Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – October 8, 2015
Guest Writer: Meet my son-in-law Tripp Prince. We are blessed to have him as our guest writer.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. James 4:8
When I was a child, I struggled to pray. If someone asked me to pray, say at a meal or before bed, I was happy to do so. However, in the activity of school, sports, and friends, I rarely took time to pause and seek the Lord in prayer. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I assumed this was something I would naturally grow into once I was older. However, now that I’m older, I often feel as though my growth in Christ is measured, not by my mastery of the Christian life and faith, but by my willingness to acknowledge my need and dependence upon Him.
As adults, we struggle to pray. In the midst of work, parenting, and other family and social commitments, at times it feels nearly impossible to build a consistent rhythm of prayer into the schedule. As such, when we do pray, we are often tempted to reduce our prayers to the bare minimum: requests for favor, protection, or improved health. While God cares deeply about these practical needs, He desires so much more out of our prayer lives!
As theologian and pastor Michael Ramsey once said, “The secret (to prayer) is the quest of God’s presence.” God wants you to share your needs and desires, your fears and insecurities, but He also invites you to simply come into His presence and be transformed. When we pray, our aim should be nothing less than an encounter of divine love.
“You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek” (Psalm 27:8).
If you struggle with prayer or feel like God is distant and absent, draw near to Him with renewed faith and devotion. The great promise of Scripture is; when we seek the Lord, He is faithful to reveal Himself to us. Don’t see the busyness of your schedule as an excuse to neglect the Lord in prayer. Instead, invite the Lord into your schedule! Prayerfully seek His presence in the cubicle, on the soccer field, or at the backyard BBQ. In each and every situation, God is with us and desires to have a living relationship with us, yet we must respond to His love and draw near with faith.
Prayer: Father, thank You that You desire a living relationship with Your children. May we respond by drawing near to You with grateful hearts of praise.
Application: What is a practical prayer I can pray throughout my day today?
Related Readings: Psalm 24:6; Isaiah 51:5; Hebrews 4:16, 7:25; 1 John 4:15-16
Post/Tweet this today: When we pray, our aim should be nothing less than an encounter of divine love. #WisdomHunters #drawneartoGod
Worship Resource: 6 minute video- Lauren Daigle: How Can It Be
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Comments are closed.
Thank you, Tripp!
I totally get this and needed to hear this.
I’m reminded that all I have to do is seek Him and call on Him. He WILL answer by drawing near.
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
James 4:8a
Blessings to you and thanks to Boyd for sharing the blessing he has in you.
Janet
I installed the Wisdom Hunters app today and purchased the “Fruit of the Spirit” devotional. I was wondering how to “expand” the comment entries so that I can read the whole comment. Thank you in advance for your help!
Dear Patricia,
Thank you for reaching out to us with your question. I see what you mean. I am also getting the reading plan and could not expand the comments. Let me look into this a bit and I will get back to you at your email address. There will be an email from gwynne@wisdomhunters.com. In the meantime,
I hope you are being blessed by the reading plan. “Fruit of the Spirit” is such a great reminder of the wonders and gifts from the Holy Spirit.
We are thankful that you are a fellow wisdom hunter. I will be in touch soon!
Blessings,
Gwynne
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23
Dear Janet,
Thank you for taking the time to let us know that you were blessed by the devotional, “Draw Near to God”. We are so thankful for Tripp and his addition to Wisdom Hunters. His Love of the Lord shines through in his devotionals. I think you may be speaking for many on the Wisdom Hunter’s family who were “touched” by this devotional.
When Tripp stated “When we pray, our aim should be nothing less than an encounter of divine love”, I was struck by the awesome reality of that sentence. What a gift we receive when we slow down, be quiet and seek Him! Thank you Heavenly Father!
Grateful for you, Janet.
Believing and trusting~
Gwynne
“O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Psalm 8:1