. Another common mistake is trying to achieve intimacy with God through subjective aesthetic experiences. Fervently Pray 7. But God will be faithful to you. But being disobedient will block us from being close to the Holy Spirit. But the Spirit of God will never impose himself on us. All rights reserved. I consider it a problem if I am with my wife for an hour and we never touch. How an ominous vision saw 'omnisexual' Little Richard quitting music for bible school - only to return to a life of excess years later He is close now. When we are intimate with him, he opens our minds so that we can understand the word of God. God has given us an amazing promise: that if we seek Him with all our heart, He will reveal Himself to us (Jeremiah 29:13-14). Also Read: Open Heaven 9 December 2022 - No Excuses. Relational Gospel Intimacy with God improves everything! By building our relationship with the Holy Spirit, we can hear Gods voice and follow his guidance. On the Day of Atonement, one priest could go farther in and represent the people at the place where heaven and glory were most fully concentrated on earth. Being intentional about listening to Gods voice will help you know how he speaks. All rights reserved. Now you may be wondering how fellowshipping with others is going to help you grow closer to God. Some of my favorite authors describe the glories found in His presencewriters like A.W. What Is Intimacy with God and How Do I Pursue It? But none of them inherently possesses the power to conjure Gods nearness to us. Many people assume that being intimate with God is a special callthat the average person cant go there because theyve been compromised by their lackluster or sinful Christian life. We should want to read the Word because it holds the keys to knowing God intimately and enjoying Him completely. She received a B.A. Learn His Character Prayer to Know God More Intimately Frequently Asked Questions Who has access to God? For Hebrews familiar with the wilderness tabernacle, this was priestly language. Also Related: 11 Proven Benefits of Intimacy with the Holy Spirit. Or a person who doesnt know us intimately knows us at a superficial level. calls out, " Abba, Father" ' ( Galatians 4:6 ). At the very beginning, our purpose was clear. God is the source of my satisfaction. The priestly role, however, was not new. Like King Saul, you will find yourself striving to please man instead of God. The priests who had been both cleansed and consecrated, or made holy, could actually enter into Gods outer apartment the Holy Place. It may require time and effort but will prove itself in a transformed life and the intense joy of experiencing Gods presence. invites us to satisfy our hunger for the holiness of God as we meditate on the psalms and are challenged to know the God of the universe in a personal, intimate relationship. But he will never force you. The whole history of redemption can be summarized as God bringing those who were once far off near forever by the blood of his Son (Ephesians 2:13). Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. Jeremiah 33:3, 2. You will learn to trust him even when everything seems lost. But for that to happen, we need to, first of all, have intimacy with the Holy Spirit. Intimacy with God does take a lot of effort. When you give your life to Jesus, God adopts you into his family. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. God walked with his people in Eden ( Genesis 3:8 ), and he dwelled and walked with his people through the tabernacle ( Leviticus 26:12 ). First, in a world that regularly defines intimacy as something sexual, it is a difficult concept to fathom when it comes to God. Spend copious time pursuing God(Hebrews 7:19). I want to be close, and that closeness includes physical proximity, personal openness, and seeking Christ together. God is impressed with our faith, not our feats. This goes far beyond any closeness we could have imagined. Choose one of the options below. We need to learn how to forgive others and ourselves to move forward with our lives. God wants you to go to him, and in doing so, he will reveal himself to you. Just as a bear would get vicious if someone harmed her cubs, God wont let anything harm us. I wrote about this in Are You Just Waiting for the Celestial Express?. He has given me warnings and encouragements; healing and transformation; deeper understanding of His Word; and so much more. Our actions influence others, and this can be positively or negatively. If theres relational distance between them due to a lack of trust, the aesthetics themselves have no power to bridge the distance. The degree to which trust is compromised in a relationship is the degree to which intimacy evaporates. 3. Distractions hinder, making the journey longer. But they that wait upon the LORD shall renewtheirstrength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary;andthey shall walk, and not faint. To reckon means to accept as a fact for yourself and in your own experience. Relational Gospel Founder. Intimacy with God often occurs in the places where we must trust him most. When we pray in the spirit, we unite with the Holy Spirit on a deeper level. If your desire is to grow closer to God, then make prayer a priority in your life. Holy living makes us useful and effective for God's purposes ( 2 Timothy 2:20-26 ). Well, God cannot take away the Holy Spirit from us like it was in the Old Testament. Jumping ahead to the exodus from Egypt, each head of household functioned as a priest during the first Passover: the people offered sacrifices and had a fellowship meal, and God came close. If something happens that damages the intimacy with our friend, they feel distant from us. Seek direct healing from the Father and the impartation of the missing pieces of your childhood. We look at the world differently. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 10:4-5). It is born out of the struggle that all of us feel yet few satisfy - to spend more meaningful and intimate time with God in prayer. The secret to drawing near to God and having him draw near to us is revealed clearly in the Bible: we draw near to God through faith in Christ who alone gives us access to him (Hebrews 4:1416; 7:25; Philippians 3:9), and we put our trust in all of his precious and very great promises which find their Yes to us in Christ (2 Peter 1:4; 2 Corinthians 1:20). 3 Privileges of Intimacy with the Father September 22, 2018 by: Tim Chester 1. Then youll have the mental energy to pursue your purpose and intimacy with God. You may be wondering how do I increase intimacy with God? The more believers spend time in the presence of God, the stronger they become spiritually and physically. 11. When did you last read the word of God and spent some time thinking about what you read? Which means his invitation to you to enjoy intimacy with him is the providences in your life that are testing your faith more than anything else. When we are going through difficult times, and we feel like giving up, we can go back to our journals. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Cite this. The thing that motivates you to obey God is vital. 2. And you will have stronger faith to wait on God to provide what you need. Not just, but when we forgive, we also get to enjoy our relationship with God. We were created to be like our Lord, to be close to him, to live with him in his house, and to participate in his abundant life. Intimacy with God. The disciples of Jesus were not able to do great things until they received the Holy Spirit. Why? With all the noise around us, it is hard for us to have our own quiet time. Formy yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 5. I don't care who you are. Paul writes about our intimacy with God this way: "You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cried, 'Abba! And their testimonies encourage us to continue being faithful in our walk with God. If there is anything that we need in this hour, it is intimacy with God. And this helps us to maintain a kingdom mindset even when faced with big challenges. But the Son takes them up and presents them to the Father, and the Father bestows incorruptibility. Secrets and guilt create walls and isolation. Free shipping in the US for orders of $9 or more. Not all theology is created equal. Gods Favor:Similar to Joseph, when we wait on God, He will exalt us to high places that we cant get to on our own. Get a few copies to bless your friends and family. As Ive noted in previous blogs, our soul consciousness can comprehend the realities of both the natural and spiritual realms. The triune God is intimate and close within himself, and he created us to be close to him. In Christ, you are a royal priest. Here are eleven proven ways that will help you to grow intimacy with God: There is more to growing intimacy with God than just having head knowledge. And you enjoy a certain level of intimacy with him. Others pursue it in contemporary worship events designed to inspire an experience of immanence. The abundance includes experiencing Gods presence and spiritual life. Paul said the exercise of our spiritual senses aides our overall maturity: When we fellowship with God and act on what He says, we experience our Eternal Father and can learn to live a Spirit-led life. The Bible tells us to do everything as unto God and not man. Releasing this hormone increases trust in a relationship, bonds people together, and causes intimacy. We need help from the Holy Spirit to understand spiritual matters. Required fields are marked *. Meaning we should not wait for certain times to experience the presence of God. Our interest in closeness exists because intimacy and fellowship are so fundamental to the character of God. His spirit will show you things to come if you become intimate with Him. xoxo. Yield yourself unto Him so that He will reveal His secrets to you. The priestly work in Eden was to "work" and "keep" the garden ( Genesis 2:15 ), and the Levites were to "guard" and . Now, this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Misconception #5: Its too hard to figure out 'how' to get intimate with God. As Christians, we want to experience intimacy with God. People like Enoch and Noah walked with God; Abraham was a friend of God. You will Enjoy your Relationship with God 7. As we read God's Word, memorize scripture, and apply the principles to our lives, we grow and take on the likeness of Christ. Also Related: The Top13 Benefits of Seeking Gods Presence. It is a trick of the enemy to keep them from the solution to their sin. If a man has a history of fornication, is he disqualified from the office of pastor or can he still be considered the husband of one wife? From that intimate place, we are a people sent out toward others, to invite them to draw near to the reigning Lord. It turns out to be a short step from a simple observation about human nearness to our mission as royal priests. He will become your strength in difficult situations. The imprint of this nearness is so strong that it overflows through humanity and creation. Blinded by their own selfish independence, they dont know what theyre missing. We need to build ourselves up in this holy faith during such wilderness periods (Jude 20). Then we would listen to the God who comes to our door and knocks as he reclaims us to our role as royal priests. Prayer is simply communicating with God. We too are in that line. An intimate friend is someone we feel very close to; they know us at a deep level. 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