Let's prepare our hearts for One Voice this coming Monday, 19th May, by reading about drawing near to God, with this article.
An article taken from Joyce Meyer's Enjoying Everyday Life March 2008 issue, it is written by John Bevere.
Bevere is an international bestselling author, conference speaker, and cofounder of Messenger International with his wife, also bestselling author, Lisa Bevere. His desire is to equip people with truth so they can fulfill their God-given potential.
God bless!
Within the book of James we find the greatest invitation of all time: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you… (James 4:8 NKJV). Notice who does the drawing first...we do! Did you know we determine the level of our relationship with God? Yes that’s right, you—not God—determine how close the relationship is.
Stop a moment and ponder this: The Creator of the universe intensely desires your company and longs to be intimately close with you. When drawing near to God, we must come near with holy fear. You will never find the Lord in an atmosphere where He is not held in the utmost respect and reverence.
Psalm 89:7 says God is to be greatly feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
I’ve learned something priceless that I would love to share with you: it’s how to get into the presence of God. I used to struggle getting into His presence, and one morning the Holy Spirit said, “What did Jesus say to His disciples when He taught them to pray?” I started reciting the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be…” Hallowed be Thy name… there it is! Jesus taught them to come into the presence of God with holy fear.
What is the fear of the Lord? It is not to be scared of God. The fear of the Lord is to respect, esteem and honor Him above anything or anyone else. When we do, we will take on His heart and love what He loves and hate what He hates. What is important to Him becomes important to us.
In approaching the Lord in prayer, we must remember that we are created in His image. Just as our emotions vary, so do His. Just as we desire our loved ones to be sensitive to our moods, even so we should be sensitive to the Lord’s. For example, there are times to come into His presence with singing, times to approach boldly, times to enter with a quiet spirit and so forth.
Another key to approaching God in prayer is found in this scripture: Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few (Ecclesiastes 5:2 NKJV).
A few years ago, I was driving and the Holy Spirit told me to pull over. The moment I pulled off, I heard the Spirit of God whisper to my heart, “Did I not say to you, ‘pray without ceasing’?” (See 1 Thessalonians 5:17.)
I responded, “Yes, Lord, You did.”
He probed further, “Is prayer a monologue or dialogue?”
I responded, “It’s a dialogue, Lord, a two-way conversation.”
His words came quick, “Yes, that’s correct; therefore, if I said to pray without ceasing, then that means I am willing to communicate with you without ceasing!”
Let me interject this one point: There are more ways to communicate than just words. At times my wife can give me just one look, and I can write three pages of what she just said to me. If you were in the room, you may not discern what she just said, and I may not have either twenty years ago, but I’ve learned how she communicates. God’s desire is for us to learn how He communicates.
Now when you want to communicate with somebody that much, it means you’re in passionate pursuit of them. And this is what the Bible shows all throughout… God is searching for a relationship with His sons and daughters all over the world.
I find there are so many who constantly approach God with their lists of needs. This is certainly valid; however, I have found great success in approaching Him silently and listening before I speak a word. I have learned a very powerful way to come into God’s presence. I will read a scripture, meditate on it, and the presence of the Lord will manifest. When I’m in His presence, heavenly revelation, understanding and wisdom come.
It is so important that we give the Lord time to speak to us. Can you imagine a friend speaking nonstop, never giving you the opportunity to share? I think that is how the Holy Spirit sometimes feels with us. We need to listen as well as speak. Remember, prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue. For this reason I find much of my prayer time spent in silence or speaking in tongues and listening in my heart while I do. There are other times I’ve immediately approached the Lord with thanksgiving, praise and rejoicing. For the Scriptures also tell us: Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms (Psalm 95:2 NKJV).
So here we find a scripture exhorting us to come into the Lord’s presence with singing and thanksgiving, while other scriptures compel us to draw near to listen. When coming to the Lord in prayer, we need to remember that it is not a formula. We need to hear His voice and respond to His desires. It all comes down to being sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He may lead us to intercede, sing, shout, cry out or be silent.
Just as you so desperately desire to be intimately known, so it is with the Lord. He longs to share the deepest parts of His heart with you. The reason God created us is to have intimacy with Him. He did not put Adam in the garden to have a worldwide ministry or to build bridges and skyscrapers. God put Adam in the garden to have intimacy with Him. Now out of that intimacy will come tremendous ministry, great designs of bridges, skyscrapers or whatever you’re called to do. I know that inside all of us is the desire to know the living God. When we walk in intimacy with God, we will find true satisfaction in life.
Embrace the invitation of a lifetime—to know and be known by your heavenly Father. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you… (James 4:8 NKJV).
