Listen:
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22)
Reflect:
Drawing near to God is an act of worship, prayer and meditation on the word of God. We serve a Holy God, Revelation 15:4 reads, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed”.
There is a protocol in how we draw near to God. Jesus gave us access to the Father, when he offered his body as a sacrifice for our sins on the cross. In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way the truth and the life and nobody comes to the father but through me”. We approach our God through Jesus Christ knowing that by his death our sins are washed away and we are reconciled to God.
Worshiping God is an act of singing songs of praise proclaiming all the wonderful things he has done in our lives and the lives of others we know. We lift our God through prayer too. This prayer can be said loudly and can be done by reading some psalms in the word of God or creating your own psalms that praise God of the wonderful things he has done in your life. This can be done individually or together as a group or church.
Developing intimacy with God involves also spending time with him by reading the word of God and meditating on a section or chapter or verse in the bible by letting God speak to you through the word. When we meditate on the word of God it becomes live and its food to our spirit. (Psalms 119:97) “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.”
Prayer of Response:
Dear God remind us that the Holy Spirit is there to help us in developing a deeper relationship with you. Thank you for giving us the helper the Holy Spirit, knowing that we have access to you through your son Jesus Christ by faith.
Questions to Ponder:
- How do we develop a deeper relationship with God?
- Why do we at times feel unworthy to have a relationship with God?
- How can a relationship with God help us to relate better with others?
—Submitted by Margaret O’kello
Margaret Okello was born in Uganda, a graduate in education at Makerere University, Uganda and Master’s programme in administration at St John’s University, New York, USA. Margaret’s career started in education. She then worked with international organizations including United Nations and World Health Organization as an administrator. She worked with diverse races from Africa, America, Australia and Europe. In addition, Margaret has been a business entrepreneur and worked with Christian organizations as a Minister and a Life Coach. She is a motivational speaker and an author. Margaret is married and a mother of two adult children.