One of the hardest things to do when we pray is to get our focus off the need and onto God. Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well in Samaria helps us understand how important that refocusing is. Jesus said to her,

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10)

We live life on various levels. Most of the time, we have to deal with the superficial world of work and chores, and the administrative conversations that go with those things. If life does not give us a break, or if we are not motivated enough, it is easy to ignore spiritual things. The woman was puzzled about cultural customs (why would a Jewish man talk to a Samaritan woman?) and would have loved to save herself trips to the well with that heavy pitcher (John 4:9, 11). That’s how we usually come to God—asking for healing of pain or supply of practical needs.

But think about prayer for a minute. If we knew the gift and the Giver we would know how much He wants to lavish His gift on us and how precious that gift is.1 If we knew the gift and the Giver, we would drop our shopping lists of things we think we need and simply ask Him to give of Himself everything He has for us. He is so great, His gift is so much more valuable than anything else we could want or need. It does not merely make our lives more convenient or less painful. It becomes a fountain of living water springing up fresh to touch other lives with the life of God (John 4:14).

Often we have little idea of what we need most. Isn’t it time to go deeper with God? He certainly cares about the practical, even the superficial, but He has so much more for us. See what happens when you quietly invite the Giver to give His very best to you.

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1. The Greek word for gift in John 4:10 shows up again in Acts 8:20 for the power of the Spirit and in Eph. 3:7 for the grace to preach to the Gentiles. [↩]