God is near, not distant. He is as near as our next breath because He breathed life into us. He created the world and everything in it, including you and me. The Biblical account in Genesis, chapter 2, says:
“then God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
Afterwards, God made woman to keep him company. Every day in the cool of the evening, God would come to the garden where they lived and visit with them. God’s plan was to be close – not distant -to have relationship with men and women. In fact, He wants to have relationship with you. In John, chapter 15, we are called “friends”. God has chosen us to be His friend. What do friends do? They spend time together, talking, laughing, getting to know each other.
Abraham – Friend of God
Abraham was called God’s “friend” in 2 Chronicles 20:7 and in Isaiah 41:8. He obeyed God and believed in Him. Like close friends, Abraham and God communicated with each other. And even though he had never seen God, Abraham had faith in God. They had relationship.
How can we have relationship with someone we’ve never seen? We hear of it often these days. “We met online”. “e-harmony”, “Match.com”, etc. Many relationships begin in this manner. Even our own grandson, who recently got married, met his wife like this. It starts with communications that usually involve writing – typically email. And the two become acquainted through written words. They get to know each other. That’s exactly what happens when we read the Bible. We begin to get acquainted with God through the “emails” – letters – He has written to us. Romans 10:8 says the word is near you. God wants to be close and He has written the Bible for us.
Now, obviously, we can’t send God an email. Or at least I never heard of it. But, we can talk to Him. And that’s what we call PRAYER. Prayer is just simply conversation with God. We talk to Him and tell Him our concerns. We talk about our problems. He tells us in the bible that He wants us to put all our cares and concerns on Him because He cares for us -1 Peter 5:7. Prayer involves listening. As you would in any other relationship, don’t forget to listen. Listen for His voice, look for His face, reach for His presence.
God is near, but He wants us to realize that fact. He wants to be close to us – as close as our next breath! As close as our best friend. In fact, He wants to be our best friend. And He wants to communicate His love for us through His word – the Bible – through prayer and through His very presence.
