The Priority if Being in His Presence April 9, 2013

From Once-A-Day Walk with Jesus  devotional: 365 days in the New Testament edited by Mickey Hodges, John Hoover and Paula Kirk

Christ in Gethsemane (Christus in Gethsemane), oil painting by Heinrich Ferdinand Hofmann (Heinrich Hofmann). The original is at the Riverside Church (Riverside Church, New York City). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

April 9

THE PRIORITY OF BEING IN HIS PRESENCE

Jesus, knowing that they inteded to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. John 6:15

John 6 describes on of Jesus’ busiest days – a day filled with sermons and miracles.
A crowd of more than 5,000 listened to him preach, saw him multiply the fish and loaves, then clamored to make him king.
And yet in the midst of it all, Jesus withdrew for some quiet moment with the Father.
Andrew Murray knew firsthand the importance of private audiences with the King of kings.

WALK WITH ANDREW MURRAY
“Man needs to be alone with God, to sense again the presence and power of his holiness, of his life, and of his love.
“Christ on earth needed it. He could not live the life of a Son here in the flesh without at times separating himself entirely from his surroundings and being alone with God. And how much more must this be indispensable to us!
“When our Lord Jesus gave the blessed command to enter our inner chamber, to shut the door and pray to our Father in secret, he gave us the promise that the Father would hear such prayers and mightily answer them.
“Alone with God. That is the secret of true prayer, of true power, of real living in face-to-face fellowship with God”

WALK CLOSER TO GOD
Before Jesus chose his 12 disciples, he spent a night – alone – in prayer.
Before Jesus went to the cross, he agonized in Gethsemane – alone – in prayer.
Solitary prayer. There’s no better way to wrestle with a decision.
Deal with a temptation.
Refocus on priorities.
Cultivate your love for God.
Worship your Lord and Savior.
Try it, and you’ll soon discover how habit-forming being alone with God can be. And how it will empower you to reach out to others.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 is quite possibly the easiest Bible Verse to remember. Pray continually. To me, it sounds like God wants us to always be praying. And I think He does. Until recently, I never really understood how important prayer is. I understood that it’s powerful. But I didn’t really understand that for a healthy relationship with God, the lines of prayer communication must be constantly open. We are accessible to Him and Him to us through prayer. But even further, we must make private time for Him as well. No intimate relationship can be sustained without open communication and private time together. A relationship with God is no exception.

-TMS