In three weeks, the gates will open to an exciting event in Thailand. XTREME is a 4-day youth camp aimed at igniting a passion for Jesus and his mission. Last year’s attendance was good, but this year the prayer vision is for young people to come from all 77 provinces in the nation. It’s not just about a huge Christian youth event in a Buddhist-majority nation, or exposure to great worship and teaching. It’s an opportunity to encounter the Lord, be changed, and live as a generation that is thirsty for him.

Spiritual thirst is a characteristic of normal life in Christ’s Kingdom on earth. He satisfies us, but designed us to keep longing for him. He is fully ours, but we don’t yet fully experience him. To draw us deeper in himself, he makes us thirsty for more.

Desire for the Lord is a powerful mover of the will. The longing to be filled by him, know, love, please, serve, and be like him—to want him more than anything life offers—will shape our choices and move us to a level of surrender that may puzzle the natural mind.

It’s this core thirst that will lift the XTREME gathering from ‘happy camping’ to unforgettable encounters with God, where the outcome is changed hearts and a rising generation that’s thirsty for him.

The gathering will be in Chiangmai, 23 – 26 April. Ask the Lord to create a hunger for him in hearts during these lead-up weeks, a longing that will strengthen during the camp. Pray for the Lord’s Spirit to work thirst for him into every space in the schedule—meetings, mealtimes, group activities and in the quiet night hours.

The image in Psalm 42: 1-2 is easy to pray from.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Whether you pray this for Thailand’s young gen, or for another nation or community, here are some guidelines:

Admire the living God.

Our ASKING grows in clarity, restful confidence and enjoyment of the Lord when done from a heart of ADMIRATION. The psalmist touches on a truth about the Lord that can’t be said of other gods: he is the living God. Celebrate this truth, exalt him as the God who was, who is and who always will be. Declare him as the Source and Sustainer of life, the living God who is involved in our present and guarantees our future. Thank him for raising you with Christ to enjoy his life forever.

Confess being thirsty for him

Personalise the psalmist’s confession of longing to be near the Lord: MY soul pants for you, O God. MY soul thirsts for God. Tell the Lord what you mean by, My soul pants for you.

Ask for a compelling thirst

In praying for Thailand’s young gen (or for another target group), ask for a thirst to be created where there is none, and for low thirst to become a deep pant for God. Thirst compels the deer to find and drink from the stream. So too, the psalmist knows that our soul is designed to want the Lord. The thirst can’t be ignored or satisfied by anything else. Social pressures and distractions can dull the appetite for him. Ask the Lord to revive that compelling thirst in the young gen: my soul pants for you, O God.

Celebrate the answer

When can I go and meet with God? The psalmist—probably among King David’s refugee party, after fleeing across the Jordon from Absalom—yearns to be in Zion again near the ark of God’s presence, and doesn’t know how long the wait will be. For us, the answer to that question is a thunderous, NOW! Christ has made possible a thirst-and-drink experience that is always immediate and close-up!