Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies! Psalms 69:18
O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! Psalms 71:12
Closeness to God means everything when we are deeply aware of need and danger. If God is everywhere at all times (which he is) then this appeal is not for an absent God to come and fill the void. Instead it is an appeal for God to break into our senses and reveal his presence with us. It may even be a request for a greater “faith sense” of God’s presence, even if the senses are still left unaffected. But it is an appeal for a sense of God’s nearness—something which the Psalmist, and we too, often lack.
Note how these two prayers are framed. One appeals to God’s work to redeem and ransom. The other appeals to the fruit of that work – “be not far from me”. What wonderful truth is revealed about our relationship with God in the words “my God”?