As a deer thirsts for streams of water,
so I thirst for You, God.
I thirst for the living God.
Psalm 42:1-2
O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
Psalm 63:1-5
When you have tasted the intimacy that is possible with God, you realize that you are so empty without Him. When that intimacy is not as strong as it once was, you can feel the longing that the psalmist is speaking about. When the troubles of the world around you press down on you, you feel that longing for the intimacy again. This prayer by A.W. Tozer has captured my heart's desire over the years, and still does:
God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God. I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul. "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.
In Jesus' name. Amen