James 4:8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to You . . ."
The most meaningful times in my life were when someone called me, came by to visit, or asked me to spend time with them and they didn't have an agenda or need anything from me. It is at those times that I truly felt loved and that they cared about me. They didn't have to call or come by but they chose to and that is sincerely a blessing in disguise and a genuine gift from the Lord.
Don't get me wrong, I always love to help when there is a need. As a matter of fact, it gives me great pleasure to be able to step in when I'm able but when someone just wants to enjoy my presence, what greater treasure can be found on this earth? In writing I've been thinking about God and how He feels. He hungers and yearns for us to spend time with Him. I'm sure He leaps for joy when we sit at His feet, but if we are really honest with ourselves, we probably spend most of our time with Him asking for something, am I right?
I'm feeling a strange tug on my heart to just sit and bask in His presence right now with no agenda, Often I think that in this fast paced, stressful world we pray to achieve rather than just relish the time alone with God. We rush from here to there and if we have time left we squeeze in a little acknowledgement or a plea for help. What if we purposefully set aside some time each day to just bask in HIs presence? What if we tune out the world for a short time and tune into our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?
Can you imagine how it would make Him feel to just be able to spend time alone with us with no hidden agenda or no requests? We are used to going and doing and planning and fixing but if we took just a few moments to bask in His presence with our mouths closed and our heart and mind open I can only imagine that it would thrill God exponentially. Given time, I'd imagine that He has a lot stored up that He'd like to share with us if we'd take the time to listen.
In James 4:8 James tells us that God has promised that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. He is waiting, dear friend, He is waiting and is ready to receive you with open arms. Won't you take some time out of each day to just be still, close your eyes and mouth, and nurture your relationship with Him?
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Personalize this prayer.
Dear Lord,
Jesus, I adore You. I look back at all that my life was without You and it makes me shudder. Thank You from the bottom of my heart for pursuing a relationship with me and drawing me close to You. Thank You for saving me and giving me the opportunity to know true love. I lay all that I am at Your feet in praise and worship to You alone, my King, who is sovereign over all the earth. Your streams of abundance lavish over me. You give and take away at Your own discretion because You know what is best. You bring healing and provision when it's needed and peace and assurance in the midst of whatever I am facing. You prove Your love for me over and over and over again even though I am so undeserving. I long to be like You, to love like You, to be able to give like You do and to make an impact in the lives of others in Your name. I bless You, Jesus. I want to shout Your name so that others will know in whom I have believed and trusted but right now, at this very moment, I am closing my mouth. I just want to bask in Your presence for a little while because I love You with my whole being.
In Jesus Name,
Amen