The Promise of God with Us - Your Nightly Prayer - December 20th

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The Promise of God With Us
Your Nightly Prayer
By Lynette Kittle

TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you”--Hebrews 13:5

SOMETHING TO PONDER

In creating the world, God lovingly fashioned the Garden of Eden for us to live in, placing within it everything our hearts could desire. Most of all, it was a place where we could walk, talk, and be with Him, where He could be an up-close and personal God to us.

The Book of Genesis in the Bible describes how God would come in the cool of the day to commune and walk with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, spending time with them at their level.

In God’s beautiful design, there was no separation or misunderstandings between Him and man, but rather an intimate relationship. Tragically, though, Satan infiltrated the Garden, bringing sin and death into God’s perfect world, causing a barrier between Him and man, separated by sin.

Although Adam and Eve died spiritually that day, losing their innocence, their home, and their intimate relationship with God, no one was more grieved by their fall than Him.

Sin separated them, and all of us following them, from God’s presence, causing us to lose our ability to commune with Him, creating a separation and distance between us that we were powerless on our own to repair.

Because we couldn’t bridge the gap between a Holy God and our sinful selves, He sent His son, Jesus, to earth, in human form, to our level, where we could walk and talk with God once again. 

As Matthew 1:23 explains, “’ The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel”’ (which means ‘God with us’).

God has always wanted to be with us, from the very beginning of the creation. It’s why He designed us the way He did, in His image, so we could live in His presence.

God the Father’s purpose in sending Jesus was to restore our relationship with Him, to be present with us once again, making a way back to Him through Jesus, the only way for us to be reconciled and regain the personal, intimate relationship we once had with Him in the Garden, before the Fall.

As explained in John 14:6, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

Through Jesus, we have the miracle of Christmas, of God with us, of regaining His presence once again. God sent Jesus, who came and lived among us, and then He sent His Holy Spirit, who lives within us, ever present with us.

God created us to know Him and delights in us knowing Him, as Jeremiah 9:24 explains: “’ But let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord.”

As Revelation 21:3 describes, through Jesus, God has restored our relationship and made a way for us to be with Him forever, in His presence, and to be with us up close and personal, for eternity. 

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.’”

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Dear Father,
Our hearts are deeply grateful for Your gracious gift of Your only Son, Jesus, and the true miracle of Christmas, of God being with us once again. Thank you for loving us and giving Him to us to restore our relationship with You, and for sending Your Holy Spirit to live within each one of us. We praise You, O Lord, for Your ever-present presence in our lives and for preparing for us an eternal home with You, where we will live forever in Your glorious and loving presence. In Jesus’ name,
Amen

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

1.  Do you sense God’s ever-present in your life? If not, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in cultivating a closer relationship with God.

2.  Does God seem real and present in your everyday life, someone you can talk to any hour of the day, any day of the week? If not, set aside time each day or week to talk with Him.

3.  What does it mean to you to have God’s presence in your life?

Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Maryna Andriichenko

Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.

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