THE GREATEST PAIN OF CHRIST’S SOUL
What is the greatest pain Christ’s soul could ever experience? I believe it is that a generation that has received full, unrestricted access does not come to Him.
For centuries, God’s people yearned and longed to see the blessing of our day. The access we now enjoy is the very access Moses yearned for. It is the same access David’s heart could see but could not obtain. It is the access Daniel never had, though he prayed to the Lord three times a day. Our forefathers saw this access happening in our day, and they rejoiced for us.
Yet we who have been given the right to this wonderful gift take it for granted. The door has been opened for us, yet we refuse to enter for days and weeks at a time. What a crime! Every time we ignore the access Jesus bought for us, casually walking past the door, we take His blood lightly. Our Lord told us we have all the resources we need if we would only come to Him. Yet we continue to snub His costly gift.
Scripture admonishes us, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. . . . Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)” (Hebrews 10:22-23). This passage clearly speaks of prayer. God is urging us, “Come into My presence often, daily. You can’t maintain your faith if you’re not drawing near to Me. If you don’t enter My presence boldly, your faith is going to waver.”
You may know Christians who were once on fire for Jesus, always making quality time for the Lord, searching His Word and shutting themselves in with Him. They knew to draw to Him to keep their faith alive.
Yet now these same Christians merely “think” their prayers. Or they rush into God’s presence for a few minutes just to say, “Hello, Lord. Please guide Me today. I love You, Jesus. Goodbye.” Their seeking heart is gone. The unhurried communion they once enjoyed is no more. And when you ask them about their abandoned prayer life, they claim to be “resting on faith.”
I tell you, prayerless people soon become faithless people. The more they forsake the gift of access, refusing to draw on God’s provisions, the more they drift away.
For centuries, God’s people yearned and longed to see the blessing of our day. The access we now enjoy is the very access Moses yearned for. It is the same access David’s heart could see but could not obtain. It is the access Daniel never had, though he prayed to the Lord three times a day. Our forefathers saw this access happening in our day, and they rejoiced for us.
Yet we who have been given the right to this wonderful gift take it for granted. The door has been opened for us, yet we refuse to enter for days and weeks at a time. What a crime! Every time we ignore the access Jesus bought for us, casually walking past the door, we take His blood lightly. Our Lord told us we have all the resources we need if we would only come to Him. Yet we continue to snub His costly gift.
Scripture admonishes us, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. . . . Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)” (Hebrews 10:22-23). This passage clearly speaks of prayer. God is urging us, “Come into My presence often, daily. You can’t maintain your faith if you’re not drawing near to Me. If you don’t enter My presence boldly, your faith is going to waver.”
You may know Christians who were once on fire for Jesus, always making quality time for the Lord, searching His Word and shutting themselves in with Him. They knew to draw to Him to keep their faith alive.
Yet now these same Christians merely “think” their prayers. Or they rush into God’s presence for a few minutes just to say, “Hello, Lord. Please guide Me today. I love You, Jesus. Goodbye.” Their seeking heart is gone. The unhurried communion they once enjoyed is no more. And when you ask them about their abandoned prayer life, they claim to be “resting on faith.”
I tell you, prayerless people soon become faithless people. The more they forsake the gift of access, refusing to draw on God’s provisions, the more they drift away.