God's Holiness, Our Need

by Charles R. Swindoll

Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones,

And give thanks to His holy name.

---Psalm 30:4

We come before You, our Father, and we acknowledge that it is Your holiness that draws us to You. And it is that lack of holiness in ourselves that brings from within us such a hunger to know You better. We affirm with Paul that our determined purpose is that we may know Him. That we may progressively become more intimately acquainted with Him. Oh, God, that is what we want. More important, that is what we need.

In a culture that's adrift and in a world that's broken, there is something about Your character that draws us, warms the coldness of our hearts, breaks our stubborn wills. And we stand before You, our holy God, acknowledging that You are pristine, free of corruption, without a hint of sin or transgression.

We are reproved by Peter's words, "'You be holy even as I am holy,' says the Lord." The angels acknowledge You by saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty." You are high and lifted up. You have full perspective and understanding. Your character is unflawed, and we are lost in the wonder of it. We are caught up in the perfection of Your person.

We've never known a Father like You, as good as our fathers may have been. We've never known one so full of compassion and grace and love and mercy. Introduce us again to that this day. Remind us of it again and again, especially when we fail and see ourselves so unworthy. Remind us that none of that blocks Your wondrous forgiveness. Thank You. Thank You.

In the matchless name of Jesus, Your Son and our Savior, we pray. Amen.