The Color of Closeness

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

I recently had the privilege of watching a color-blind man open a new pair of glasses for his birthday. My eyes filled with tears as he experienced color accurately for the first time in his life. He went outside and clapped his hands together like a little boy on Christmas morning as he stared at the sky, the grass, the trees… It was like a whole new world had suddenly opened up for him.

Prayer is like that for us in the spiritual world, isn’t it? But when we aren’t communicating with our Heavenly Father on a regular basis, it’s like taking off our color correcting glasses. We can still “see” the spiritual landscape around us because of the Holy Spirit living inside us… But the color is gone. The peace of God, which transcends all understanding (v. 7) starts to fade. The joy is missing (Romans 15:13).

Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary made our relationship with the Spirit of God unconditional (John 6:37-40). But our fellowship with Him is not. Just like we’re still our earthly parents’ children whether we talk to them or not… The same is true of our Heavenly Father. But closeness requires communication. And with that communication comes the beauty of spiritual closeness…

He puts the color back in our world.

Hannah