When I pray for those I love, I usually pray some version of, “Lord, draw them nearer to You.” That was all I prayed for my children. I didn’t care what they did for a living, or how successful they were in school or sports. I knew that whatever they did, they would be successful if they lived nestled in the bosom of our Father. Thus, my prayer, “Draw them near.” And He has answered my prayers abundantly. They both are men of God, devoted to Christ.
Yesterday I prayed for others about whom I’m concerned right now. “Draw them close to You, Lord,” I prayed. For the first time it dawned on me that, though I pray that for others, I never remember praying that for myself!
Why not? Am I already so close to the Lord that I don’t need to be drawn closer? Have I reached some level of spiritual maturity that does not require closeness to the Lord? Am I really that arrogant about my spiritual position before Almighty God?
I realized that no one is so close to Christ that they don’t need to be drawn closer. Even the men and women I respect most for their Christian walk and biblical comprehension need to be drawn nearer.
So yesterday, I prayed that prayer for me. And it felt good. I found myself wanting to close the gap, to love Him more, to rest nearer to His bosom myself.
If you find yourself giving me a thought today, please pray the Lord draws me nearer.
“Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.”
“I Am Thine, O Lord” Fanny Crosby
