A Year of Prayer: Season One Weekday DevotionalsSample

Have you ever said a word out loud so many times it temporarily lost all meaning? The official term for this is ‘verbal satiation.’

First coined in 1907, verbal satiation may seem like a silly term for something many of us only experience a few times in our lives - and rarely with serious consequence. You say a word so many times, and it becomes silly? No biggie, biggie, biggie, biggie. (Try that word aloud for one minute to experience the ‘verbal satiation’ effect in real time!)

But ‘satiation’ shares a root with something we probably have experienced far more often - the word ‘sad.’ Sad and satiation both help form a foundation of another word meaning ‘had enough’. If we have been satisfied and satiated, we have had enough. If we have been worn down, exhausted, or broken - sad - we have had enough.

The word repent is an interesting exploration for us to try in ‘verbal satiation.’ Repent, repent, repent - many of us would have been familiar with the concept, the urge, the call, the entreaty. Repent! Street corner preachers, movie pastors, tracts, pamphlets, and scriptures emblazoned on overpasses, signs, or Bible bookmarks.

But have we heard this truth so many times that we have become soul-sad? Satiated to the point of over-saturation? Perhaps the word itself has lost its meaning, power, and potency. We are called to have a ‘change of mind’ about living, about being loved and called by the Spirit of God into the kingdom of Christ! The only way to shift the sadness, the silliness, the apathy, and the emptiness we may feel is to seek the one Word that will never grow old, worn out, or over-repeated.

Jesus.

'The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.' (John 1:14 NIV)

Let us come to him afresh today.

Prayer: Jesus, you are the last word. You are the first word spoken. You are light; you are the hope and truth of the world. Help me to change my mind, pierced by the truth and conviction of your Good News and infilled with your Holy Spirit; to fulfil the good works you have laid out for me to complete.

Action: Spend some time reflecting on the words ‘Holy Spirit’.