Both versions of the song based on this Psalm are favorites of mine, but I particularly like the Dennis Jernigan version with the women's echo. We sang that version at Carolina Bible Camp when I was visiting last week. Sitting in the dark, singing this song with 200+ people, most of whom are teenagers, is breathtaking.
The writer of Psalm 42 compares the longing for God to being thirsty and panting for water. Have you ever been so thirsty that you were panting for water? I've been awfully thirsty before but not to the point of panting. Although I am not wealthy (at least by America's standards), I am certainly more comfortable than many of the world's inhabitants. I expect most of us have never really gone hungry or thirsty, despite our occasional hyperbole, as in "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!"
The question I'm pondering today though is have I ever been that hungry for God? The Psalm writer says, "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls" (verse 7) and so we must allow the deepest part of ourselves...the part we fear will overtake us...the part we fear letting anyone else know about...the part that gnaws at our hearts as hunger gnaws at our stomachs...we must allow that part of ourselves to call out to the Depths that we cannot fathom. There is no place else to go.
Recently Brett Loftis posted the following as his Facebook status: "I wished I desired prayer as much as I desire food...anybody with me?" God, give me the courage to pray every day for the hunger and thirst for Your Presence that will not let me go until I seek You.
- submitted by Holly Barrett
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