Thirsting for God
Opening Prayer
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, my God” (Psa. 42:1).
Read Psalm 63
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Can you think of a time when you longed for God the way verse 1 describes?When do you find that you long for God? It may seem like an example of stating the obvious to say that we are more likely to long for him when he seems absent. And yet there is a logic to that. Good times can lessen our thirst for God.
David is under pressure, and the absence of water in the desert wilderness reinforces his thirst for his God. But far from being brought down by this, David uses his past to strengthen his present. Yes, he has seen God in all his power. His night wakefulness is a prompt to recall memories of God, the God who loves him, helps him, upholds him, defends him.
Changing his thinking is not David’s only remedy for thirst. God has given him a voice and lips, so he will glorify God with his lips, he will praise him and, yes, he will sing knowing that he is under God’s protection!
Apply
When has God seemed closest to you? Think about those moments and know that God hasn’t changed.
Closing prayer
Father God, I choose to worship and rejoice in You. Be my help today.
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