We Love Jehovah, Our Father, Dearly - STAY CLOSE TO JEHOVAH

Jehovah wants us to draw close to him and to communicate with him.  (Read James 4:8)  He urges us to "persevere in prayer," and he makes himself available at all times.  (Romans 12:12)  He is never too busy or too tired to listen to us.  In turn, we listen to him by reading his Word, the Bible, along with publications that help us to understand it.  We also listen to him by paying close attention at Christian meetings.  Just as good communication helps children stay close to our parents, regular communication with Jehovah helps us remain close to him.

Think about the quality of your communication with God. Jehovah wants  us to pour out our hearts to him in prayer.  (Psalm 62:8) We do well to ask ourselves this question: 'Do my prayers tend to be superficial, reprinted messages, or are they like heartfelt, handwritten letters?  No doubt you love Jehovah deeply, and you want to keep your relationship with him strong. To do that, you must communicate with him regularly.  Confide in him. Share your joys and your pains with him. Be confident that you can go to him for help.

 To stay close to our heavenly Father, we must maintain a grateful attitude.  We agree with the psalmist who wrote: " How many things you have done, O Jehovah my God, your wonderful works and your thoughts toward us. None can compare to you; if I were to tell and speak of them, they would be too numerous to recount!"  (Psalm 40:5) We do more than feel appreciative; we express our appreciation to Jehovah by words and actions.  This makes us stand out as different from many today. We live in a world where people do not appreciate all that God does for them.  In fact, one indication that we are living in "the last days" is that people are unthankful/ungrateful. (2 Timothy 3:1, 2)  May we never adopt that attitude! 

Parents do not want their children to squabble but to be friends.  Similarly, Jehovah wants all his children to get along with one another. In fact, the love we have for one another identifies us as being true Christians.  (John 13:35)  We agree with the psalmist who wrote:  "How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity!"  (Psalm 133:1)  When we love our brothers and sisters, we prove to Jehovah  that we love him. (1 John 4:20) How pleasant it is to be part of a family of brothers and sisters who are "kind to one another, tenderly compassionate"! - EPHESIANS 4:32.

Next time: We Love Jehovah, Our Father, Dearly - SHOW YOUR LOVE BY BEING OBEDIENT

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