Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My
voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he
with Me. Revelation 3:20
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Do we really want fellowship
with God? Our frequent contact with God, or lack of it, is an easy, concrete
measurement for both God and ourselves to know the true answer.
A Laodicean's central characteristic
is an aversion to God's presence. He does not gladly throw open the doors to
let Christ in. Instead, he wants his privacy to pursue his own interests,
unimpeded by the constraints God's presence would impose.
Striving to pray always throws open
the door of our minds to God, and just as Luke 21:36 indicates, by vigilant
watching we can spot our Laodicean tendencies, overcome them, and avoid
tribulation. Commentator Albert Barnes makes some interesting points on
Revelation 3:20:
The act of knocking implies two
things:
(a) that we desire admittance; and
(b) that we recognize the right of
him who dwells in the house to open the door to us or not, as he shall please.
We would not obtrude upon him; we would not force his door; and if, after we
are sure that we are heard, we are not admitted, we turn quietly away. Both of
these things are implied here by the language used by the Saviour when he
approaches man as represented under the image of knocking at the door: that he
desires to be admitted to our friendship; and that he recognizes our freedom in
the matter. He does not obtrude himself upon us, nor does he employ force to
find admission to the heart. If admitted, he comes and dwells with us; if
rejected, he turns quietly away—perhaps to return and knock again, perhaps
never to come back.
Striving to pray always is our
conscious choice to let God in. Psalm 4:4 (Contemporary English Version,
CEV) emphasizes the seriousness of examining ourselves: "But each of
you had better tremble and turn from your sins. Silently search your heart as
you lie in bed."
Every night, at the end of another
busy day, provides us—and God—an opportunity to evaluate the true intent of our
hearts. We can ask ourselves: How much and how often did we acknowledge God
throughout our day? How much did we talk to Him and fellowship with Him today?
Where did we miss opportunities to do it? Why?
Perhaps the biggest question to ask
is this: When did we hear the "still small voice" today and hide from
God's presence? Our daily answers to these self-examination questions and our
practical responses could in a large measure determine where we spend both the
Tribulation and eternity (Luke 21:36).

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