Near the end of The Saints’ Everlasting Rest, Richard Baxter says that we live in a “vain, vexatious world.”* Can I get an Amen! 

He talks about how hard it can be to live in this world, and also how soul-satisfying it can be to talk to a best friend.

Some you have a best friend. Think about those rich, spirit-lifting conversations that you wish would never end. Baxter says, “What joy it is to have access and acceptance in prayer; that I may always go to God, and open my case, and unbosom my soul to him, as to my most faithful friend!”* 

In other words, if it is one of life’s richest gifts to reveal and refresh our souls to our best friends, how much more of an invaluable gift is it to go our most faithful Friend—also our Lord—and talk with him! 

There are times when prayer seems like a struggle. Maybe that’s because we forget the heart of the one to whom we talk.

In Psalm 69:16 we read: “Answer me, LORD, out of the goodness of your love…”

The heart of your heavenly Father is full of love—not just for people generally, but for you specifically.

Freely unbosom your soul to the one who crafted it in the first place.

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Notes:

–My latest podcast is called “Is the persecution of Christians coming to Canada? – A talk with Paul Carter.” Is it coming? What is it? How is it different from losing influence? What advice might the apostle Peter have for us today? I really enjoyed this talk and the powerful insights Paul Carter shares. Click here to listen, or look for ‘The Pulse Podcast with Matthew Ruttan’ wherever you subscribe to podcasts: iTunes (Apple), Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or TuneIn.

–Richard Baxter, The Saints’ Everlasting Rest (London: The Religious Tract Society), 359, 325.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.