Day 23 Walking Near

 

1/23/2025

 

Tonight, as I shuffled through prayer point sheets from the past few weeks, I asked Abba to quiet my heart as I tried to center my thoughts on Him. The needs are always so many and often urgent, and I believe it is possible to make prayer more of how I have been directed to pray or think I should pray than taking the time to sit and ask Him to truly direct me. All prayer comes from the heart of God who understands all our needs. There are times when I sit and worship, and pray in the Spirit, knowing His will is done and He meets the needs without my saying a word. Tonight I wasn't feeling very confident in my ability to hear His voice. Of course I realize the source of my feelings of inadequacy, but beyond that I know that when I am tired, I just cannot focus.  I had just completed my group study through Harvest Ministries that I host on Thursdays. We are studying the book of Nehemiah and how to handle criticism that surely follows a Christian who diligently seeks the presence of the Lord. When Nehemiah heard distressing news from home his first response was prayer with weeping and a time of repentance, personal and for his people in Jerusalem. Once he accomplished this place of intercession, he could confidently approach the king whom he served for permission to go to Jerusalem. This took much courage on his part, but God was with him.

Upon reaching Jerusalem and assessing the situation, Nehemiah was able to determine the best course of action. Naturally, the enemy sent his henchmen to try to discourage him and stop the work God had sent him there to do. But Nehemiah had come prepared for battle, knowing full well the task would be daunting. Many great men and women in scripture approached a holy God in this way. Often fasting was included in preparation before the task, as in the case of Queen Esther. She knew the cost of going before the king without being asked, because to do, could mean her death, but she went nonetheless, as her people's lives were in jeopardy. 

Whenever we are faced with decisions, obstacles to those decisions, and consequences of potentially choosing the wrong decision, the best response, only response, is to call on our Lord in prayer. So many times our first response is to turn to other people, wanting to hear a human voice, before we turn to God. Abba so longs for relationship with us, and for us to instinctively run into His arms for solace and love. He's always waiting with open arms and an open heart. Sometimes the weight of the problem is so heavy that we wonder if God hears our prayers, but I assure you that He does. Remember, I began by saying that all prayer originates in the heart of God. He know more about us than we know about ourselves, so He definitely knows our needs and our heart's desires. Learn to trust Him, listen for His voice, even when you feel He hasn't heard or the answer you want is not the one you receive. I'll leave you with these words to consider as you grow in your relationship with our Father:

 "God is always within call, it is true; His ear is ever attentive to the cry of His child. But we can never get to know Him if we use the vehicle of prayer as we use the telephone - for a few words of hurried conversation. Intimacy requires development. We can never know God as it is our privilege to know Him by brief repetitions that are requests for personal favors and nothing more. That is not the way in which we can come into communication with heaven's King."   E.M. Bounds