A Closer Walk with God

As his faithful housekeeper struggled with a serious illness, English poet William Cowper turned his thoughts toward God. While he pondered the situation on this day in 1769, Cowper wrote a hymn called “Oh for a Closer Walk with God.”

Cowper recalled that he began writing this hymn before daybreak but fell asleep at the end of the first two lines: “When I awaked again, the third and fourth verses were whispered to my heart in a way I have often experienced.”

The words that came so easily to Cowper spoke of his heart’s desire to have a more intimate relationship with God. He wrote, “O for a closer walk with God, a calm and heavenly frame, a light to shine upon the road that leads me to the Lamb!”

He looked back at his life, and asked, “Where is the blessedness I knew, when first I saw the Lord? Where is the soul refreshing view of Jesus and His Word?” He recalled the memory of knowing “peaceful hours,” but realized there was “an aching void the world can never fill.”

He knew the answer was to have a closer walk with God. He sought to be cleansed from the “sins that made Thee mourn and drove Thee from my breast.” And he wanted to worship God alone and remove every idol that had entered his life.

Can you recall a time when you were closer to God? Do you long to have a more intimate relationship with Him? Spend time with Him today, confessing your sins and eliminating any idols that have entered your life. Read His Word. Linger in His presence. Listen to His voice. Worship Him. Make knowing Him your highest priority.