Psalm 84 offers rich imagery to help us find our own words to describe that elusive longing for God’s presence deep within our souls. It’s a Psalm that beacons us to curl up, go slow and savor it’s depths in shared company with God. Give yourself room to sense freshly how these words are bread for you today.
Psalm 84 (NIV)
How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar, LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.
Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
LORD Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.
For Reflection and Prayer:
What word, a phrase, image, or feeling caught your attention as you listened? Linger with it. Bring it into your prayer.
Journal or draw what comes to mind as you reflect and dwell in this passage. Be aware of the longings which stir within you. Bring what you notice into a conversation with God.
What are you sensing is God’s response to you?
Before bringing your prayer to a close, simply rest quietly in God’s presence.
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