God's Word to the Wise

A Word to the Wise

From time to time I read someone’s formula for growing closer to God. It very often includes these two activities; read the Bible and pray regularly. I am all for reading the Bible and praying regularly, but is doing these two activities going to achieve the desired result?

Years ago I would occasionally see a bumper sticker which read, “If God seems far away, guess who moved?” What could cause a person to move away from God? As a boy when I was behaving in a way I knew my father would not approve of, I would avoid the possibility of the two of us being alone together. Somehow, he very often already knew what I was up to, and when he’d get me one on one the subject would eventually come up.

I would venture an educated guess this scenario is what is playing out when we feel estranged from God. We aren’t behaving as we know we should be and so we avoid that one on one time with God, because, unlike my father who I was pretty sure already knew what I was up to, my heavenly Father definitely knows my comings and goings.

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You. – Psalm 139:7-12

Therefore, if you want to grow closer to God, start behaving as you know you should. To put it in Biblical terms, repent of your sinful conduct and your conscience won’t hinder you being alone with your Heavenly Father. And you’ll also find you are reading your Bible and praying more regularly.