Psalms 145
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. Psalms 145:18-19 NKJV
How close do you feel to God right now? The fact is that we are all as close to Him as we choose to be. God is always here for us, as promised in Deuteronomy 31:6, “…for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” However, we sometimes make choices that pull us away from Him. We will feel very connected to God and will be joyfully resting in His peace, if we have consistently chosen to set aside time for Him. Building intimacy takes time for any relationship, including our relationship with God. Being productive is important. Work is important. But nothing is more important than taking the time needed to ensure that we stay close and connected to our Heavenly Father. We also need to make sure that we are coming to Him in praise and adoration, and letting Him know how much we truly appreciate all He has done for us, instead of only communicating our desires and requests of Him. This will further strengthen the bonds and bring us closer to God. Having said that, He is always available to hear our prayers about what we want or need, as well. David writes in this Psalm that “The Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth.” This means that in order to obtain this promise and receive answers to our prayers, we need to be praying for things that are in line with God’s will. How can we know God’s will? The closer we are to Him, the more clearly we can see His will for us and for others.
The Bible can be of great help and comfort in bringing our thoughts and desires in line with God’s. It also fills our hearts with the truth of His Word so that we are not led astray by the evil in the world around us. It is in Scripture that we glimpse the actions of God that reveal His nature, we read what God says about Himself, and we obtain wisdom and guidance for our lives. The more we allow the written Word of God to penetrate into our minds and hearts, the more we will be able to pray in alignment with God’s true nature and true will. When we pray in this way, not only will we find that our prayers are answered positively, but we will also be able to better feel the presence of God in our lives, thereby growing closer to Him. Not every situation will have an obvious answer in Scripture, however, and sometimes we need to pray something similar to this prayer from Joyce Meyer: “God, I want this, but I want Your will more than I want my own. So if my request is not in Your timing, or if what I’m asking for is not what You want for me, then please don’t give it to me. Amen.” Rest assured…He won’t.
All of us desire God’s closeness in our lives. The amazing thing is that God also seeks this kind of relationship with us. As Jesus said, “But the time is coming–indeed it’s here now–when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. (John 4:23, NLT).
Ask God to help you with your prayers and to align your desires with His will. He will teach you, correct you, guide you, and inspire you, so that you will be able to call upon Him in truth and grow ever closer to Him, your Creator and Savior.