Drawing Near to God

Drawing near to God means that we seek after God with our whole hearts. This is what prayer and fasting is all about. We are not on a hunger strike to force God to do something. We are foolish to presume we can make God do anything. Instead, we are humbling ourselves through prayer and fasting for God to transform us and position us to walk in His perfect will. We remove the impediments that block our prayers from reaching the ears of God. It is about seeking God with everything in us.

We’ve read a piece of James 4:1-10 earlier in this plan, but let’s take another look. It talks all about pride and submission. It calls for us to submit to God in order to draw nearer to Him and all the good things that come with this decision to submit.

In 2 Chronicles 15:1-2, we see the Spirit of God communicate with Azariah, the son of Obed. It tells Azariah that if he seeks Him and the things of God, God will be with him. But if Azariah forsakes Him and doesn’t draw near to God, God will forsake him.

When our hearts are polluted, we develop a hardness for the things of God. When our hearts become hardened to the things of God, we cannot draw near to God. To draw near to God, I must purify myself (empty me of me), obey truth through the power of the Holy Spirit, and fervently and sincerely love with a pure heart.