Ed Walsh
Puritan Board Senior
I am not totally sure if I should be writing like this but here goes. For the past three days or so I have not met with the Lord in my devotions, and I find that I am missing Him terribly. “Meeting with God” is something I assume all real Christians know of and cherish. But do you? What are your experiences of this most intimate subject? Or is it simply too intimate to share online?
Do you find times when prayer is easy, God’s presence near, holy and awesome? You wonder why it can’t always be like this. Personally, I find that I am addicted to these times. So much so that I rarely miss two to two and a half hours each morning reading and praying. It is a duty to be sure. But what I am always hoping for is to meet with God face to face and pour out my heart to him.
Do you know what I am talking about? Does anyone feel that they can share their experiences along these lines? Or is it all just too intimate and private? You could mention what the Scriptures teach on the subject without getting personal.
Below is the last paragraph of meditation 10 of Abraham Kuyper’s - To Be Near Unto God
Hence when in Scripture the Lord meets us with the exhortation, “Seek ye my face,” it is deeply significant. We can see a person afar off, we can hear from him, we can become conscious that he is near by without having yet gone to him or having yet placed ourselves before him, so that he looks at us and we at him. So there are times in the life of the Christian when he feels impelled to have no rest until he finds God; until, after he has found Him, he has placed himself before Him; and standing before Him, seeks His face, and does not cease until he has met God’s eyes, and the consciousness dawns full and clear that God looks him in the soul, and that he looks God in the eye of Grace. When this comes to pass, the mystery of grace discloses itself.
If anyone is interested I would be happy to post the whole piece. It’s not very long.
Do you find times when prayer is easy, God’s presence near, holy and awesome? You wonder why it can’t always be like this. Personally, I find that I am addicted to these times. So much so that I rarely miss two to two and a half hours each morning reading and praying. It is a duty to be sure. But what I am always hoping for is to meet with God face to face and pour out my heart to him.
Do you know what I am talking about? Does anyone feel that they can share their experiences along these lines? Or is it all just too intimate and private? You could mention what the Scriptures teach on the subject without getting personal.
Below is the last paragraph of meditation 10 of Abraham Kuyper’s - To Be Near Unto God
Hence when in Scripture the Lord meets us with the exhortation, “Seek ye my face,” it is deeply significant. We can see a person afar off, we can hear from him, we can become conscious that he is near by without having yet gone to him or having yet placed ourselves before him, so that he looks at us and we at him. So there are times in the life of the Christian when he feels impelled to have no rest until he finds God; until, after he has found Him, he has placed himself before Him; and standing before Him, seeks His face, and does not cease until he has met God’s eyes, and the consciousness dawns full and clear that God looks him in the soul, and that he looks God in the eye of Grace. When this comes to pass, the mystery of grace discloses itself.
Kuyper, Abraham. (1918). To Be Near unto God (p. 52). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans-Sevensma Co.
If anyone is interested I would be happy to post the whole piece. It’s not very long.
