When Jesus met the woman at the well in Samaria, he told her, “The water that I will give will become…a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Jesus first addressed this woman in terms of her physical thirst—for the water in the well—but then changed the subject to her spiritual thirst. We all know well the physical experience of thirst—the burning sensation in our throats, the headaches, the dryness in the mouth, the dizziness. If this feeling is so acute, then how much more acute is our spiritual thirst?
Turning on a water faucet can remind us of our own spiritual thirst—what our souls long for, what would bring us refreshment. God calls us to acknowledge this thirst, and to relieve it by drawing from the well of prayer. Our spiritual thirst might speak to our personal worries, or to the places in the world where people need renewal, hope, and relief from suffering. This simple step of connecting the waters of the world to the waters of our souls can in itself help to transform the world. The woman at the well learned from Jesus that a material thing such as water cannot give us lasting peace; at best, it can give us only temporary satisfaction. By contrast, faith in Jesus Christ and imitation of his example can be the source of lasting vitality for us and for those whose lives we touch.