The nearness of God

Sometimes when we struggle to pray, our prayers can feel like they just evaporating right above our heads, never reaching God's ears. At those times, God can seem very distant.

But the Bible speaks repeatedly that God, despite being the creator of time and space, is very near to those who seek him. For example, Psalm 145:18 (KJV) says,

The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

("Nigh," of course, is an archaic version of the word "near.") Paul expands on this theme in Acts 17:27 (KJV), where he explains the reason that God placed humans at the center of his creation. In Paul's explanation, God wants people to

...seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.

("Haply" is an archaic version of the word "perhaps.") Essentially, Paul is explaining that, while seeking God requires work on our part, God is near to us as we undertake that work. Keeping that in mind can greatly enhance our prayer lives!