The Way to God's Heart

Draw near unto God, and He will draw near unto you. James 4:8 NKJV

How do we get closer to God? How do we grow in intimacy with our Creator? Let me first say that just as we have to pick the right roads and the right direction to get to a physical destination, we also must choose the right path to draw closer to God. We first are enabled to reach Him by finding Christ. Jesus paved the way for us to know the Father. His death and resurrection made it possible for us to have an abiding relationship with God. If you haven't done so already, admit your need for God and receive Christ's forgiveness for your sins. We all have sinned; we all fall short of God's glory. Jesus is the Savior of sinners. He paid the price so we can have a relationship with God the Father and so that we can experience eternal life.

Once you've embarked on this journey called Christianity, you will find that true fulfillment in life is found only in Christ. This does not mean that our lives solely consist of prayer, Bible reading and church services. It does mean, however, that while we engage in the normal activities of life, we find satisfaction in living every aspect of our lives to the glory of God. We work as unto the Lord; we develop relationships that are Christ-honoring; we endeavor to please God in the way we relate to our family. As we place Christ in the center of all we do, our intimacy with Him deepens.

Of course one of the primary ways we grow in our relationship with God is through regular prayer and Bible study. Prayer is simply having dialogue with God. When we talk to our Creator, He listens. And when He speaks to us, we are to listen as well. His voice is found first in the Scriptures, but He also desires to speak to us deep within our hearts. Jesus said that My sheep know My voice.

In prayer, we give to God all our frustrations, doubts,and fears; we also express to Him our joys, our praise, and our gratitude. Prayer refreshes us and draws us closer to the One who saved us. We are to couple prayer with the attentive reading of the Bible. Our desire should be to obey the word of God. When we make the choice to obey Scripture, we find that our lives become fine tuned to the Master. We become more sensitive to His promptings. Our ears adjust more closely to the frequency of the Holy Spirit. As we grow in obedience to the Lord, we also begin to look more and more like Christ.

When we draw near to God in these ways, He draws near to us. Psalm 103:7 in the New Living Translation says, “He (God) revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel.” New Living Translation, parenthesis mine. When we draw closer to God, He begins to reveal to us His nature – His heart. The Israelites were content in experiencing God's miracles. Let's reach further in our relationship with Christ. Let's allow Him to teach us the depth of His ways. He will teach us if we will only draw near to Him.

Let's invite the Holy Spirit to guide us on our journey to grow closer to the One who saved us. He will help us find the way – the way to God's heart.