What do you want most?

What do you want most for yourself?

How do you pray for the people you serve alongside in your congregation week-by-week?

When you see people within the local church suffering, struggling with day-to-day living, what do you hope for their futures?

There may be a list. For some, a myriad directions in which our hearts could go. But if you had to pick one thing – one aim to pray home for those you love – what would it be?

As David penned Psalm 34, he had a pretty clear idea:

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good – Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

There is no greater priority for a human to hold.

For the counsellor, ready to encourage those who hurt … We need to know the goodness of God in an ever-deepening way. How can we point others to run to the safety of our rock and our redeemer if we can’t run there ourselves?

For the fellow-worker at church, who labours alongside us in pastoral care, Bible study, youth work or evangelism … Ministry can be tough. How much do they need a prayer or a word of encouragement today to remember the goodness of God and the safety of his loving, equipping arms?

For the congregation member with the broken marriage, the parent with the wayward child, the woman grieving, the man addicted, the young person self-harming … What one prayer request unites them all? What common need binds their diverse struggles together? How foundational is their need to savour ever more deeply the wonders of God’s character and his blessings – the comfort, hope and salvation that he brings?

So today, before writing your to-do list, before picking up the book to read, before tapping out that email to your fellow-labourer, before counselling that wounded friend … Why not take a moment? Why not join with David and ask God one thing for yourself and for them?

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good – Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.