Intimacy

Psalm 63:1-8; Ps 63:1, NLT

"O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you..."

Quotes for reflection: "Intimacy begins with oneself. It does no good to try to find intimacy with friends, lovers, and family if you are starting out from alienation and division within yourself." Thomas Moore (author, former Catholic monk), Care of the Soul.

“It is hard to hear God, but it is even harder not to hear God. The pain one brings upon oneself by living outside of evident reality is a greater and longer-lasting pain than the brief pain of facing it head on.” Richard Rohr.

"The dominant characteristic of an authentic spiritual life is the gratitude that flows from trust - not only for all the gifts that I receive from God, but gratitude for all the suffering. Because in that purifying experience, suffering has often been the shortest path to intimacy with God." Brennan Manning.

"Intimacy is not a happy medium. It is a way of being in which the tension between distance and closeness is dissolved and a new horizon appears. Intimacy is beyond fear." "If fear is the great enemy, love is its true friend." Henri Nouwen.

"Solitude is very different from a 'time-out' from our busy lives. Solitude is the very ground from which community grows. Whenever we pray alone, study, read, write, or simply spend quiet time away from the places where we interact with each other directly, we are potentially open for a deeper intimacy with each other." Henri Nouwen.

1. Read Psalm 63:1-8. Do these verses describe your intimacy with God? What does "my soul" (Ps 63:1,5,8, ESV) suggest about the psalmist's personal devotion to God?
2. How does earnestly and eagerly seeking God feel like to the psalmist (Ps 63:1-2)? To you? What is God's promise to those who earnestly seek him (Dt 4:29; Jer 29:13; Mt 7:7; 5:6; Heb 11:6)?
3. When does the psalmist seek God (Ps 63:2, 6)? How different or similar are these two instances?
4. What is better than life and as satisfying as food (Ps 63:3, 5)? What does he do (Ps 63:1-8)? Notice the verbs by which the psalmist express his intimacy with God (Ps 63:7-8). How might you describe your intimacy with God?