A sculpture displayed at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, Gastonia, NC Photograph by Donna Harris
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. James 4:8
Dear Lord Jesus,
Just yesterday I was waving a palm branch high over my head…melodies we raised. I felt overwhelmed with the reality of your love and my soul was flooded with the bitter sweetness of you giving yourself…an extreme sacrifice for us. You took the judgment we deserve to give us the grace we could never earn.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21
I pray now that we would not forget the yesterday of holding a branch of praise and singing hosanna’s to the King. Please help us to want more of you. Show us what it means to “draw near to you.”
Help us to love you for no other reason but for your own sake.
Still each morning and noon and in evening,
I will trust my Lord and bless his name.
Never seeking the gain but the Giver,
So I love him for nothing but for his own sake.*
Please do not hide your face from us when we forget the yesterday of waving the palm branch, worshipping you with abandon. Our lives can easily becomes an “all-about-me” existence. Help us to draw near to you and to make this day, all-about-you. Please God, constantly reveal the chasm of our separation from our unrepentant heart. Please fill us with hunger pangs to feast on your word. I pray to want nothing more than to draw near to you.
Grant us grace to slow our pace and quiet our hearts, that we might survey the wonders of your cross and greatness of your love.
Amen
“Draw Near” — Watercolor painting by Donna Harris Art of a sculpture displayed at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, Gastonia, NC
- “For His on Sake” by Nathan Partain. Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis, IN
Donna Harris‑More Grace 