As we learn to pray, we must learn to want the higher things that relate to God’s rule and His righteousness — and want them for higher reasons than those that usually motivate us. We must seek, above all, the things that redound to His glory.
God is willing (and eager) to lift us to planes higher than we can yet imagine. Our need is for a bigger desire, a greater sense of what can happen if we’re willing to submit to God as He removes from our hearts the things that hold us back.
We must delight in God’s holiness. We are to love Him because He is our Creator, simply for His own sake. Love’s joy has to do with giving, not getting. The moment our main focus shifts from the Beloved to ourselves, true joy begins to disappear.
The sense of rightness and goodness present in moments of real worship ought to tell us that the adoration of God fills a very deep need within us. We have been made such that praising God is as much a joy to experience as it is a duty to fulfill.
God’s majesty is displayed in every work of His creation. There is nothing about the natural environment that God has designed to surround and support us that does not show His greatness — if we have eyes to see and hearts to understand.
“It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is” (Tozer).
We need to redefine our personal concept of what greatness is and where it comes from. It is nothing less powerful than God’s gentleness that can make us great. And when it has done so, our own gentleness will be the strongest part of our strength.
Whatever we give is only a giving back to God — nevertheless, it is true that we are able to give of ourselves to God. And although our gifts fall short of the perfection He deserves, the wondrous truth is that God is still ready to receive them.
As we age, we know we’re getting very close to our heavenly home — and we cherish the love of a Father who waits for us there. “One sweetly solemn thought comes to me o’er and o’er: today I’m nearer to my home than e’er I’ve been before.”
As rebels against God’s love, we are right to fear the consequences of our rebellion. But the wonder of God’s character is the grace by which He is willing and able to make us His friends once again. He is eager to welcome us back home.
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