Take a Walk with God
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. - James 4:8
How close are you to God? Are you as close as you want to be? For know that God is willing to get close to you if you are willing to get close to Him. When you take one step closer to God, you actually get two steps closer to God. James 4:8, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." That verse is both a precept and a promise. The precept is, you draw near to God; the promise is, God will draw near to you.
But we must understand why it is, in that order? Why doesn't God draw near to us so that we will then draw near to Him? Why must we draw near to God first? Jeremiah 29:13 says, "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." Why do we have to initiate the process? Why do we have to draw near to Him before He will draw near to us? 2 Chronicles 15:2b, “If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” And 1 Chronicles 28:9, “If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.”
The answer can be found in an old story about a farmer and his wife who were driving to town in their pickup truck. The farmer was sitting behind the steering wheel in silence, and his wife was sitting on the other side of the car against the door. After several miles the wife said, "Joel, when we first got married we didn't sit this far apart." The old farmer replied, "I wasn’t the one that moved."
You see, because of our human nature and worldly desires, many of us have moved away from the glory of God. Today I would like to meditate on how we can develop a devotional life and connect with God through every moment of our life. He wants all of us to have "just a closer walk" with Him.
We can take a closer walk with God through a devotional life. Our lives have become tremendously busy. We wake up, drop our kids at school, work the entire day, and then take care of our kids the entire evening. We barely have time to ourselves. Many of us may forget to spend those quiet times with God each day. God is waiting on you to draw near to Him, and when you do, He will draw near to you. Genesis 5:24 says, “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him”. But do not worry, for the way to walk closer to God is very simple.
I. Take Time for a Walk:
Look at the text again, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." This is not something you can do once in a lifetime. This is something you must be able to do every day. Don't assume that just because you belong to a Bible-believing church, that you are automatically near to God. We ought to consciously and constantly be drawing near to God on a daily basis. Many Christians are like a little boy who returned home from his very first day of kindergarten. His mother said, "Son, how did you like school today?" The little boy thought for a moment and said, "It was fine, but it's not something you want to do every day."
As we meditate on our lesson today, I hope all of you are motivated to take one step higher, and go one step closer in our walk with God. If not now, I hope sometime in the future, spending time with God will be something you do everyday. If you are going to walk with God, you must make time for God. I want to warn you that there is nothing that the devil hates more than to see you make time for God. There was once a motto framed on a wall saying:
Dear Christian,
When you're faced with a busy day, save precious time by skipping your devotions.
Sincerely,
Satan
God said Satan is a liar and a thief. He will lie to you and tell you that you don't have time for God; then he'll try to steal time away from you. One of his greatest weapons is television and social media. The satire poem hilariously expressed how TV can steal away time you could give to God. It is entitled "The Twenty-third Channel."
“The TV set is my shepherd, my spiritual growth shall want. It makes me sit down and do nothing for His name sake, because it requires all my spare time. It keeps me from doing my duty as a Christian, because it presents so many good shows that I must see.”
Now I am NOT trying to imply that television is always evil, or that it is always evil to watch television. But if you have time, you must set apart time to walk with God. All of your free time should not solely be given to television or your phones. Understand, you don’t need to spend hours everyday. The best way to get started is to set aside about 15 minutes, and if you possibly can, 30 minutes of your time. Many people love to pray or read the bible in the morning before work or school. David says in Psalms 5:3, "My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up." Now the word translated "direct" is the Hebrew word ‘arak’. It means "to set in order." In the Old Testament it was a word that was used to describe organizing soldiers for battle (Gen.14:8); arranging a sacrifice on the altar (Lev. 1:8); setting a meal before a guest (Ps. 23:5); or even presenting a legal brief in court (Job 13:18). In other words, David had a plan for his prayer. He had a plan for his walk with God.
That word can also mean "to draw up for battle or to take up positions." When you have your quiet time with God, you are presenting yourself ready for duty, ready to take orders for the day, and to find out what it is that God wants you to do. That's why you must make time to walk with God so that you can talk to God and God can talk to you.
II. Take Tools to the Walk
Just as a soldier never goes to war without weapons, a Christian should never go on their walk without certain tools. There are 4 basic things you need to have an effective walk. You need (1) a Bible, (2) a notebook, (3) a prayer list, (4) a pen.
Did you know that health experts have all agreed that the most important meal of the day is breakfast. Never start your day on an empty stomach. Likewise, you should never start your walk with God on an empty heart. You should start it by feeding on the Word of God. It is incredible to learn that God has given us the exact diet we need to become mature Christians. In fact, one can say the Bible is a four-course meal.
For example: Every meal begins with an appetizer, usually bread. Well, God's word is bread. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) Along with an appetizer you must have a beverage. God's word is milk. "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." (1 Peter 2:2) Then, of course, you have the main meal, and the Bible is also solid food. "I fed you with milk and not with solid food." (1 Corinthians 3:2) Then finally you have to have dessert, and God's word is like honey. "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalms 119:103)
I would like to encourage you all. As you read the Bible, write it down. Keep that notebook open. As you read the Scripture you will see different things. Sometimes you will see a promise, sometimes you will see a lesson to learn, sometimes you will see a command to obey, sometimes you will see a blessing to enjoy, or sometimes you will see a sin to forsake. When God speaks to your heart through a Scripture, write it down. Because the weakest ink is better than the strongest memory.
Just as food is good for you physically, the Bible is great for you spiritually. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3, "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God." But he continues saying that it is profitable for "doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction." It is profitable for doctrine; the Bible will tell you what is right. It is profitable for reproof; the Bible will tell you what is NOT right. It is profitable for correction; the Bible will tell you HOW to be right. It is profitable for instruction; the Bible will tell you how to STAY right.
III. Take up Conversation on the Walk
The next step to walking with God is to talk to God. The first time the phrase "draw near to God" was used in the Bible in 1 Samuel 14. King Saul was talking to the priest about a certain course of action that he ought to take, and "Then the priest said, ‘Let us draw near to God here.' So Saul asked counsel of God…" (1 Samuel 14: 36-37) Drawing near to God involves talking to God.
Do not worry, you have the ability to pray even without being close to God. But you will never have the ability to be close to God if you do not pray. If you are going to seek God, you must speak to God. If you are going to walk with God, you must talk with God. The Bible says, "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth."- Psalm 145:18
I was reading about the lungs a while ago. Every minute the heart pumps the body's entire blood supply through the lungs. In a matter of seconds, the lungs soaks up blue oxygen-depleted blood, removes its carbon dioxide, and infuses the blood with fresh oxygen which turns the blood red again. This oxygenated blood is then pumped back through the body to feed hungry tissues while the carbon dioxide is expelled when we exhale.
Now walking with God is just like that. When you read your Bible and pray you are inhaling spiritual oxygen, and when you pray and confess your sins to God, you are exhaling spiritual carbon dioxide. Both are important to walk with God.
There was a little boy on an airplane and he was talking to his mother. He said, "Mommy, do you see that light blinking on the end of that wing?" She said, "Yes." He said, "Do you see the other light blinking on the other side of that wing?" She said, "Yes." He said, "Did you know that as long as that pilot stays between those two lights, he will always be headed in the right direction?"
In the same way, if you stay between prayer and the Word of God, you will always be headed in the right direction.
Let me just say two very important points about prayer. First, you should pray naturally. When you pray, talk to God just like you normally talk to your father. Jesus said in Matthew. 6:7, "When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do, they think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again." (NLT) Jesus was teaching to not just pray the same trite phrases over and over again. God wants to hear your inner heart, not a recital. When you talk to God, do not just talk with your mouth, talk with your head and talk with your heart.
But also at the same time, pray systematically. All prayers should contain several elements: praise, thanksgiving, confession, and intercession. Have two types of prayer lists. Have a daily list for the things you pray for every day, and then have a divided list. For example: On Monday, pray for the sick. On Tuesday, pray for the lost. On Wednesday, pray for pastors. On Thursday, pray for government officials. On Friday, pray for missionaries. You can do it in your own way, but pray naturally and pray systematically.
Conclusion:
Brothers and sisters, God calls you to walk with Him and draw closer to him. When you walk with God you will receive spiritual treasures. There are incredible blessings that come to both you and to God when you take time to walk with God. Number one, God is glorified. Psalms 50:23 says, "Whoever offers praise glorifies Me." Secondly, faith is fortified. Isaiah 26:3 says, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." Finally, the soul is satisfied. Psalms 16:11 says, "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Therefore, take time out of your busy life to walk with God. Take tools with you when you meditate and read the scriptures. Write down promises and truth. And lastly, take up conversation with God. Speak to him in prayer, confess your sins in prayer, and listen to Him in prayer. When you walk with God, you will draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Amen.
