Quote from Forum Archives on March 20, 2009, 12:09 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

How do you describe your friendship with God - or do you have a friendship with God? This message from Oswald Chambers describes the delight of a true friendship with God and contrasts it "with occasional feelings of His presence in prayer."

Abraham was a man of faith, but we can see from the comments in this message that at this particular point in his life, there were still matters of faith and intimacy in his personal relationship with God that still needed to be developed. God was faithful to Abraham in His dealings with Him, just as God is faithful with us.

The question to ask and answer then is what will we do in response to God? Will we read our Bibles, yearning to grow in our faith and in our relationship with Him? Will we earnestly pray and persevere, even when we do not immediately either sense or see the responses that we are expecting?

The Bible says "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

Yours in Christ,
Brian

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/ MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST -- www.heartlight.org/
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March 20, 2009

FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD

Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?

Genesis 18:17
www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=ge+18:17&sr=1

Its Delights. This chapter brings out the delight of real friendship
with God as compared with occasional feelings of His presence in
prayer. To be so much in contact with God that you never need to ask
Him to show you His will, is to be nearing the final stage of your
discipline in the life of faith. When you are rightly related to God,
it is a life of freedom and liberty and delight, you are God's will,
and all your common-sense decisions are His will for you unless He
checks. You decide things in perfect delightful friendship with God,
knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will always check; when
He checks, stop at once.

Its Difficulties. Why did Abraham stop praying when he did? He was
not intimate enough yet to go boldly on until God granted his desire,
there was something yet to be desired in his relationship to God.
Whenever we stop short in prayer and say - "Well, I don't know;
perhaps it is not God's will," there is still another stage to go. We
are not so intimately acquainted with God as Jesus was, and as He
wants us to be - "That they may be one even as we are one." Think of
the last thing you prayed about - were you devoted to your desire or
to God? Determined to get some gift of the Spirit or to get at God?
"Your Heavenly Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye
ask Him." The point of asking is that you may get to know God better.
"Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires
of thine heart." Keep praying in order to get a perfect understanding
of God Himself.

MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST - by Oswald Chambers //
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www.heartlight.org/devotionals/my_utmost /