Thirsting for the Lord: Psalm 63-Supplication through the Scriptures

Thirsting for the Lord

Psalm 63

A weary place and a weary heart make the presence of God the more desirable: if there be nothing below and nothing within to cheer, it is a thousand mercies that we may look up and find all we need.
Charles Spurgeon

This beautiful psalm was written while David was in the wilderness. How vividly he describes his soul’s desperate need for the Lord. In that dry place, he must’ve physically felt the yearning for water to quench the thirst of his body. He then uses the physical, desperate thirst to give us a metaphor for how his soul was thirsting, fainting, and earnestly seeking the Lord. Could these words describe your need for the Lord? 

When your eyes open in the morning, are you thirsting for time with the Lord in His Word? When you go about your day, are you fainting for more of Him? Is His presence what you long for? Are you asking Him to give you eyes to behold His beauty and His power? This psalm drives me to ask these questions to myself. 

Am I desperate to drink from the fountain of living waters today? 

Thirsting for the Lord is a yearning that will be satisfied. David says, “I will be satisfied as with fat and rich food” (63:5). We can long and desire many things in this life, but we have no guarantee that those desires and expectations will be fulfilled. In fact, those things can never truly satisfy our soul’s need. There is only one thing that truly quenches our thirst, fulfills our longing, and satisfies our desire, and that is Christ our Lord. He says, “For I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes” (Jeremiah 31:25). 

We need to ask the Lord’s help to give us a desire and longing for Him. A desire so strong that our souls cling to Him (Psalm 63:8). Our earnest seeking of Him will result in praise from joyful lips (63:5), rejoicing in God (63:11), and blessing Him as long as we live (63:4). A life that runs hard after God will not be pain free. But in all our suffering, He will be our help, and He will uphold us (63:7-8). And we will be able to say, “in the shadow of Your wings I will sing for joy” (63:7). 

Pray through Psalm 63 for an earnestness in seeking the Lord.

Daily Dagger: My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:8

My Soul Thirsts

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. 
Heavenly Father, we pray:
▫️We would earnestly and diligently seek You, our souls would thirst for You, and our flesh would faint and yearn for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
▫️We would inquire after You by diligently reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on Your Word.
▫️We would see You for who You truly are, hear Your Word and the truth we need to know, and in our thirst we would come to You, the fountain of living water, and take of the water of life without cost (Revelation 22:17).
▫️Your Word and Christ would help us to behold You in Your beauty, power, and glory and our hearts would worship You and You alone.
▫️We would praise You because Your steadfast love is better even than life.
▫️We would bless You as long as we live, no matter what comes our way, and lift up our hands to You. 

My Soul Clings to You

63:5-8 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. 
Heavenly Father, we pray:
▫️You would fill us with Yourself and we would be satisfied in You.
▫️We would enjoy Your presence, and our mouths would praise You with joyful lips. 
▫️We would willingly, joyfully, with steadfastness pursue knowing You, and we would count all things loss for the sake of knowing Christ.
▫️We would remember the good You have shown to us and the great grace and mercy You have given us in salvation through the death of Christ for us.
▫️In the night watches, those times when we lie awake at night, we would turn our thoughts to You, our great God, and meditate on You and all Your wondrous works.
▫️We would sing as we rest in the shadow of Your wing, for You have been our help.
▫️We would cling to You.

Rejoice in God

63:9-11 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Heavenly Father, we pray:
▫️Any obstacles we face in our pursuit of thirsting for You, seeking You, clinging to You would be destroyed and would not gain any victory over the satisfaction we will find in You.
▫️We would rejoice in God through whom we have received the reconciliation given to us through Christ (Romans 5:11).
‭‭
May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 63 quoted from the ESV.
Photo credit to yuli_superson

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