Firm in God’s Grip

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8).

This is a great promise of victory over all sin. You cannot produce this victory yourself. You cannot cleanse your own hands or purify your own heart. James is saying, “If you want clean hands and a pure heart — if you want victory over guilt, temptation and every evil pursuer coming against you — you must draw near to God and believe that he is near you.

It all hinges on this! Simply draw near to God and believe that he is near you. If you do this, he will take care of all the enemies in your flesh.

You may ask, “Well, how do I draw near to God?” The answer is a simple, childlike thing. Simply go to the Lord and talk to him — anytime, anywhere, all day long. On the way to work, on the job, everywhere. Talk to him and draw near in full assurance of faith.

A great evangelist, the late Kathryn Kuhlman, used to work seventeen hours a day. I often wondered, “When does she ever have time to shut herself up in her secret closet and pray?” Then I realized that she always seemed to be muttering to herself. She was praying! She prayed as she drove her car, as she rode in elevators, everywhere she went.

One day she told me, “David, the Bible says to pray without ceasing. I talk to the Lord all day because he’s just as real to me as you are. We’re friends.”

Dear saint, God is always there for you, as well. I believe in secret-closet praying, but your secret closet can be anywhere you shut yourself in with him.

Talk to God — practice his nearness — and he will do great things for you. You will know the grip of his hand at all times. Hallelujah!