As for me, it is good to be near God. (Psalm 73:28).
My dad’s favorite hymn was In the Garden and he sang it quite often. Charles Miles composed it back in 1913 to describe the fellowship he enjoyed with his Savior which began at dawn and was so sweet and delightful that even as night was falling he didn’t want it to end:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.
Dad didn’t just sing those lyrics – he lived them. I remember back when I was a little guy I would sometimes hear him talking to someone while he was in the bathroom with the door shut (before cell phones!) I later found out that it was his prayer closet. He liked psalm 91 so much he put a couple of the verses to a tune he made up. I’ll never forget the last words we heard him utter. When he could no longer communicate with us in his weakened condition, we sang his song over him,
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
From seemingly out of nowhere, we heard him finish the song with us,
“shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
I know that sounds incredible but I’m telling the truth. His body was almost gone but his spirit was still very much alive and would soon be in the presence of the Almighty, no longer just in his shadow.
Is prayer your first resource or your last resort?
I have been guilty of prayerlessness, squandering this precious gift, resulting in blessings withheld and needs unmet. Too many times I have prayed without passion instead of crying out to God on behalf of others. The best way I can watch your back is to cover you with prayer, but I don’t do that nearly enough.
“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against
the Lord by failing to pray for you.” (1 Samuel 12:23).
If you don’t take time to pray, power is wasted that could have helped you or someone you love. When you do pray for someone, you may be the only one praying for him/her that day. One of the best ways you can love people is to pray for them.
Trust and Obey
I’ve heard it said that in order to get close to God you must obey him. But trying to do that in our own strength is doomed to fail. Why not strive to obey him while trusting him? I have heard it said that you can do all sorts of things after you’ve prayed. But you can do nothing of significance until you’ve prayed.
When The Holy Spirit is mentioned as working powerfully in people’s lives in the Bible, it usually refers to them as being filled with the Spirit. The little books of Galatians and Ephesians mention “the Spirit” 30 times. He comes up in the book of Acts over 40 times. Even though Christians already have the Holy Spirit, we are advised to walk by, be led by, live by, pray by, keep in step with and be filled with the Spirit. That is how we can defeat sin in our lives, as explained in Galatians 5:16:
Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
The Holy Spirit is responsible for producing spiritual fruit within us and he empowers us to boldly share Christ. He also gives us supernatural abilities, called spiritual gifts, to serve one another. We need to keep filling up with the Spirit, though, because we “leak.” How is this done? Scripture records elders laying hands on people and on other occasions the Holy Spirit filled people without human intervention. I believe you can ask God to fill you, as well. If we want to live like we should all day long we need to keep in touch with Jesus all day long. That’s how I get refilled!
In order to maintain a continual conversation with God we need to move beyond formality and invite him into everything we do. Engage in small talk with what’s happening, what you like or don’t like, and your fears. Don’t wait until you have exhausted all options on your own to solve a problem; involve the Lord from the very beginning. I once heard a pastor say he offers up a quick prayer before every new activity, whether it’s a phone call, a meeting, or anything, big or small.
As you become aware that the Holy Spirit is always with you, you can carry on a conversation with him, in words or in your mind. You can shoot up quick prayers, such as “Help me Lord,” or, “Thank you, Lord.” Praying scripture out loud throughout the day will also help keep you connected to Jesus through the Holy Spirit. I believe this is what Paul meant when he said we are to pray without ceasing.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:25
Dwell in His secret place 