The Cure for Spiritual Dryness

Have you ever gone through a season in life in which you felt dry spiritually? Well, David went through this while he was on the run from King Saul. As you may recall, Saul became envious of David, and sought to kill him. This resulted in David being on the run for several years in order to stay alive. One of his stops was in the Judean wilderness in the area of Ziph. Here, the Ziphites betrayed him to Saul, and Saul and his men pursued after David, nearly capturing him, but Saul was forced to leave off the pursuit when word came to him that the Philistines had invaded the land. It was here in this dry desert that David wrote the 63rd Psalm.

As I began studying this Psalm, the Lord ministered to my heart, so I thought I would share what I believe He showed me.

The Psalm states:

“O God, you are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; your right hand upholds me. But those who seek my life, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him shall glory; but the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.”

The first thing that David says here is, “O God, you are my God.” If you are reading this post and are not a Christian, there is no cure for your spiritual thirst outside of Jesus Christ. Lay hold of the living water of the Son of God by placing your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. For us as believers, it may seem that this would go without saying, but David was proclaiming with his mouth that Jehovah was his God. There are some who try to make more out of confession or praying out loud, going so far as to say that if we do not pray out loud, the Lord will not answer our prayers, but the Scriptures do not support this teaching. However, there are times when it is useful to do so. Sometimes, the things of this life have a way of taking our eyes off Jesus, and we become focused on the natural. James says that our tongue is like a rudder on a ship, and it steers the course of the rest of our body. When we feel the pull or temptation to these other distractions, we should speak with our mouths that Jehovah is our God, Jesus Christ is our Lord. This is to aid in bringing our own sin nature into submission to Christ and in doing battle against the Enemy. We have a tendency to dismiss the severity of David’s trials, but losing everything you own, including your family, then having the king and his army pursuing you in order to kill you would have been a difficult thing to endure. Discouragement is one of the devil’s tricks to keep us from doing what God has called us to do, so we need to remind ourselves of what is true. The Psalmist wrote, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.” (Psa 43:5)

Next, David says that he seeks God early. This word does not only mean seeking God early in the morning, but doing so eagerly and immediately. In other words, David was giving the Lord the first and best part of his day. Jesus also spent time with the Father in the morning. Isaiah writes of Him, “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away.” (Isaiah 50:4-5) Jesus, after a long day of ministry extending long into the evening, got up long before it was daylight to go to a private place to pray (Mark 1:35). I know this may challenge some of you who are not morning people, but if David and the Son of God did it, I think there must be something to it. I don’t believe it is a matter of right or wrong, but as a principle to follow. This does not mean we have to get up at 3:00 AM, but get up early enough to spend some quiet time with the Lord before the cares of the day begin to take our attention elsewhere. We should take the time to wait on Him, to pray to Him, and to meditate on His word.

Next, David says that his soul thirsted for God; his flesh longed for Him, just like the dry and thirsty land in the absence of water. In another Psalm it states, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psa 42:1-2) Again, we should eagerly be pursuing after God like we crave cold water on a hot and dry day. We may not feel like seeking the Lord like this; in fact, most of the time we may not. However, our feelings follow our choices, and if we will choose to intensely pursue the Lord, our feelings will eventually follow.

This longing that David had for God caused him to remember when He had seen God’s power and glory in the sanctuary. David understood the connection between gathering together with God’s people and being well-watered spiritually. Going to Church is where we corporately worship the Lord, pray, and receive teaching from the word of God. These are all crucial for our spiritual health. There have been several occasions in which my family and I did not feel like going to a mid-week service. We have even experienced what we believe to be a spiritual attack when we have ridden the fence on whether or not we should go. For example, someone was always sick, arguments or fights happen between us, or simply feeling overwhelmed by all that was going on at the time. However, when we went anyway, the Lord ministered to us in some way, usually through worship and the teaching of the Word. Now more than ever, it is all the more important for us as believers to be regularly involved in a local church body. The author of Hebrews writes “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb 10:24-25) At the time David wrote this Psalm, he did not have access to the tabernacle, but he did have access to God by faith along with the men who were with him. Even when we find ourselves alone due to circumstances beyond our control, we can still draw near to God by faith.

Another ingredient for thriving spiritually is worship. Again, David stated, “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.” David recognized the lovingkindness of God, that it was better than life, and out of a natural outflow of his gratefulness of what the Lord had done for him, he praised the Lord. It is the lovingkindness of the Lord that moved Him to die on the cross in our place, and it is His goodness that leads us to repentance and gives us the free gift of salvation through faith. His lovingkindness is better than life, for without it, we would not have life. Spurgeon said, “There is in the love of God a richness, a sumptuousness, a fulness of soul-filling joy, comparable to the richest food with which the body can be nourished.” I have heard accounts of believers tangibly experiencing the love of God that fanned them like immense wings; however, this love still stems back to, and has its roots in the cross. Because of this, we should praise and bless God with our mouths for the rest of our lives.

We lift up our hands in His name. The lifting up of hands in worship was a common posture for praise for the Jewish people. It signifies a surrender to the Lord and a grateful expectation of receiving from Him. As American believers, we tend to be more reserved in our worship, but the Jewish people were not reserved. Being physically involved in worship has a way of bringing our inner man into worship as well. In reading through the rest of the Psalms, we find examples of standing, kneeling, laying prostrate on the floor, clapping, shouting, and even dancing.

David wrote in Psalms that God is holy, and is enthroned in the praises of Israel (Psa 22:3). We worship the Lord because He is holy and is worthy of it. The word for enthroned means to sit, remain, or dwell. In a sense, we are building a throne for the Lord to sit or dwell in when we worship Him, and it invites His presence in our midst in a special way. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Mat 18:20)

As a result of seeking and praising the Lord, David says that he will be satisfied with marrow and fatness (abundance). The Lord truly wants to bless us abundantly. Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (Jn 10:10)

David says that he remembers the Lord when he is in bed, and meditates on him during the night watches. David loved the Lord so much that he was willing to lose sleep to spend time with Him. Sometimes, that is just the only quiet time we can find to spend quality time with the Lord. Sometimes, we have gotten a taste of the Lord’s goodness, and we just want more. Still at other times, we cannot sleep due to what is going on in our lives, and seeking the Lord calms our minds and hearts to a point of getting restful sleep. Whatever the case, seeking and meditating on the Lord during the night can be a valuable and productive thing.

Because the Lord had been his help, David stated he would rejoice in the presence and protection of God. Quite often in the Scriptures, there is a link between the presence of God and experiencing joy. Consider the following passages: “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psa 16:11), “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10), and “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil 4:4) David stated his soul followed close behind the Lord, and the Lord’s right hand upheld him. The words “follows close” mean to join or glue together like as in a marriage as seen in Genesis 2:24, and is a picture of the intimacy that David had with the Lord. This also means we can have that same intimacy in our relationship with Jesus Christ. The Lord reserves a special blessing and protection for those who follow close after Him; he upholds them with His right hand.

Next, David describes the plight of his enemies: he states they will go to the lower parts of the earth (Hell), they will fall by the sword, and their carcasses will be eaten by jackals. David’s enemies were not someone who merely slighted him in some way, but in context, he was referring to King Saul and his army who were hunting him down to kill him. So, unless we find ourselves in a combat situation, we probably should not be praying these prayers toward our enemies. Jesus said, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” (Mat 5:44-45) Our real enemy is the devil, whose doom is sure, and we resist him by the blood of Jesus and the armor of God. David referred to himself as the king who would rejoice in God. David was not reigning as king yet, but he was claiming the promises of God on his life as true. All who swear by God will shine with His favor, but the mouth of liars will be stopped.

Although it does not appear to be the case for David in this Psalm, another reason for spiritual dryness is from unconfessed sin in our lives. Walking in sin breaks our fellowship with the Lord and hinders the answers to our prayers. In another Psalm it states, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” (Psa 66:18) If we are feeling dry spiritually, we should ask the Lord to search our hearts for any sin that needs to be revealed in our lives. Even if we are not knowingly walking in sin, the Lord often uses trials as a tool to refine us, like He did with Job. Closely related to this is forgiving others. Another thing that will zap our spiritual zeal and break our fellowship with the Lord is unforgiveness. Jesus said, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Mat 6:14-15) If someone has offended us, we should forgive them as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven us.

In closing, there is a cure for our spiritual dryness. Serve the Lord only, and do not allow anyone or anything to come between our relationship with Him. Eagerly give Him the best part of our day, and intensely pursue Him, as we would pursue a cold glass of water on a hot day. If we have been walking in sin, confess it to the Lord, and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, turn from that sin. If we are harboring bitterness toward someone, forgive them as God has forgiven us. We should surround ourselves with the Lord’s people regularly, or as often as we are able. Praise Him with our lips all our lives for His lovingkindness, and lift up our hands in His name, surrendering all to Him and gratefully receiving all He wants to give us. Then be satisfied with His abundance, and praise Him more with joyful lips. Remember Him while we are in bed, and meditate on Him during the night watches. Take joy in His presence and His protection. Follow close after Him, and be upheld by His right hand. Claim His promises as true for us in our circumstances, and shine with the favor of God on our lives.