Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you

One of the problems of believers today is that they have 'no time'. The pressure of work, the demand of family and of society and of high living often leave them with very little time to draw nigh to God. Even their children are hard pressed with time because of homework, weekly tests, ECA, tuitions and other activities such as swimming, music, tennis, etc.! Many Christians therefore put their prayer life in 'cold storage' only to be taken out to thaw on Sundays! Our Lord once said to Martha: "Martha, Martha, Thou art careful and troubled about many things; but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her" (Lk 10:41–42). What was that good part which Mary hath chosen? To sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from Him. Likewise, our Lord, despite His busy schedules, never neglected His own prayer time. Our heavenly Father is the source of all blessings. Those who draw nigh to Him, He will also draw nigh to them. What are the ways by which God's children can draw nigh to God?

Daily Personal Quiet Time

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Ps 46:1). To take time off from our busy daily schedules and to spend time with God in our Quiet Time is our best 'refuge' whereby we can recharge our strength and obtain help in times of trouble. Our Lord Himself often rose up early in the morning and went to the wilderness alone to pray while He was on earth (Mk 1:35). The apostle Peter too had the habit of going up on the housetop to pray at about the sixth hour (Acts 10:9). If we can be likewise having regular hour every day to have our QT with God, we can be sure that the He will bless us. Our Lord personally assured us that "when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Matt 6:6). It's a great pity that many believers do not come to God to claim this wonderful promise.

Pray together in homes of believers

Family worship or 'home altar' whereby believers or members of the same household gather to pray, are other ways to claim blessings from God. The early Christians gathered frequently in their homes for prayer and the Lord blessed them (Acts 1:13–14; 10:9). On the day of Pentecost, the disciples "were with one accord in one place (to pray)…they were filled with the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:1, 4) Here we see that if we draw nigh to God He will also draw nigh to us and pour out His blessings on us. Our Lord Jesus promised us that "if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt 18:19–20). If we want our Lord to bless us, we and our family members must gather often to draw nigh to Him in prayer.

Prayer meeting in the house of God

The church is not only a place of worship. It is also a house of prayer. Our Lord said, "My house shall be called the house of prayer" (Matt 21:13). "Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour" (Acts 3:1). Note that there was an hour of prayer and Peter and John made use of that hour. A church that has no weekly prayer meeting is a deserted church; a church whose weekly prayer meeting is poorly attended is a cold and lifeless church. Similarly, a Christian who does not believe in attending weekly prayer meeting is a weak and pathetic Christian. On the other hand, a church whose weekly prayer meeting is well attended is a power house, and the Lord will bless such a church. Very often, we have time to go shopping, outing, chit-chatting with friends and even have time to go to the cinema but have no time to come to the house of God once a week to pray and to intercede for one another. Such believers often find their spiritual lives empty and meaningless. Remember, If we draw nigh to God, He will also draw nigh to us.

Adapted form Calvary B-P Church Encouragement Page,
Elder Cheng Wei Nien. 2nd September 07.