Psalm 130:6 My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
About 22 years ago, in our Sunday service, a song based on this verse was being sung. The words of the song were describing a passionate longing for the Lord that I didn’t have. In the distress of this realization, I went forward in the midst of it being sung and spoke to our rector who was leading worship. I told him, “I can’t sing this song because it doesn’t describe me.” When the song ended, I was so blessed by his words of wisdom. He commented, “When we sing songs that don’t describe us, let the song be a prayer that you are asking to become true of you.”
God used this experience to create within me the desire to become passionate for Him – with a passion that was palpable. I began searching for verses in the Psalms that communicated passion to me – and I found many of them. Another verse that particularly struck me was Psalm 42:1, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” I wanted to have my soul pant for the Lord. These verses then became the focus of my “Lord make this me” prayers.
My passion-meter or “passiometer” as I have referred to it, was not budging at all when this began. No passion was being reflected within me as I read and prayed the passion verses that I wanted to become true of me. Week after week; month after month; year after year, I prayed these verses throughout the Psalms.
As time went by, I was thrilled by the realization that the Lord was doing it. He caused passion to grow within me so that I could honestly say that these verses were now describing me. I hadn’t “arrived” but my “passiometer” was now registering passion within me as a Geiger counter recognizes radiation.
God in His goodness allowed me to see that I was missing such an important attribute that He wants growing in me. He desires me to become more and more passionate for Him. He gave me a plan and the determination to pursue it so He could bless me by answering it. He will do the same for you.