Pursuing Intimacy through the Psalms

There is nothing better in all the world than a close, personal relationship with God. Your relationship with God is the one thing that will never change. It provides security in this ever-changing world. It turns your eyes from your circumstances and onto Jesus.

Your relationship with God is separate from your ministry and service to Him. It is through a close personal relationship with God, not your ministry, that He changes your heart and conforms you more and more into the image of His Son.

As you read through the Psalms, you will find person after person expressing their intimacy with God. Their words give us insight into what intimacy looks like – the trust, dependence, adoration, praise, desire, longing, and joy. The psalmists’ words can also act as a guide for us into greater intimacy with God ourselves.

Here is one example – Psalm 63:1-8.

1 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.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Challenge

Read through Psalm 63:1-8 several times in different ways.

Read through it out loud.
Read through it emphasizing the words you and your.
Read through it emphasizing the words my, I, and me.
Read through it phrase by phrase allowing each phrase to extend into a prayer to God from your heart.

Find a way to incorporate the Psalms regularly into your schedule for the next month. Read a new Psalm each day. Or read and meditate on one each week.(2) Ask God to use them to lead you into deeper intimacy with Him.