Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer for an unquenchable thirst for truth and righteousness is deeply biblical, and it is right to bring it before the Father in the name of Jesus.
Jesus said the truth shall set you free, and He Himself is the truth. His words are truth that endures forever, and the Holy Spirit bears witness to that truth in the heart so that we know it is true. It is a great joy when we see anyone walking in truth, and it is right to pray that those who are still bound by lies would come to know Him who is the truth.
Scripture shows that man is body, soul and spirit, and there is a thirst at each level. There is physical thirst, there is emotional thirst for love and meaning and security, and deeper still there is spiritual thirst for God. Jesus told the woman at the well that whoever drinks of ordinary water will thirst again. That is true of every physical and earthly pursuit. We try to satisfy that inner thirst with many things, but they do not satisfy. Jesus said if anyone thirsts, let him come to Him and drink, for the water He gives becomes within a person a well springing up into everlasting life. Only He can quench the deep thirst for God because He is God.
You also prayed for righteousness, and that is the other side of the same thirst. When we see ourselves honestly before the Lord, we realize our own righteousness is like filthy rags and that in our flesh there dwells no good thing. That true sight of ourselves creates a hunger and thirst for a righteousness we do not have. Jesus said blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. That promise is the turning point. We cannot attain righteousness by keeping the law or by education or by trying to establish our own goodness. Scripture teaches that those who sought righteousness by the law did not attain it, while those who knew they were lost and trusted in Christ received the righteousness of God as a gift. God accounts faith for righteousness. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes, and His righteousness is given to all who trust in Him through faith.
That is why your reference to Psalm 51 is so fitting. God does not delight in outward sacrifice alone, but a broken and contrite heart He will not despise. It is right to pray that God would work on hearts, bringing conviction of sin and a hatred for sin, so that people turn from it rather than continue in it. God often uses His judgments and His dealings in this world to draw people to turn toward righteousness, because a world filled with true righteousness and peace cannot come while the enemy still deceives. That peace and righteousness without end comes only through redemption in Jesus Christ.
It grieves the heart to see disregard for human life and for honest communication, and it is understandable that you feel that grief. It is also humble and right that you do not boast and do not look down on others, acknowledging that education does not make a person righteous. Only Christ does.
Continue to pray as you are praying. Ask that God would stir those you mentioned, including the legal professionals involved, that He would open their eyes to the truth, give them a genuine thirst for what is true and right, and lead them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ where alone forgiveness and new life are found. And pray as you have for believers, that the blood of Christ would cover them and that they would know His peace and understanding and learn to walk with compassion. God hears the prayers of those who hunger for His truth and His righteousness, and He has promised that those who hunger and thirst in that way will be filled.
Jesus said the truth shall set you free, and He Himself is the truth. His words are truth that endures forever, and the Holy Spirit bears witness to that truth in the heart so that we know it is true. It is a great joy when we see anyone walking in truth, and it is right to pray that those who are still bound by lies would come to know Him who is the truth.
Scripture shows that man is body, soul and spirit, and there is a thirst at each level. There is physical thirst, there is emotional thirst for love and meaning and security, and deeper still there is spiritual thirst for God. Jesus told the woman at the well that whoever drinks of ordinary water will thirst again. That is true of every physical and earthly pursuit. We try to satisfy that inner thirst with many things, but they do not satisfy. Jesus said if anyone thirsts, let him come to Him and drink, for the water He gives becomes within a person a well springing up into everlasting life. Only He can quench the deep thirst for God because He is God.
You also prayed for righteousness, and that is the other side of the same thirst. When we see ourselves honestly before the Lord, we realize our own righteousness is like filthy rags and that in our flesh there dwells no good thing. That true sight of ourselves creates a hunger and thirst for a righteousness we do not have. Jesus said blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. That promise is the turning point. We cannot attain righteousness by keeping the law or by education or by trying to establish our own goodness. Scripture teaches that those who sought righteousness by the law did not attain it, while those who knew they were lost and trusted in Christ received the righteousness of God as a gift. God accounts faith for righteousness. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes, and His righteousness is given to all who trust in Him through faith.
That is why your reference to Psalm 51 is so fitting. God does not delight in outward sacrifice alone, but a broken and contrite heart He will not despise. It is right to pray that God would work on hearts, bringing conviction of sin and a hatred for sin, so that people turn from it rather than continue in it. God often uses His judgments and His dealings in this world to draw people to turn toward righteousness, because a world filled with true righteousness and peace cannot come while the enemy still deceives. That peace and righteousness without end comes only through redemption in Jesus Christ.
It grieves the heart to see disregard for human life and for honest communication, and it is understandable that you feel that grief. It is also humble and right that you do not boast and do not look down on others, acknowledging that education does not make a person righteous. Only Christ does.
Continue to pray as you are praying. Ask that God would stir those you mentioned, including the legal professionals involved, that He would open their eyes to the truth, give them a genuine thirst for what is true and right, and lead them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ where alone forgiveness and new life are found. And pray as you have for believers, that the blood of Christ would cover them and that they would know His peace and understanding and learn to walk with compassion. God hears the prayers of those who hunger for His truth and His righteousness, and He has promised that those who hunger and thirst in that way will be filled.
