Here & Near

Ps.145:18-19 (KJV) “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.”

In this season, God is challenging us in the area of prayer to keep on calling, and not to give up. God is challenging us to keep pressing in, to keep trusting and keep praying.

One character in the Bible that embodies this lesson of audacious calling on Jesus and not giving up, even when everyone around was yelling at him to keep quiet was Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus. Please read Mark 10:46-52. You just have to love this character Bartimaeus. Scripture says, the louder they yelled at him to be quiet and the more they tried to shut him up, the more Bartimaeus increased his volume. You must increase your volume. When the voice of doubt tells you to keep quiet, even when the pain you feel in your body tells you to keep quiet, you must increase your volume. 

Mark 10:47 “When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (emphasis added). Proximity is key. You do not just start shouting or praying until you know Jesus is near. You do not just start calling until you know Jesus is near. Proximity is everything when it comes to calling out to Jesus. This is why when it is time to pray, we do not just jump into praying. The Bible says we should approach God, come into His presence with thanksgiving. When we worship and praise, Jesus comes near to us. When He inhabits the praises of His people, when He comes near to us, then we can call on Him. 

Bartimaeus sensed or heard Jesus was nearby and called. Mark 10:49 “When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” (emphasis added). When you hear that God is near, you need to call until He hears you and He will stop. This is so important because Jesus says where two or three are gathered in His Name, He shows up. But we go through seasons of fellowship, we show up at our life group meetings where God is near, and a lot of people do not call. Then people leave the same way they came. God wants us to call until He hears. “When Jesus heard him, he stopped…”; This is Jesus – busy, purposeful, always on mission but He stopped! We have to learn to stop, learn to just pause. Sometimes, God is leading us in another direction because of the people He has brought into our lives. God is expecting us to stop but because we are so focused on where we are going, we do not stop. Learn from Jesus, stop. 

Prayer (song): Hallelujah Lord, I honour You, Hallelujah Lord, I give You praise. Forever more, You will be my God. When Your Spirit flows, when it fills me. Lord I know Your power is here and real. O Lord Your power is here and real. Amen!