The Lord is Near!

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:4-6

I haven’t heard it many times in my life, but occasionally someone will say “That was a beautiful prayer.” The compliment sounds sincere enough, but when you ponder the underlying meaning it is rather disturbing. Of course no one would know how beautiful the prayer was unless it was prayed aloud for others to hear. And then, how would they know whether or not the prayer was beautiful to God?

If you hear a man and his wife conversing with each other how can you tell whether the conversation is deep and meaningful or shallow and meaningless or even beautiful comments filled with little barbs?

The reality of relationship with God trumps everything else! If God is near and I know it then I don’t think about prayer, instead I PRAY!

There is an older gentleman who worships at our small church. His car license plate says, I PRAY, and he does. When he prays aloud in worship everyone can tell that he forgets that we are there and finds himself in the presence of God. It is very instructive and humbling. I have never thought of calling his prayers “beautiful.” He always kneels to pray and sometimes cries and often prays longer than most would dare.

When you know that God is near, you pray. When a startling event happens in the life of someone you will often hear them exclaim, “Oh God!” The momentous nature of the experience causes an eruption of the recognition of the presence of God.

When I recognize the nearness of God I will pray.

Years ago I was part of a regular prayer chain. I think my time to pray was from 2 to 3 am on Monday mornings. Frankly, it was hard to stay awake and pray. But if God Himself had knocked on the door and spent that hour with me, sleep would have been no temptation!

When it comes time to pray today, focus on the nearness of God. Or rather when you focus on the nearness of God it will be time to pray!