In analogy with Gauss's law for the electric field $\nabla\cdot \vec{E}=\rho/\epsilon_0$, the flux of the gravitational field through a closed surface is proportional to the mass contained inside the surface.
There is an approximation to General Relativity called Gravitoelectromagnetism (see Wikipedia page of this name.
It's relationship with Newton's law of gravitation is almost exactly the same as the relationship between Maxwell's equations and the laws of electrostatics. That is, you begin with the inverse square law for the radial gravitational field from a point mass, and you assume that effects of gravity propagate at the finite speed $c$. You must do this so that your equations are Lorentz covariant(well almost: see footnote) - otherwise if you do this naively like Laplace did you come up with a failed theory that makes planetary orbits grossly unstable. Maxwell's equations can be derived from electrostatics using this approach.
In the Maxwell equation $\leftrightarrow$ gravitoelectromagetism mathematical analogy, the analogy of the Electric Field is the Gravitational field. The analogy with the Magnetic Field is the gravitomagnetic field.
So the time rate of change of the flux of the gravitomagnetic field through a loop is the line integral of the gravitational field around the loop. It seems, therefore, that the gravitomagnetic field, not the gravitational field itself, is the concept you are groping for.
In this approach, you can make Maxwell's equations truly Lorentz covariant because you postulate the source term $(c\,\rho,\,\vec{J})$, the four-current, to be a truly Lorentz covariant four-vector and experiment backs this postulate up overwhelmingly. You cannot do the same for the corresponding term in gravitoelectromagnetism and still be consistent with General Relativity and this is one of the ways wherein the two theories differ. For many weak field General Relativistic problems, though, GEM is amazingly accurate.