Prayer: Father God, I thank you for this new day. I praise and worship you. Thank you for all the blessings that you have given me and thank you for your amazing love. Please speak to me today and help me to give you the worship you are worthy off.  And as I come before your throne of grace and mercy. I confess and acknowledge, I have sinned against you in thought and deed, I ask you to forgive me and, in your grace, purify my heart and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. And in your great love lead me and help me to walk in the paths of righteousness, so that I may bring glory to you, the one triune God. 

I now receive your forgiveness and mercy in the name of my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ Amen. 

O Lord, hear my prayer, O Lord, hear my prayer; when I call answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer, O Lord, hear my prayer; come and listen to me.

Scripture Reading for Prayer and Praise: Isaiah 25:1

"LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.” 

Worship Song Sung or Said: Lord You Have My Heart (Martin smith)

https://youtu.be/b3WVpgeXU5Y

Lord, you have my heart,

And I will search for yours,

Jesus, take my life and lead me on. 

Lord, you have my heart,

And I will search for yours

Let me be to you a sacrifice.

And I will praise you, Lord,

And I will sing of love come down,

And as you show your face

We'll see your glory here.

Lord, you have my heart,

And I will search for yours,

Jesus, take my life and lead me on. 

Lord, you have my heart,

And I will search for yours

Let me be to you a sacrifice.

And I will praise you, Lord,

And I will sing of love come down,

And as you show your face

We'll see your glory here.

Gods Word for Today: Psalm 63:1 

"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.”

Devotional/Study:

I wonder what it’s like to be in desert all by yourself, with just the sun and sand keeping you company. I imagine it must be a very tough and lonely experience Psalm 63 is written by David when he was in a desert. It was a time when David had been betrayed by his own son & was hiding from his enemies. What we notice in this Psalm is David’s heart, His longing and desire for God. He was seeking after God; this was the desire of His heart.

At this point in our lives what is our desires, are we longing and thirsty for the living God? 

Although, David knew the Lord, he wanted more of God, I think He wanted to go deeper and his whole being craved for God like someone who thirst for water in a desert. I am assuming he was feeling lonely and isolated. 

Have you ever felt like that and how do you deal with it?

David was a man after Gods heart, He knew the most important thing in his life was God. He said in Psalm 63:3 "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.”

Brothers and sisters, I don’t know how you are feeling towards God at this time. 

One of the questions I think we need to ask ourselves and be honest about this is, do we desire God, are we seeking Him with the desire that David had? Is he the most important person in lives and is His love better than life. For David Gods love was better than life, that is why he glorified God. How important is God in our lives and why?

Are you in that place where the cry of your heart is I'm desperate for you Lord and lost without you. Are you in that place where your heart cry out: “I need Thee, O I need Thee; every hour I need Thee; O bless me now, my Saviour, I come to Thee.” 

As we journey together let’s make it our desire to seek God more than we have ever done in our lives. The word Seek is a strong word. It means to crave, pursue, to make sacrifices to get, to go after with all of your strength and all of your heart. 

Whether we are in a spiritual desert place or not, we should always be longing and seeking for a deeper relationship with our living God. 

Brothers and sisters, are we pursuing and craving for the living God at this time in our lives? 

With all that is happening around the world I sense God is calling His people to seek, to pursue and deepen their relationship with Him, and experience His amazing love and presence and to know His will for our lives. 

I believe God wants to take each one of us into a deeper and much more intimate relationship with Him. So deep we can hear His heartbeat and hear His still small voice. The word ‘deep’ means extending far below the surface. God wants to take us far below the surface of our relationship, which may be great or may even be shallow. 

His desire for us is to know and love Him and move from a shallow relationship to one that is deep and intimate. 

Pause For Prayer:

Let’s take some time now to pray about this whole area about shallow relationship and ask to God to help us to go deeper with Him.

What will encourage us is that God invites us to draw closer to Him and rejoices when we accept and draw near to him?

He delights when we accept His desire for a deeper intimacy. And promises His people in Jeremiah 29:13-14 "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” I will be found by you, declares the LORD.” 

When we seek Gods face, we will find more than we can ever dream possible, the peace and the presence of the creator of the universe and His will for our lives. If you are at this time in that spiritual desert place, take heart and don’t be discouraged God is working, teaching and shaping and leading you to seek Him more than you ever done in your life. 

When David was in the desert place He reflected on his relationship and the faithfulness of God which helped Him. In Psalm 63 we can see how David responded while in the desert and how he responded to God. He sought God with his whole being Psalm 63:1 "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.” 

He remembered the times when he experienced Gods power and glory Psalm 63:2 "I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.” 

He knew Gods love was better than life. Psalm 63:3 "your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.”

He worshipped God in the desert place. Psalm 63:4-5 "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.” 

He Remembered God. Psalm 63:6-8 "6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.” 

He held on to God despite everything that was happening in his life. He believed God held him. Psalm 63:8 "I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.”

Brothers and sisters, I would encourage to mediate, reflect and act on these verses. Whether you’re in a desert or not, we need to keep on seeking, trusting and believing that God is working in our lives, changing us into the likeness of Christ. As we thirst and seek for the living God and deepen our relationship with Him, I believe we will discover what we have been looking for in our lives, the beauty, the presence, and the Glory of the God. 

As we seek God together let’s say “Lord, I give you my heart I give you, my soul. I live for you alone. Every breath that I take, every moment I'm awake, Lord have your way in me.”

Brothers and Sisters let us make it our aim and desire to seek God and spend time with Him every day. This is the only way we can learn and grow in knowledge of him and see how amazing our God is. We can than say with confidence, there is no one like our God. When we hunger for Him and His word, he will meet our deepest need and from deep within our hearts we will be able to say Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.

Something truly wonderful, the more we know the triune God, the more we will grow to love Him and more we love Him the more we will seek to glorify Him.

Personal Prayers: