RIGHT BESIDE YOU

Each day at a post office in Jerusalem, the staff sort through piles of letters. But many end up in a box which has been labelled: “Letters to God”.

About a thousand of these letters reach Jerusalem each year, addressed simply to God or Jesus. Unsure what to do with them, one member of staff began taking the letters to Jerusalem’s Western Wall to have them placed between its stone blocks with other written prayers. Most of the letters ask for a job, a partner or good health. Some want forgiveness, others just offer thanks. One man asked God if his wife who had died could appear in his dreams because he wanted to see her again. Each sender believed God would listen, if only He could be reached.

The Israelites learned much as they travelled through the wilderness. One lesson was that their God wasn’t like the other gods of the surrounding nations—distant, deaf, limited or found only in certain places. No, “the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him” (DEUTERONOMY 4:7). What other people could claim that? This was life-changing news!

God doesn’t live in Jerusalem. He’s close by us, wherever we are, whoever we are (ACTS 17:27). Some still need to discover this amazing truth. If only each of those letters could be sent this reply: God is right beside you. Just talk to Him.

Thinking it over . . .

God’s closeness to us is an amazing gift. How can you avoid taking it for granted? Who in your life needs to know of God’s readiness to hear their prayers?