Drawing Close to God

I was talking with some friends recently about the “busy-ness” of our lives and how easily we load our schedules up to a point where we hardly have time for a devotion let alone to sit and listen to God, it got me to thinking and praying and researching.

It’s been said that if we find that God seems far away, He isn’t the one that moved. God is unchanging, constant, reliable, steadfast, and true. If He seems far away, it’s because we have moved away from Him. We have gotten caught up in our “busy-ness”, stopping to pray only if there’s a crisis. But God has a different plan for our relationship with Him. He wants INTIMACY. How would our spouse feel if we communicated with them only in a crisis? What if we only listened to them or planned to spend time with them “once in a while”? Our marriages wouldn’t last too long! It’s the same with our relationship with God. Without the loving and nurturing guidance from the Holy Spirit throughout the day, we will lose the intimacy God desires with His children.

Who do we look to for an example of how to draw close to God? Jesus! On numerous occasions Jesus got “alone to pray”. Why? Because God designed prayer as a way to communicate to His people. He is there waiting for us to come to Him. “Draw close to God, and He will draw close to you.” (James 4:8a) Our relationship with the Lord can grow in leaps and bounds if we are willing to get alone with Him, draw close to Him, and listen to what He is wanting to say. In the past, I have been guilty of coming to God only if there is a crisis or urgent need, thinking I couldn’t bother Him with anything else. But in reality it was I who couldn’t be bothered to sit and talk to God….I was too busy.

Lord, forgive me for letting other things pull me away from the most important relationship in my life—You! Help me to hear Your voice right now and to always stay close to Your heart and will for my life. In Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN.