5 Minutes with Jesus is a daily devotional series for people in the midst of real life, whether facing anxiety, grief, questions of purpose, or simply needing encouragement and connection. Hosted by Sheila Walsh, each five-minute episode offers Biblical truth, honest reflections on faith and emotions, and closes with a moment of prayer.
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| Sheila Walsh: Drawing Near to God | 5 Minutes with Jesus | January 15, 2026
- Let me remind you.
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- Emotions do not have brains.
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- Let me repeat that.
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- Emotions do not have brains.
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- And when we rely on them more than we rely on
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- God's word, then we're in trouble.
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- If god feels distant and you've examined your heart,
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- Take an intentional moment to sit in his presence
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- And pray this very simple prayer.
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- I'm here, lord.
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- Let me ask you a question to scott.
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- Ever feel far away when you pray?
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- Does it feel
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- As if your prayers don't go beyond your bedroom ceiling?
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- Well, i love the promises found in james chapter four.
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- Verse eight says this.
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- Draw near to god and he will draw near to you.
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- Have you ever gone through a season
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- Where you feel as if you're in kind of a spiritual wasteland?
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- You know, you open your bible,
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- But passages that once seemed full of life
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- Now they just look like words on a page.
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- You talk to god,
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- But it feels like kind of like a one sided conversation.
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- I had a whole year like that not so long ago.
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- Twists that would
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- Normally have moved me to worship felt powerless.
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- I'd read the bible and i just, i felt nothing.
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- So i did all i knew to do.
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- I began to examine my life, bringing everything
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- I could think of into god's presence
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- Our relationships, my work, my thoughts.
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- And i asked the holy spirit to show me if there was
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- Any area of unconfessed sin in my life.
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- Well, trust me,
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- While there's always attitudes i need god's help with to shift
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- And petty sins that nip at my heels,
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- As far as i could tell,
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- There was no major area of my life
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- That was out of step with god's will.
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- So i did the next thing i knew to do.
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- I reminded god of his word.
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- I walked around the lake beside my house and reminded god
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- That he has promised.
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- If we draw near to him, he will draw near to us.
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- God cannot lie.
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- So i sat down on a rock and i prayed a very simple prayer.
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- Father god,
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- Who i am.
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- Honestly, that was it.
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- It wasn't a big drawn out prayer,
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- Just a simple statement of trust.
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- I'm here.
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- Then i thanked him for being near to me,
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- Whether i could feel his presence or not.
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- Let me remind you.
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- Emotions do not have brains.
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- Let me repeat that.
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- Emotions do not have brains.
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- And when we rely on them more than we rely on god's word,
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- Then we're in trouble.
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- If god
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- Feels distant and you've examined your heart,
- 00:02:48.982 --> 00:02:52.285
- Take an intentional moment to sit in his presence
- 00:02:52.285 --> 00:02:55.888
- And pray this very simple prayer.
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- I'm here, lord.
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- The psalmist david prayed like that, o lord.
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- How long will you forget me?
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- Forever.
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- How long will you look the other way?
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- How long must i struggle with anguish in my soul,
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- With sorrow in my heart. every day.
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- How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
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- Turn and answer me, o lord my god.
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- Restore the sparkle to my eyes r i will die.
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- Don't let my enemies gloat.
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- Saying we've defeated him.
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- Let them rejoice at my downfall.
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- But i trust in your unfailing love.
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- I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
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- I will sing to the lord because he is good to me.
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- Then rest in the promise.
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- Just as david did that when you draw
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- Near to god, he will draw near to us.
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- Let's pray.
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- Father, i thank you for the promises in your word,
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- And i thank you for that particular promise.
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- You've said that
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- When we draw near to you, you will draw near to us.
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- And lord, sometimes it doesn't feel like that.
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- I pray for anyone right now who feels that you are distant.
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- Who wonders if you're hearing their prayers?
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- Lord, help us to base our lives not on what we feel,
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- But on your word, because you have made promises
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- And you are not a god who will lie.
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- So today, lord, we choose to draw near to you,
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- Believing and faith that you have promised.
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- You will draw near to us in jesus name.
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- Amen.
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