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One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple (Psalm 27:4)

"Ham, henek met." Nothing is wrong with your hearing or eyesight. The words are spelt correctly, but my pronunciation is likely wrong.\xa0 But those three words capture for me the essence of Psalm 27. \u201cHam, henek met.\u201d Let me explain.

One day, while Stuart Sacks was serving as a Christian Missionary in Paraguay, a Maka Indian named Rafael came to sit on his porch. Stuart went out to see what he wanted. Rafael responded, "Ham, henek met." Again, Stuart asked what he could do for him, but the answer was the same. Stuart understood what he was saying, "I don't want anything; I have just come near," but not the significance. After a while, Rafael left without further conversation.

Later, Stuart shared the incident with a local veteran missionary, who explained that it was Rafael's way of honouring him. "He really didn't want anything; he just wanted to sit on your porch. He found satisfaction and pleasure just being near you." "Ham, henek met."

This is David's desire in Psalm 27. It is not that he wanted to give up being shepherd or king and become a monk. David knew that no one was allowed inside the holy of holies in the temple. That was the place God dwelt among his people and no one but the high priest was allowed in there, and him, only once a year after significant purifying preparation.

The tabernacle and later the temple stood for God's presence. David wanted the pleasure and protection of unbroken communion with God in His house. He wanted to sit on God\u2019s porch. "Ham, henek met."

What is our ambition in life today? Is it to get rich? Is it to make a name for ourselves? Is it even to do some wonderful thing for God? Even though some of these may be good things, the Christian church has long understood that the highest desire that can possess any human heart is a longing to see God; to be near him. \u201cHam, henek met!\u201d

Jesus taught us that the day would come when we could experience that reality. It came with Him (John 4). God has no address on this earth. The universe is His and He is everywhere. We live in the presence of God all the time, even if we forget. And the thing is, we do forget.

The most challenging words in this psalm are the little three letter ones, "one," and "all." "One thing, only one, I have asked from the Lord," David says. "I am no double minded man. I don't want to love God and love the world too. If the Lord will grant this one request then he may deny me everything else and I will still be happy. I am single minded in my longing."

Rich Mullins left us this prayer: "Save us from those things that might distract us. Please take them away and purify our hearts. We don't want to lose the eternal for the things that are passing. What will we have when the world is gone, if it isn't for the love that goes on and on with our one thing? You're our one thing. The pure in heart shall see God" (\u201cMy One Thing\u201d).

Let it be enough that we are near God. May "Ham, henek met" be the desire of our hearts!