D0210

A sharing by Helen Chang for this song:

While I knew a long time ago that it was good for me to draw near to God, it was a struggle to set aside a regular time for this let alone to keep it! An average of 50-plus hours for a normal work week at the hospital was the norm back then. Oh was it long and tiring indeed!

So it turned out in practice that I was like having a buffet meal one day, when I would pray for a long time and read the scriptures but go onto a budget diet for many days that followed. It was just an irregular spiritual sounding activity whereby I nearly always had to start by asking God to forgive me yet I would just repeat the same as the days went by!

Only years later when I met a few Christians whose lives were very different from mine, they were relating to God in a very personal way in their everyday lives. In the weeks that followed, I realised the serious problem lied not in my not keeping an ongoing relationship with God but that I was just trying to do things that’s expected of a ‘good’ Christian.

To think that God Yahweh is the creator of the universes and that He has allowed me to draw close to Him, isn’t this the greatest privilege any human being could ever dream of? Why do I have to depend on setting aside a time to draw close to Him only? Why can’t I get close to Him and stay close without having to say, ‘Oh LORD, please excuse me as I have to leave You now because I have to go to work or to college etc.’? Even though there would be responsibilities and needs which would call for my attention, could I not keep close to Him in the back of my mind just like when I was deeply concerned for a certain person? Of course this image is not a fair one as I cannot compare the privilege of being close to God with that of another human being but, at least, it helped me to begin a relationship with God that is an ongoing one throughout the day.

This has greatly enhanced my sensitivity to thoughts and ways that may be displeasing to God, this in fact, is a sure means to keep me watchful lest I fall into temptation.

What an attractive relationship when I can be with the one I love without any fixed time. As a matter of fact, since I could be with such a person only in brief throughout the day then the attraction to spend more time together would come sooner than if I had set a fixed time!

In short, the words of this prayer to God for me are not meant for an appointed time to draw near to Yahweh but that it is about my constant attitudes and longing at heart throughout the day. So may Yahweh be gracious to draw near to each of us as we draw near to Him.