Awaken Love: The 2023 Prayer Pledge // Day 15

“Give me a drink.” (John 4:7) These are the words of the Lord to us this day as we come to rest with Him and spend precious time with Him in prayer. He is the One who invites us to this rendezvous. We may come to Him longing and thirsting, but we come before Him only because His own love and thirst precede our own.

Mother Teresa heard Jesus’ cry from the Cross, “I thirst” (John 19:28), as not only an expression of a physical state but, moreover, of His thirst for souls. We, too, can hear our Lord’s request to give Him a drink as an invitation to give Him our souls, our very lives. The Samaritan woman at the well did not yet understand this bold request of the Jewish man waiting for her in the heat of the day. But at His promise to provide living water, she asks Him for a drink.

Before our Lord can grant her access to this source of water—namely, Himself—He requires of her honesty, awareness, and repentance. As the Lord unveils to her His knowledge of her sins, He does so in tenderness—not to push her away but to draw her close. He wishes to be the true Lover of her life.

She has been to many different wells, not just this one of Jacob. She sought to quench her thirst for love and intimacy in the arms of many lovers. And now in this moment, she stands before One who tells her, “I am He…” (John 4:26). Not only is Jesus the Messiah who was longed for and promised in the prophets, but He is also the Great Lover of souls who gives Himself in love for His people.

Sister, as the Lord invites us deeper into intimacy with Him and to experience Him as the Lover of our souls, the Bridegroom of the Church, are we willing to allow our sins to be exposed before Him? Can we allow Him to purify our lives, our thinking, our intentions, our love? He will surely, then, give us to drink in greater measure.

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Closing Prayer // 

Father, from the Cross Your Son asked us to quench His thirst for love and for souls. May Your Holy Spirit come and convict us of our sins (John 16:8) that we may be purified of our false idols and amateur lovers and be turned to You completely in love. O Holy Trinity, may we not tire of serving You, of loving You, and bringing You souls as You draw us closer in intimacy. Amen.

Reflection Questions //

In what ways are you currently the woman at the well? What loves are you pursuing to fill a void that is eternal, meant to be filled by the Lord alone?

How can you commit your heart to the Lord in greater measure today and renounce all things that draw you away from His loving Heart?