We often move away from God without noticing it. Let us return to Him, approach Him and reconnect with Him. God always wants us to be in close fellowship with Him, since the days of Adam in the Garden of Eden. Our sins keep moving us from Him. We often withdraw ourselves from Him in our mind (our thoughts), in our hearts (our desires), and by the things we do (our hands). That is the call and the emphasis in James 4:8-10. We limit our progress when we are not close to Him, and we actually feel disconnected.
Pride is one of our greatest enemies, and shows its head as a result of the things God has done for us. Yet, when, instead of being deeply grateful and humble we begin to feel superior. When our ego begins to be inflated, God Himself pushes us away. God resists the proud, and He gives grace to the humble (see James 4:6).
The first thing we need to do on our journey of restoration is to come to God in humility and submit to Him. Pride is such an enemy and inspired by the devil that we are admonished to ‘resist the devil’ in James 4:7, referring to the pride. Without this important step, we cannot draw near to God. Neither can He draw near to us.
RECONNECTING WITH GOD
We reconnect with God in our mind and in our hearts. Becoming intentional about what goes through your mind is a good place to start. You cannot allow just any thoughts to go through your mind. It is too dangerous to do that. When your thoughts are full of other things, you cannot even pray clearly. And you cannot be settled and at peace. Peace and joy will elude you. You may read the Bible but it will not have room to stay in your thoughts and remain in your mind. That state is a very difficult place to be in.
James 4:8 says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." God always wants us close to Him. The challenge has always been our own state of mind, which is defined by our spiritual state. It happens when blessings from God begins to make us proud, when our sins make us hide from Him, when we make all manner of attempts to get close to God in a mechanical way and find that it is not working. And yes, it will never work. When we feel exposed because of our sins and try to cover our nakedness with man-made solutions, it does not work. These states are dangerous as it pushes us into actions that do not glorify God.
This is the reason for the call James 4:8. We cannot draw near to God in our sinfulness. The first logical thing to do is to stop the things that defile us and push us away from God; things we DO with our hands. “Cleanse your hands” is a call to intentionally discontinue doing things we know do not please God. This step empowers us to realign our actions to the will of God. Do this to the point where you and God are in agreement about what you do, what you touch, and what you handle. A number of things come into mind including the way you handle your phone – how, when, how frequent, what you type on it, and what you scroll to see more of. “Cleanse your hands”. Though you need the inner strength to discontinue these actions, you have the responsibility to stop them. No one can do that for you. God will give you the strength, but you must do the hard work. The moment you stop handling and touching what is sinful, you can move further and begin deal with the filth within.
“Purify your hearts”, you “double-minded”. You cannot be connected to God when your heart is not connected to Him. Connecting to God is a matter of the heart. The only way the heart can change is through committing to focusing on the Word of God and coupling it with intense prayer.
Drawing close to God is the cure for double-mindedness. And the day you deal with double-mindedness, your prayer will take on a different level of potency. Answered prayer will become common place in your life and spiritual experience. Besides, you will discover that humility is your road to success. You become bold without being proud. And your impact in drawing others to God becomes immeasurable. You become a gen in society.
DOUBLE-MINDEDNESS
To be double-minded is to be far from God. It is the result of doubting Him. We are single-minded when we trust God fully. When you pray, you will be wondering whether God will do it or not. Rightly so because, when you are not sure what God wants, you cannot be sure that He will answer your prayers.
James 1:6-8 tells us that when we pray, we must do it in faith, doubting NOTHING. “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Being double-minded does not just make us doubt God in prayer, it makes us unstable in every other area of our lives. Wow! The enemy to deal with is double-mindedness!!
Praying according to the WILL OF GOD does not mean that you end every prayer with "according to Your will". You can pray that way and it is not according to the will of God. Praying according to the will of God is to know what His will is in the situation and allow that knowledge and conviction to guide your prayer. It is to pray in line with what God wants to do on earth, and according to His desires. A good study of His Word and a close connection with Him is what can bring us to the point of praying according to His will. And God ALWAYS answers those prayers. You can bet your life on it because it will be done.
Whenever you pray the Lord’s Prayer and say “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, you are affirming your submission to His will and bringing the situations we find ourselves in under His control. It is a prayer to pray daily, if we do it with meaning. It draws us closer to God. We acknowledge our dependency on God when we ask Him to “deliver us from evil”. Being conscious of that prayer makes us aware of the things we do, so we can please Him, and Him alone, in all our actions. “Cleanse your hands”.
SUBMITTING TO GOD IN PRAYER
Pray these sincerely before the Lord. approach the Lord and humble yourself before Him. Pray and talk to Him sincerely.
First of all, ask for forgiveness for every action, thought and desires of your heart that are out of line with the Lord. Confess them directly and seek His cleansing. Mention each of them by name and own it.
In humility and sincerity, ask God to reveal your current spiritual state to you. Be willing to accept it, so you can do something about it, with His help. If He shows you, then He will help you to succeed in overcoming any weakness.
Repent of it all in fasting and mourning. Turn away from everything that makes you feel far from Him. This is the greatest journey anyone can ever take. A journey back to the Lord. a journey back home. A journey that brings us back onto the path of righteousness. A journey of truth. It may be painful but the joy and peace at the end of it, makes it worth all the effort. On this journey, you find renewal and restoration.
Pray that you will be reconnected to the Lord. ask God for this passionately. Pray that you will feel close to Him again. When it is real, you will feel it.
CONCLUSION
As you think deeply about the scripture in James 4:8-10, ask God to fill your THOUGHTS with His Word. Commit your mind to thinking about scripture passages. Sing hymns that talk about reconnecting with God like ‘nearer my God to Thee’, ‘Trust and Obey’, ‘I need Thee every hour’. Sing them till you memorise the words. Allow the words to speak to your heart.
As we do this, your mind becomes clear and our prayers are answered. Double-mindedness is cured and you find confidence in approaching the throne of grace. The peace, the joy and the restoration are immeasurable.
I pray that the Lord renews your zeal and restores you completely as you return to Him and reconnect to Him.
