Day 2: Returning
This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.
Jeremiah 6:16
Prayer Points
Pray for a greater intimacy with God.
Pray for those who need to return to God – the ‘prodigals’ in your family or the family of a friend. Pray that they will long for what they have lost and begin their ‘return.’
Pray for a greater understanding of what God is like among people in your church so that there will be many who return to the full experience of him in their lives. Pray for a greater depth to the life of the church.
DAY 2 : Returning
Come near to God and he will come near to you (James 4:8). There’s movement here! As Christians we can think that if we have placed our faith in Jesus then we are home and dry in relation to God. All sorted. We have all we need in Christ. We are forgiven. We are going to heaven and in fact are already experiencing eternal life now. All this is true. It’s as true as my relationship with my father: I will always be his son; he will always be my father. Nothing can ever change either of those statements.
However if God says we should come near then it implies we have moved away! At the very least there is an invitation to come closer. Distance can come in our relation with God, just as there can be distance with friends or family. A coldness can come, an awkwardness in his presence or when we pray we’re not really on speaking terms. Lack of communication allows ‘ice’ to form. There can be specific issues of offence, failure or disappointment that cause distance and need to be cleared. In fact even standing still brings distance from God. Our ‘walk’ with God is always a journey towards God.
In the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15) God is portrayed asa father waiting for his son to return. No failure or sin is too great. His love compels him to watch for his son’s return andto give him a lavish welcome. It is the same with us. So we are invited to make a move, to return. If we fail in this then we live uncomfortably with the distance – and like the prodigal – we’re deprived of the good that God would do. Drawing close to God is what we do as Christians.
Go for a walk today – a soul walk. Start from where you are and move towards God.
Pray
* Pray for your ‘big issue’
* Pray for your ‘three friends’
* Pray for a new wave of revival.