Good morning, Lord Jesus. Light of the world and Lord of my life, make me more like You today. ...
"The hour is coming, and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24).
I thank You that by the grace of Your mercy and love You're always seeking us to enter into true worship with You. You are always drawing us near to You. Even before we're saved, Your Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, with us in our worries, ready to assist us in our struggles, pursuing us to both convict us of our sins and convince us of Your heart to forgive us and cleanse us and restore us to a deeply personal and trusting relationship with You. And once we are saved, You continue Your work from within and all around us to keep drawing us closer still, deeper still into an ever-increasing intimacy with You where we worship You in Spirit and truth -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And at the same time, You also invite us to choose to "draw near" to You, promising You will then "draw near" to us. So it's not either You draw near to us or we draw near to You; it's both You draw near to us and we draw near to You. It's not just a passive relationship, where we just sit back and wait on You to pursue us. It's also an active relationship, where we also pursue You. "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him" (Lamentations 3:25).
Lord, let me not be a passive lover of God, just sitting back and waiting on You to love me. Like any one-sided relationship, that's very unfulfilling for both. Rather, stir in my heart to "pursue love" -- with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength (1 Corinthians 14:1).
Some of Your Words come to mind to confirm Your call to seek You and passionately pursue You in spirit and truth:
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8).
"Abide in Me as I abide in you" (John 15:4).
"When you search for Me, you will find Me; if you seek Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).
"Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6-7).
"I love those who love Me; and those who diligently seek Me will find Me" (Proverbs 8:17).
"When You said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to You, 'Your face, O Lord, I will seek" (Psalm 27:8).
"Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually" (1 Chronicles 16:11).
"Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God" (1 Chronicles 22:19).
"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).
"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened" (Luke 11:9-10).
Jesus, I believe You've given me the gift and the wisdom to seek after You, to passionately pursue You in spirit and truth -- in my prayers, in my worship, from the beginning of my day and throughout the moments of my day. I believe that brings You joy. And I believe that gives me joy. "Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad!" (1 Chronicles 16:10) "Be glad that you are His; let those who seek the Lord be happy! (NCV).
So I will seek You and be a true worshipper of you in Spirit and Truth. I will pursue You. I will love You because You first loved me, but I will not just lay back passively waiting on You to love me in one-sided relationship. I will draw near to You. I will abide in You. And by the mercy of Your grace and love for me, I will be glad and Your joy will be my strength! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen
My family, I pray you will ask the Holy Spirit to remove any passiveness from your relationship with Jesus and replace it with passion for Him. May you be drawn to worship Jesus today, at this moment, in Spirit and Truth. I pray you will be glad and full of joy as you seek the Lord and draw near to Him with all your heart, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below with us from todays reading.
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