Encouraging - God's Presence

All Christians want to know God in a close, personal way, but often this desire is not fulfilled. We frequently hear believers say, “God never seems close to me. Is He really listening to my prayers?” We lack assurance that God is intimately concerned with us. Yet, followers of Christ are never satisfied to stay in this condition for long. A husband and wife who are in a happy marriage can be separated for a time, but soon they will begin to miss each other. The same is true of believers and their God. From time to time we manage without a sense of God’s nearness, but a continuation of that state is unsatisfying. True believers yearn to be close to God and to feel the assurance of his personal attention.

Richard L Pratt Jr., Pray With Your Eyes Open: Looking at God, Ourselves, and Our Prayers (P & R Publishing Company, Phillipsburg, NJ: 1987) p. 55.