This prayer assignment was for the second book that we read in my LTS year at Capernwray – Daring to Draw Near, by John White. I think this journal is another one of those that kind of, went over my head, that is until now. Again, I can tell that I rushed it at the time, yet I am so amazed that God would still use this to remind me of His faithfulness…
Right at the very beginning, I wrote this: “This is how God seeks for us to respond to His invitation. That we would in turn seek fellowship and relationship with Him.” That’s what prayer is! Excuse me while I go work on this relationship that I so often neglect…
Prayer – Daring to Draw Near
Lecturers: Charlie and Marlene Fordham
By Chris Evangelista, March 7, 2005
God initiates. We respond. And when we respond in humility and truth, realizing God’s rightful authority over us, that is worship. This same principle is true of prayer. It is merely a response to His initiation. It is God who seeks after us. We respond to Him. We must be careful not to confuse a familiarity we may have with God or with the Bible with true intimacy with Him. Intimacy requires relationship and fellowship. And this is how God seeks for us to respond to His invitation. That we would in turn seek fellowship and relationship with Him. This is reflected in the tone, content or even frequency of our prayer. But mostly, it is reflected in our attitude of humility as we dare to draw near to our God.
In Chapter 1, God grows bigger in the sight of Abraham. In his “negotiations” with God, Abraham comes to an assuring realization of who God is: “the image of God was changing in Abraham’s eyes. It was no monster that faced him but the familiar God of the covenant. Yet somehow God was larger… a righteous God whose judgements were past finding out.” In Chapter 2, God brings Jacob to a clinging dependency on Him. God initiates a battle with Jacob to bring him to the place that Jacob already had with God, as a blessed man promised to greatness. But God wanted first to allow Jacob to come to Him in dependence. God broke Jacob, causing him to cling to God. Yet in his brokenness, Jacob had victory, for “Jacob had conquered by his helpless dependency.” This dependency was what God was looking for in order to fulfill His promise.
In Chapter 3, we see how God is seeking for us to have fellowship with Him in the example of Moses’ longing to see God’s glory. This is ultimately what God is wanting to declare, His glory, and it is also what God wants us to seek, that we see His glory working in our lives. The side effect of us seeing His glory is that we would reflect it. For Moses, His face literally shone – it shone so much that the people were afraid and he had to wear a veil. This happened every time he went to fellowship with God. This is what true fellowship with God brings. The result is that we would reflect His Glory.
God initiates prayer in many different ways. In Chapter 2, we saw how God physically touched Jacob in order to bring him to repentance and the blessing that God had. In Chapter 4, we see God using David’s sin to bring him closer to Himself by allowing their fellowship to be restored after David truly repents. In Chapter 6, we see how God uses the circumstances in our lives to bring us to Him… We see Hannah’s desperation leading her ever closer to God. And finally, in Chapter 9, we see how the truths about Jesus Christ becomes the fuel that ignites Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Church. It is the revelation of Christ’s indwelling, saving life that Paul uses to inspire himself. In fact it seems as though he gets sidetracked in his prayer by proclaiming these truths, though it leads to this wonderful hope about Him who is able to do far more abundantly than we can ask or imagine…
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And beside you, I desire nothing on earth.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For behold, those who are far from you will perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good.
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
That I may tell of all Your works.
- Psalm 74:25-28
Lord Jesus, help me to continually realize that You are the only One that will ever be enough for me. You satisfy me, Lord, You are what I want and what I need. Even in my unfaithfulness, You remain ever faithful. In my sin, You are merciful. I fail so often, Lord, but you provide the strength I need to get through. Even though I choose not to rely on You, You’re always calling me back to You. Help me realize that close fellowship with You is for my good and Your glory. You will be my refuge. You will be the strength of my weaknesses. And in all that, I can proclaim only You as the One who deserves all the glory, praise, and honour, because only You, Lord deserve these things.
Amen.