mercy and love.
Fortunately, the bitter waters of sin and self-righteousness only made us sick. The deceiving waters of our broken cisterns only bring temporary relief. The illusionary waters of countless mirages proved to be just that—empty illusions, dry holes in the ground, all promise and no delivery.
So once again, we bring our thirst to you. We’re thirsty to know Jesus better and better. We’re thirsty to be filled with the Holy Spirit afresh. We’re thirsty to be quicker in our repentances and slower with our excuses. We’re thirsty to be more generous with forgiveness and less likely to take offense. We’re thirsty to be freer to love others as Jesus loves us. Father, slake these thirsts, by the refreshing waters of the everlasting gospel.
We’re thirsty for life in the new heaven and new earth. We’re thirsty for the wedding feast of the Lamb, when the bride will no longer say, “Come!” but will say, “We are here, all of us!” We’re thirsty for the Day when God’s glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. We’re thirsty for the Day of wiped tears and full joy, no death and the fullness of life. We’re thirsty for the Day of no more thirst and joy forever. So very Amen we pray, in the fullness and faithfulness of Jesus’ name.
