Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.

These words "while he may be found, while he is near" suggest that the Lord will not always be able to be found.  He will not always be near.  The very thought of that should strike a holy fear within us and the deepest of resolution to daily seek and call upon the Lord.

There come times during the day or week which we recognize as graced moments.  These can be the opportunity to forgive a brother or seek forgiveness, perhaps the possibility for a beautiful prayer of spontaneity or an invitation to meditate on some treasure in the Word, or a chance to repent.  These are real moments when the Lord is near us.  Woe to us if we do not correspond to such grace.  It may come back with a lessening frequency and then where will we be?  "Now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!"  (2 Corinthians 6.2)  Perhaps we look upon such moments with indifference.  Maybe we are lazy and instead of rising from bed to answer the call to prayer we turn over and sleep on.  Perhaps out of human fear or respect we don't answer an inner summons to offer forgiveness or seek it.  Given that we are commanded to do such things anyway what an unspeakable abuse of grace it is to look with disdain or indifference upon it and assume it will always be available.

"Listen!  I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me." (Revelation 3.20)  The nature of a knock is that it is a series of raps, interspersed with silence.  Christ is always majestic - he does not shout.  What anxiety the listening soul feels when the door remains shut after the first knock because of laziness or indifference and then there follows silence.  With tears of compunction the soul waits in anticipation.  The soul does not dare beg for another knock, knowing as it does that it abused the first knock, and it dreads not answering with swiftness the second knock.  Instead it remains in readiness; repentant, awaiting another knock.  Then the knock comes again after a period of time, the soul answers and sups with the Beloved.

We can't hear the knock unless we remain listening in attentiveness.  Only recollection recognizes the particular moments of grace which come, inviting us to call, seek, open and sup.