BridgeWay has launched into the deep of a 40-Day Prayer Adventure. Each day we’ll provide a variety of devotionals, verses, and prayer prompts to encourage you in your pursuit of the Lord. Dive in! The water’s warm, deep and inviting.
Another thing that stands out about Moses and the prayer life he enjoyed with God as described in Exodus 33 is that he wasn’t content to remain where he was at. He wanted to grow by knowing more about God.
As Moses prays to God, he asks, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.” (Exodus 33:13).
As we look through Scripture, it appears at first glance that God is closer to some than others. Among Jesus’s twelve disciples, there was the inner circle of Peter, James, and John, and among the Three, John was known as the disciple Jesus loved.
You may say, It’s not fair. God’s playing favorites. But Scripture says, “God shows no partiality” (Galatians 2:6). It’s simply God’s response to hearts that yearn for more of him. We find John sitting right next to Jesus at the Last Supper. And when the others denied, betrayed and fled Jesus in his sufferings, it was John who stood right there under the Cross.
Some people think pastors are closer to God than others. Not true. Some people think those who have been Christians for a long time are closer to God than others. Wrong again. Profession or age or expertise does not guarantee spiritual maturity. It’s all a matter of what’s going on in your heart. The writer of Psalm 119 says, “I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts…I incline my heart to perform your statutes to the end.” (vss.99-100, 112).
Jesus promised that those who hungered after God like this would not be left famished. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matt.5:6).
Like Moses, are you hungry and thirsty to know more of God? It’s yours for the seeking.
Profession or age or expertise does not guarantee spiritual maturity. It’s all a matter of what’s going on in your heart.
A few years ago, an 18th-century Spanish galleon with as much as $17 billion in gold was discovered off the coast of Columbia. This wasn’t just a lucky find. It was the result of an all-out search, scouring reports and investigating rumors. Guess what? The Bible says that growing in the knowledge of God is just like that.
Proverbs 2:3-5 says, “If you call out for insight…if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”
This is the born-again birthright for any child of God. Jesus said, “And this is eternal life; that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3). It’s yours for the seeking. And for the asking.
Paul prayed it for himself. “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing wroth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:8). And he prayed it for others: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. (Ephesians 1:17 NIV).
So say it often to God in your praying. “Teach me your way, O Lord!” (Psalm 27:11). “Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law!” (Psalm 119:18). “Father, help me to grow in the grace and knowledge of my Lord, as you tell me to!” (2 Peter 3:18). Every time you read a verse that promises you a closer relationship with God, turn it into a prayer and lay it before God.
And here’s a great online resource to get you started. Take time to read through these 25+ Powerful Prayers For Getting Closer To God.
This incredibly moving Graham Kendrick song sung by Joseph Garlington was heard by nearly a million men who knelt and prayed in Washington D.C. at the Promise Keepers ‘Stand In The Gap’ event on October 4, 1997.
Questions to Ponder:
1. Take a moment to think about where you would like to be as a follower of Christ five years from now. If you could sit down and have coffee with yourself, describe the Future You.
2. What are some things the Future You probably did in those preceding five years to get to that place?