Conversational-prayer includes proserchomai drawing near, even eggizo very close-beside to God Himself

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See also Conversational-Prayer – BT4 for seeking God Himself and not just His stuff or help.

Proserchomai “drawing near” is a Hebraism for “seeking an audience with, approaching, inquiring of, calling on to visit, or being heard by” God, thus a Hebraism for worship, and so closely akin in spelling and meaning to proseuchomai conversational-prayer and proskuneo worship.  It was the way prophets heard from God (a) and the way the people should listen to the prophets to hear from God (b), the way priests ministered to God (c).  This was the careful way people were to listen to God in the Jewish Temple, which was supposed to be a “house of God, [people] ready to akouo ‘hear/listen to understand/know’” (d) instead of a “house of trade” or “den of robbers” (e).  People weren’t supposed to just ‘give lip-service’ to an OT commandment to worship/fear God (f), as Isaiah 29:13 says:  “This people draws near with their mouth and/coupled honors Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me, and/coupled their reverential-fear of Me is [only] a commandment taught by men.” Instead Isaiah 58:2 says that it should be:  “My people . . . they zeteo diligently-seek (g) Me daily and/coupled delight to daath prophetically or ginosko experientially, relationally know My ways, . . . they ask Me to make just decrees of judgment; they delight to draw near to God.” Can’t you see so many elements of prayer in here:  delight in getting near God and His ways? <Notes> a) 1 Samuel 14:37, b) Isaiah 34:1, 48:16, c) Ezekiel 43:19, d) Ecclesiastes 5:1, e) John 2:16; Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46, f) Exodus 20:3-5, 34:14, g) zeteo: frequently pursue, diligently search, crave, and worship.

Proseuchomai conversationally-praying is only 1 letter difference from the Hebraism of proserchomai “drawing near to God to worship.”  Hebrews 11:6 warns and promises: “Without trusting-relying-faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would routinely proserchomai draw near to Him must have trusting-relying-faith that He exists (that He is really there to ‘call on to visit’) and that He rewards those who routinely ekzeteo diligently-seek-out (a) Him.” It certainly does take trusting-relying-faith to “listen for the voice” of God and “delight to draw near to God” (b) – a lot more than just doing bible-study! <Notes> a) ek out-from + zeteo:  search out diligently in order to find, investigate, desire/crave, aim/strive after – yet another Hebraism for worship, b) Zephaniah 3:1.

Drawing-near to God, whether by eggizo or proserchomai, is indeed Hebrew idiom for “seeking, inquiring of, calling on, hearing, delighting in, and ministering to” God through “reverential, trusting, heart-felt, listening, attentive, proseuche conversational-prayer” as we see throughout the OT:  1 Samuel 14:37; the way to minister to God per Ezekiel 43:19; prayer in the house of God more important than foolish sacrifices per Ecclesiastes 5:1; more important than lip-service and blindly following man-taught commandments per Isaiah 29:13; important to actually hear the Lord per Isaiah 34:1 and 48:16, which is what God’s zeteo diligently-seeking and delighting people do per Isaiah 58:2; but rebellious people won’t listen or have trusting-relying-faith either per Zephaniah 3:1; Psalms 145:18 promises “The Lord is near to all who call on Him” and people experienced this per Lamentations 3:57.

In proseuche conversational-prayer James 4:6-8 strongly-urges us to eggizo ‘draw extremely close-beside’ God” by “definitively/wholly hupotasso ‘voluntarily submitting, yielding or falling in line behind a commander’ to God” in order for “God to eggizo ‘draw extremely close-beside’ to you” in order to receive “the present/ongoing giving of unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace from Him to those who are lowly/humble.”  This is how we definitively/wholly anthistemi ‘stand against or opposed to, to resist’ the devil kai and/thus he shall indeed flee from you.”  Otherwise, “God anthistemi ‘stand against or opposed to, to resist’ the proud/arrogant.” It all belongs together in the Greek – I’ve heard some strange doctrines from people pulling verses out of context!

Likewise Hebrews 11:6 says: “Without trusting-relying-faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would proserchomai draw near to God must have trusting-relying-faith that He is presently/ongoingly exists and/coupled is presently/ongoingly a Rewarder to those who zeteo diligently-seek Him” – yet another Hebrew idiom for worshipful prayer!   Hebrews 4:15 says, “Because we have a high priest that can sympathize with our weaknesses, having been tempted in every respect but without sin, let us then confidently proserchomai draw near to the throne of unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace.”  Bible verses from the 97.4% of the OT that is Law-based – see Logos Word of God – BT5a – sure won’t help us with holiness, as Hebrews 7:19, 25 says:  “The Law made nothing perfect, but we have been given a better hope through which we presently/ongoingly eggizo ‘draw extremely close-beside’ to God.”  Hebrews 10:21-22 says “Since having a great priest ove the house of God we should presently/ongoingly proserchomai draw near with a sincere-truthful heart by the means of the full assurance of trusting-relying-faith.” Hebrews 7:24-25, since Christ “holds His priesthood permanently . . . He is able to save to the uttermost those who presently/ongoingly proserchomai draw near to God through Him, since Christ lives forever to make intercession for them.”

Can you see how “devoted, heart-felt, humble seeking, drawing near, attentive listening in reverential awe, calling on, and delighting in the Lord” are all one-in-the-same “proseuche conversational-prayer” and this does indeed require trusting-relying-faith that God is there to be found and that it’s worth the time and effort to daily practice this habit?

I can’t overemphasize that Jesus is the better Way than the OT to the Father as Hebrews 7:19-25 says:  giving us a “better hope through which we presently/ongoingly eggizo draw extremely-near (a) to God,” because “Jesus is the guarantor of a [exceedingly] better [New] covenant . . . and because He holds His priesthood permanently since He is eternal, He is able to save to the uttermost those who proserchomai draw near to God [the Father] through Him [Christ] since He lives forever to make intercession for them.”  Hebrews 4:15-16 says “we have a high priest who is able to sympathized with our feeble-impotent-weaknesses . . . so let us confidently-boldly proserchomai  draw near to the throne of unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace to received mercy and find unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace to help in our time of need.” Reading and studying the Law of commandments will only destroy our confidence!  <Notes> a) eggizo: bring extremely near or close-beside, approach to join.

Hebrews 10:1, 19-22 says, “For since the Law has [contained in it] but a skia backward-shadow (a) of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can NEVER . . . make complete-perfect those who routinely proserchomai draw near . . . NOW we have bold-confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the kainos ‘completely-different-in-kind New’ and Living Way that He [Christ] opened for us through the [separating] curtain (b), that is, through His [Christ’s] flesh, and/coupled since we have a great Priest [Christ] over the House of God (c), let us presently/ongoingly proserchomai draw near with a true [sincere] heart in full assurance of trusting-relying-faith – with our hearts sprinkled clean (d) from an evil [sinful soul] conscience and/coupled our bodies [sinful flesh] washed with pure water (e).” Unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace, not Law, is our ticket! <Notes> a) skia: shade cast backward from an object, cf. Hebrews 8:5, Colossians 2:8, b) into the Holy of Holies, God’s presence, c) Christ’s Body, the Church, is NOW the house or temple of God:  Ephesians 2:19, 22; 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Peter 2:5, 4:17; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16, d) ceremonially purified by sacrificial blood, e) ceremonially of OT ablutions and water-baptism but likely also a reference to Christian water-baptism.

Psalms 145:18 gives us a great promise: “The Lord is qarob/eggus near to all who call on Him . . . in truth,” and Lamentations 3:57 says, “You qarab/eggizo ‘drew extremely-near or close-beside’ when I called on You.” James 4:6-8 echoes this: “God stands-firmly-in-opposition-to (a) the proud but gives unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace to the lowly/humble. Submit-by-falling-in-line (b) yourselves therefore to God . . . [definitively/wholly] eggizo ‘draw extremely-near or close-beside’ to God, and He will [then] eggizo ‘draw extremely-near or close-beside’ to you.” In the missing . . . verse, James says, “stand-against (c) the devil, kai and/then he will flee from you,” but I’ve always heard this taken out of context to mean, “fight against the temptations of sinful passions.” However, in all likelihood, James isn’t jumping all around with his train of thought.  More likely, James is saying ‘stand against’ the devil’s temptations to keep you from eggizo ‘draw extremely-near to God in proseuche conversational-prayer, his temptations for you to be too proud to admit that we desperately need God, his temptations for you to not be humbly teachable to listen to God, and not voluntarily fall in line behind God as Supreme Commander.  If we don’t ‘stand against’ Satan, then God’s ‘stands firmly against’ us!<Notes> a) antitassomai: stands at a post firmly against, resists, b) hupotasso:  voluntarily yield, or fall in line behind a commander, c) anthistemi: stand against.

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