Silas
Beloved of All
Your longing to be brought near to God is itself something He puts in the heart, and He hears you as you have prayed and prayed for His intervention. The verse you mentioned says blessed is the one God chooses and causes to approach Him, that he may dwell in His courts, and that he shall be satisfied with the goodness of His house. That is a beautiful promise. It reminds us that nearness to God is not something we earn or force, it is something God Himself does as He draws us to Himself, and when we dwell there we find satisfaction in His goodness.
That desire for His courts is also expressed in another psalm where the writer says his soul longs, yes even faints, for the courts of the Lord, and his heart and flesh cry out for the living God. Those who dwell in His house are blessed and find reason to praise Him continually. To walk uprightly before Him, to walk with Him day by day, is the path where He withholds no good thing from those who belong to Him.
It helps to remember that His courts are not only a building or a place you go to in order to finally enter His presence. You never escape His presence. His eyes are everywhere, beholding the good and the evil, and there is nowhere you can flee from Him. Even when darkness seems to cover you, the night shines as day to Him. Often the problem is not that He is absent, but that we lack a deep consciousness that He is already with us. When we become truly aware that we are living in His presence continually, it changes how we think and act, and it keeps us from doing things we would be ashamed to do if we remembered He is watching. You are in His presence now, even as you pray for help, and He is near to you in every circumstance that concerns you.
You spoke of many things going on that need His intervention, and of praying without yet seeing the answer. That place of need can bring us to the end of our own efforts. There is a point where we stop looking for another self help formula or asking how can I change myself and how can I do better, and we instead cry out for outside help. Like the apostle who at the end of his struggle no longer said how can I help myself but said who shall deliver me, we come to honest confession and say Lord I cannot do it, I need Your help. That honesty is where His help comes, because He does not help us so we can boast that we did it ourselves. He delivers us through Jesus Christ.
God is consistent and whatever He does will be in perfect harmony with what He has already said in His Word. So we measure what we sense and what we desire by Scripture. If it agrees with His Word we can trust it is of Him. And we do not need to step in and try to help God work things out. When we try to force His plan in our own strength we create problems for ourselves. Patience and hope mean trusting that what He has promised He will fulfill in His own way and time without needing our schemes. He is able to keep that which we commit to Him.
Like David, who again and again placed himself in God's hands and sought the Lord for defense against trouble, you can place every matter that concerns you into His hands. Give Him the situation you cannot handle and trust Him to take care of it. Vain is the help of man, but through God we shall do valiantly, for it is He who treads down our enemies. He will defend those who put their trust in Him.
I pray for you now. Father, I lift this dear one to You who longs to be brought near and to dwell in Your presence. You see every burden and every need that concerns this life. Cause this one to approach You and to know the satisfaction of Your goodness in Your house. Make Your presence deeply real and conscious each day, so there is confidence that You are near and watching with love. Deliver from every trouble that is too heavy to carry alone, and work in a way that is true to Your Word. Teach patient trust while You work, and keep this life in Your hands, for You are able to keep all that is committed to You. Help to walk uprightly before You, and let no good thing be withheld as there is trust in You. In the name of Jesus, amen.
That desire for His courts is also expressed in another psalm where the writer says his soul longs, yes even faints, for the courts of the Lord, and his heart and flesh cry out for the living God. Those who dwell in His house are blessed and find reason to praise Him continually. To walk uprightly before Him, to walk with Him day by day, is the path where He withholds no good thing from those who belong to Him.
It helps to remember that His courts are not only a building or a place you go to in order to finally enter His presence. You never escape His presence. His eyes are everywhere, beholding the good and the evil, and there is nowhere you can flee from Him. Even when darkness seems to cover you, the night shines as day to Him. Often the problem is not that He is absent, but that we lack a deep consciousness that He is already with us. When we become truly aware that we are living in His presence continually, it changes how we think and act, and it keeps us from doing things we would be ashamed to do if we remembered He is watching. You are in His presence now, even as you pray for help, and He is near to you in every circumstance that concerns you.
You spoke of many things going on that need His intervention, and of praying without yet seeing the answer. That place of need can bring us to the end of our own efforts. There is a point where we stop looking for another self help formula or asking how can I change myself and how can I do better, and we instead cry out for outside help. Like the apostle who at the end of his struggle no longer said how can I help myself but said who shall deliver me, we come to honest confession and say Lord I cannot do it, I need Your help. That honesty is where His help comes, because He does not help us so we can boast that we did it ourselves. He delivers us through Jesus Christ.
God is consistent and whatever He does will be in perfect harmony with what He has already said in His Word. So we measure what we sense and what we desire by Scripture. If it agrees with His Word we can trust it is of Him. And we do not need to step in and try to help God work things out. When we try to force His plan in our own strength we create problems for ourselves. Patience and hope mean trusting that what He has promised He will fulfill in His own way and time without needing our schemes. He is able to keep that which we commit to Him.
Like David, who again and again placed himself in God's hands and sought the Lord for defense against trouble, you can place every matter that concerns you into His hands. Give Him the situation you cannot handle and trust Him to take care of it. Vain is the help of man, but through God we shall do valiantly, for it is He who treads down our enemies. He will defend those who put their trust in Him.
I pray for you now. Father, I lift this dear one to You who longs to be brought near and to dwell in Your presence. You see every burden and every need that concerns this life. Cause this one to approach You and to know the satisfaction of Your goodness in Your house. Make Your presence deeply real and conscious each day, so there is confidence that You are near and watching with love. Deliver from every trouble that is too heavy to carry alone, and work in a way that is true to Your Word. Teach patient trust while You work, and keep this life in Your hands, for You are able to keep all that is committed to You. Help to walk uprightly before You, and let no good thing be withheld as there is trust in You. In the name of Jesus, amen.
