Near to Him

He has lifted up a horn for His people [giving them power, prosperity, dignity, and preeminence], a song of praise for all His godly ones, for the people of Israel, who are near to Him. Praise the Lord (Hallelujah!). Psalm 148:14 AMP

What a promise from our Heavenly Father- power, prosperity, dignity and preeminence. But as I read on from that list of gifts it is those words, 'who are near to Him' that resonate so deeply in my heart. And the question comes, just how near are we to Him? Psalm 73 reminds us of how important it is to be close to God....

For behold, those who are far from You shall perish; You will destroy all who are false to  You and like [spiritual] harlots depart from You. But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God and made Him my refuge, that I may tell of all  Your works. Psalm 73:27-28 AMP

In this drawing near to God, Jesus reminds us of what Isaiah said, it needs to be more than words, it needs to be our hearts and minds that are continually drawing close to God.

You pretenders (hypocrites)! Admirably and truly did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said: These people draw near Me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts hold off and are far away from Me. Matthew 15:7-8 AMP

And what draws our hearts and minds to God? 

Acknowledgement of our weakness, and His strength.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever. Psalm 73:26 AMP

Acceptance of His grace and mercy for us.

Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favour to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. Hebrews 4:16 AMP

Question for today, are you going to make the choice to draw near, nearer than yesterday, to our Heavenly Father? If you are unsure how to do draw nearer, why not pray and ask God how to show you. 

For me, I always find a great starting point is taking time out to worship Him. Here are some of my favourite worship songs that help me to shift my focus from myself and my circumstances to our truly awesome Heavenly Father. 

No longer slaves - Bethel Music

Oceans - Hillsong United

Your grace finds me - Matt Redman

I need You now - Matt Redman

Beneath the waters (I will rise) - Hillsong

Holy Spirit you are welcome here - Bethel Music

Glory to the King - Hillsong

Desert song - Hillsong

Good Good Father - Chris Tomlin

You revive me - Christy Nockels

How He Loves - Passion

Healing is in Your hands - Passion

Amazing Grace, my chains are gone - Passion

10,000 reasons - Matt Redman