FELLOWSHIP WITH THE FATHER

"When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret" (Matthew 6:6).

Man was created for fellowship with God. God made him in His own image and likeness, so he would be capable of understanding and enjoying God, entering into His will, and delighting in His glory. Because God is the everywhere-present and all-pervading One, man could have lived in the enjoyment of this unbroken fellowship.

Sin robbed us of this fellowship. Nothing but this fellowship can satisfy the heart of either man or God. It was this fellowship that Christ came to restore; to bring back to God His lost creature, and to bring man back to all he was created for. Fellowship with God is the consummation of all blessedness on earth as it is in heaven. This blessing comes when we experience the promise: "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5), and when we can say: The Father is always with me.

This fellowship with God is meant to be ours all day long, whatever our condition or the circumstances surrounding us. The ability to maintain close and glad fellowship with God all day long will depend entirely upon the intensity with which we seek Him in the hour of secret prayer.

The one essential thing in the morning watch (our quiet hour) is fellowship with God.

The Father

Our Lord teaches us the inner secret of prayer:

"Shut thy door and pray to thy Father which is in secret." When you are in secret, you have the Father's presence and attention. You know that He sees and hears you. Of more importance than all your requests is this one thing, the childlike, living assurance that your Father sees you and that you have now met Him face to face. With His eye on you and yours on Him, you are now enjoying actual fellowship with Him.

Christian, there is a terrible danger to which you stand exposed in your inner chamber of prayer. You are in danger of substituting prayer and Bible study for living fellowship with God.

Fellowship is the living interchange of giving Him your love, your heart, and your life and receiving from God His love, His life, and His Spirit. Your needs and their expression, your desire to pray humbly, earnestly, and believingly, may so occupy your mind that the light of His countenance and the joy of His love cannot enter you. Your Bible study may so interest you that the very Word of God may become a substitute for God Himself. The greatest hindrance to fellowship is anything that keeps the soul occupied instead of leading it to God Himself. We go out into the day's work without the power of an abiding fellowship, because the blessing was not secured in our morning devotions.

Walk With God Each Day

What a difference it would make in the life of many Christians if everything in the closet were subordinate to this one decision: I want to walk with God throughout the day and my morning hour is the time when my Father enters into a definite relationship with me and I with Him, What strength would be imparted to us if we could say: God has taken charge of me; He is going with me Himself; I am going to do His will all day in His strength; I am ready for all that may come.

Yes, what a change would come into our life if secret prayer were not only an asking for knowledge or strength, but the giving of our life for one day into the safe keeping of a faithful God.

"Pray to the Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:6). When secret fellowship with the Father is maintained, in spirit and in truth, our public life before people will carry the reward. The Father who sees in secret takes charge and rewards openly. Separation from others, in solitude with God— this is the sure, the only way to live in harmony with people in the power of God's blessing.