PSALM 63:1-4 – O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.”

What I am about to ask of us is extremely important. Not the question but the answer. How we respond tells us a great deal about our understanding of why we were created, saved, and exist. It also reveals an insight of how we view and practice prayer. The question is “Do we thirst, long, desire, and seek more for what God may do for us, give us, and provide to us or for Himself, to know, love, enjoy, and bask in His Presence?” And here is a really quick way to validate our answers–“When is the last time we went to prayer simply to be with God, not ask for anything but more of Him in a real and living fellowship?”

In today’s scripture, David is in the wilderness of Judah. He is far from Jerusalem, the place of corporate worship. And he is homesick, not for the place, but for what the city of God represents–God meeting with His people. Ponder his yearning – O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. This is not a passing, “Oh, yes, I like going to church, but if I miss a Sunday or two that is okay. Sure, I enjoy being with God’s people, but sometimes I need a break, a long weekend away.” No, not at all. The man after God’s own heart is, well, after God’s own heart. He has within him an insatiable, must be satisfied thirst, hunger, and yearning for God, not what God may do for him or give to him, but for God Himself. He would reveal the passion of his heart; to be with God’s people to behold the power, glory, beauty and steadfast love of God – So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

Now is a good time to look into the depths of our very being to see if we measure up to the spiritual longings of David. An unknown Puritan pastor once said, “It is a sign of spiritual barrenness if we attend church out of duty or habit instead of satisfying a thirst or longing for God.” For David? He longed to be with God’s people to be with God. What about us? Is weekly attendance in church a mindless habit performed or a pursuit of God who promised to meet us? May we cry out like David, “God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.” After all, that is why Jesus lived, died, and rose for us!

PRAYER: “Father, grant me an insatiable desire to know You, not facts about You, but in real, living fellowship.”
QUOTE: “To desire God, not to get things from God, is a mark of spiritual maturity.”

Because of Him,
Pastor Jim