The Bible says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8). As Christians, only by drawing closer to God and having real interaction with God can we maintain a normal relationship with God and obtain the work of the Holy Spirit. It is just like two people associating with each other, who can only keep their close relationship going for a long time by being more open with each other, communicating more when they encounter issues, and by understanding and respecting each other. In this age of fast-paced life, however, busy jobs, complicated relationships and evil social trends draw us in and occupy us more and more. Our hearts are easily disturbed by the people, events and things of the outside world, and they prevent us from maintaining a normal relationship with God. This leads to us becoming more and more distant from God and, when we encounter issues, it becomes very hard for us to quieten ourselves before God, to draw close to God and to seek the enlightenment and guidance of the Holy Spirit. When we do things, we often do them without any correct direction or purpose, and our spirits are constantly in a state of emptiness and agitation. So how exactly can we maintain a close relationship with God? We need only to grasp the four points below, and our relationship with God will definitely become closer.
1. Pray to God With an Honest Heart and Be Moved by the Holy Spirit
Prayer is the channel through which we communicate with God. Through prayer, our hearts are better able to become quiet before God, to contemplate God’s word, to seek God’s will and to establish a normal relationship with God. But in life, because we are busy with work or household chores, we can often just go through the motions in prayer, and we just treat God perfunctorily by saying a few absent-minded words. When we are busy first thing in the morning, for example, going to work or busying ourselves with something else, we pray in a hurry: “O God! I entrust today’s work into Your hands, and I entrust You with my children and my parents. I entrust everything into Your hands, and I ask You to bless me and protect me. Amen!” We treat God perfunctorily by saying a few random words. Our hearts are not quiet, much less do we have any real interaction with God. Sometimes, we say some pleasant-sounding words, and some empty, boastful words to God in prayer, and we do not say to God what is in our hearts. Or sometimes, when we pray, we recite certain words by heart, and we say those same, stale old words every time, and this becomes totally a prayer of a religious ritual. Many prayers like this are spoken in our lives—prayers which cling to rules, and prayers in which we do not open our hearts to God nor seek God’s will. God hates it when we say prayers without really meaning any of it, because this kind of prayer pertains only to outward appearance and religious ritual, and there is no real interaction with God in our spirit. People who pray like this are treating God perfunctorily and are deceiving God. Therefore, prayers like this are not heard by God and it becomes very hard for people who pray this way to be moved by the Holy Spirit. When they pray like this, they are unable to feel God’s presence, their spirits are dark and weak, and their relationship with God becomes more and more distant.
