I am absolutely awestruck by the fact that the Eternal, Omniscient, Omni-present, Creator of the universe allows me to approach His throne! What an amazing privilege that, I must admit, I too often take for granted.
Not only am I invited to come before Almighty God but I am invited to do so as one of His children. In fact, I am encouraged to call him "Abba" or "Daddy". Wow!
MacArthur points out in the introduction to 'Lord, Teach Me to Pray' that this has not always been the case. God's chosen people in the Old Testament saw God as unapproachable. There was an entire system of priests, ceremony and sacrifices between God and the common Israelite. God was an "all-consuming fire" {bible 47}Heb 12:29{/bible}.
MacArthur not only touches on the intimacy of our parent/child relationship with God but also the passion that this access should generate. Do I have a passion to communicate with God? Do I long to talk with Him? Do I seek out time with Him and make it a priority in my day? My answers to these questions are a thermometer as to the temperature of my relationship with Him.
God is there, wanting for me to talk to Him. Wanting for me to discuss my day, my joys, my troubles, my fears, my victories (Phil 4:6, I Pet 5:7). Furthermore, I have all of the resources of heaven available for me since God delights to answer my prayers (Jas 4:2, Mat 7:7-8).
I have no reason not to actively pursue a passionate, intimate prayer life and every reason to pursue it. My prayer is that as I work through this study, my consistency, intimacy and passion for prayer will increase. Please join me in this endeavor.