Practical Steps Toward Intimacy With God
Scripture
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
God gave us a clear picture of what He’s like, and He put it all down in a book that we can use to learn and remind ourselves of His nature. In the Bible we see how God interacts with man, how He communicates and the topics He sees as priorities.
“If we want to know God in a deeper way, if we want to draw closer to his heart then we need to be spending time in His word consistently—daily,” says Jon Thurlow, singer, songwriter and IHOPKC worship leader. “If we don’t feed ourselves with the Word of God on the inside, we dry up.”
One way Jesus refers to Himself is as the living water and as the Word. As we read Scripture about Him, we learn what He is like and how He thinks. We actually come to a greater understanding of His character. At the same time we are renewed, refreshed and washed with the water of the Word. We begin to think the way He thinks.
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)
In times of worship, we declare the truth of who Lord is. Through worship we align our will to God’s desire and are able to reset our focus on the One who is our Maker, Creator and Lord. As we worship, we see Him as He is—the One with all power, all authority, who is compassionate and sovereign over every part of our lives and this world. We gain a greater understanding of God and who He is. When that occurs, our perspective is corrected so we are able to see ourselves, others and our circumstances from the correct vantage point.
More than a song, worship is the way we respond to the God who loves us and has given His life for us so that we could be completely free and clean in this life and live with Him forever in the next.
The Lord gave us prayer as a means of communicating with Him, a way of growing closer to Him. Unlike a dated, stagnant ritual of speaking words to the air, prayer is a conversation in which we speak to God and He responds. This conversation strengthens us, helps focus us and brings us into a greater fellowship with our Maker.
Just as it is with our closest friends and family members, the more we speak to God the more we come to know His character and the more we have intimacy with God. Prayer is a key factor in our relationship with God. Our God is living and active in the lives of His creation every day. He desires that we be children who not only know our Father, but partner with Him in the work of the Kingdom to bring His good plans about in our lives and the lives of those around us.
Journaling
Many times in the Bible, the Lord’s followers memorialized physical locations to remind themselves and others, of the great things God had done in their lives. Although we may not put up national monuments every day to express the Lord’s faithful work in our lives, it is important to take time and reflect on the Lord’s faithfulness. Times of reflection help produce gratitude in our hearts in the moment and can strengthen us in more difficult times of trials and tribulation.
When we make a record of how the Lord has prevailed in our times of sickness, need or fear, we are cataloging His work and the testimony of His prevailing power in our lives. We truly become living epistles that not only know the history of God’s display of strength and compassion in everyday situations, but retaining those memories of what our Father has done enables us to encourage others to overcome in their time of trial as well (Revelation 21:7). We are able to point to the One who is Faithful and True and help them draw closer to God on their own path toward greater intimacy.
For a quick teaching on growing in intimacy with our Heavenly Father, watch this video from Mike Bickle.
This article originally appeared here.
