Approaching God

Walking and talking to God face to face someday will be a grand experience, but in the mean time we can draw near to Him in full assurance of faith and converse through the wonderful avenue of prayer. Our God is like no other friend in His availability, reliability, and just plain ability. The Lord genuinely cares about us and understands fully what we are going through. Thus, let us cast our every care on Him, make our requests with joy and thanksgiving, and expect God to act in ways that will astound us (1 Peter 5:7; Philippians 1:3-4; Ephesians 3:20).

Jesus set up a pattern of prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 that clearly expresses the following:
- Approaching God is based on a Relationship through the Son - “Our Father” is an expression of intimacy.
- Acknowledging God includes a Reverence for His Position & Person - “Heavenly” & “Hallowed be Thy name”
- Awaiting God’s Return and Restoration with a stedfast Hope - “Thy Kingdom Come”
- Accepting God’s Purposes and Plan for our lives - “Thy will be done . . .”
- Asking God’s Provision shows our Dependence on HIs Goodness - “Give us this day our daily bread”  
- Admitting to God our Inadequacies shows our Reliance on His Grace - “Forgive us our debts . . .”
- Allowing God to Direct our Steps is for our Protection - “Lead us . . . Deliver us . . .”
- Ascribing to God His continual Greatness & Complete Control - “Thine is the kingdom . . . power . . . glory . . .”

As taught by Jesus, now let us act accordingly, and pray to our marvelous God who is listening with anticipation!