It is my opinion that when we pray to the Lord for our relationship with Him to go deeper, that nothing is accomplished until we take the first step and seek Him with all of our heart. If we don’t take our first step we can cause ourselves to be apart or be distant to God for a longer period of time resulting in a stalemate situation. We think we’re waiting on God when in fact He’s waiting on us. This can allow temptations and sin to have a more likely foothold in our lives, because we think we’ve done our part by praying and now we’re just waiting for God to pull us in deeper.
I believe this because man has free will and God will not violate it. Since we are not robots, the Lord will never force us to spend time with him when we do not take the first step forward towards Him in our hearts.
Simply praying to God ‘please make my relationship with you deeper’ will not make it happen automatically. It might cause the Holy Spirit to convict you to spend more time with the Lord but at the end of the day God is still waiting on us to make that step forward first.
The Bible has some examples:
He has already told us in His Word that we are the ones to take action.
James 4:8-10
[8]Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].
[9][As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins].
[10]Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].
Jeremiah 33:3
[3]Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).
Psalm 100:2-3
[2]Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing!
[3]Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. [Eph. 2:10.]
Just turning your heart towards Jesus and seeking Him with all of your heart, you will begin to notice a difference. Remember He wants to develop this relationship with you even knowing all of our sins that we have committed over the years. You are cherished and loved by the Lord and He has a plan for your life. Meet with Him daily, read the Bible (the Word of God)…. Put on some worship music and let your heart be vulnerable for the Holy Spirit to heal you. Your life will be transformed if you stay the course and don’t turn away from Him.
You are already blessed.
Pastor Marc
He is eagerly searching for people who want to seek Him and go deeper into relationship with Him. Sign me up!