Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
(James 4.8)
God has already demonstrated his great love for us when, while we were still sinners, He gave his own Son to die for all of us. So, God does not need to prove anything to anyone. Therefore, we err when in our prayers we beg God to look at our needs and beg Him to do something for us. It sounds as if He cannot see it, or He simply doesn’t care.
We’ve got to understand that God does not answer needs. God answers faith. And what do we usually do when we have any need in the areas of finances, health, family or work? Sometimes we murmur. We want to have God under pressure forcing Him to do what we want. Hadn’t He already told us once, “look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26) God knows all our needs, but God does not answer needs… He answers faith.
And in faith there is intentionality. When we read James 4:8-10 that says: Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you! Sinners, cleanse your hands, and you who are double-minded, purify your hearts. Be sad, mourn, and weep. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you. We must understand God’s reciprocity. Human responsibility in the dynamics of a relationship with God is very great. This means that God is waiting for us to take the first step in this relationship. When we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. When we humble, He exalts us. God reacts to our attitudes.
It was not always like this, it is true. Initially, in Eden, the Word of God tells us that every day in the cool of the day, God came to talk to Adam. The initiative was firstly God’s, but after the fall of man and the consequent entry of sin into the world, God begins to expect man to draw near to Him, to believe in His existence and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
So, today, repent of your sins, ask God for forgiveness, believe through faith in Jesus Christ that God can and wants to change your story so that you can live the full and abundant life that He planned for you. So, don’t wait any longer. Step out in faith now and experience all that God has in store for you.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, there is no greater pleasure than knowing that I am in the center of Your will. Help me to be sensitive to Your voice, to have a heart obedient to Your command, and a mind captive to Your will. I want Galatians 2:20 to be true for me: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
.
