As I’ve considered my last year of life and ministry, I look ahead to what is to come. At this stage of my life I know there are fewer days ahead of me than there are behind. I want my life to count for something. So in the last few years I’ve done something to deepen my spiritual life and make me more effective in my ministry and witness.
I’ve increased my time in scripture and in prayer.
As I’ve done this it has occurred to me that I’ve never met a person who regretted spending more time in scripture and in prayer. It is like a marriage. The more time you spend with your spouse, the better you get to know and appreciate one another. It’s all about intimacy.
Are you intimate with God? What does that even mean?
When the Bible refers to sexual intimacy between two people it uses the term “know.” So and so “knew” someone. The use of the word, “know” when referring to physical intimacy and knowing God was experiential. Consider I John 2:14. “I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning.” By saying, “from the beginning,” John is noting that spiritual fathers have been intimate with God for a long time.
How is your time with the Lord?
There are two things we can do to increase our intimacy with the Lord. Spend more time in scripture. Spend more time in prayer.
Imagine a marriage where you only spend a few minutes a day with your spouse. You wouldn’t be very close or intimate, would you? Nothing beats time in a relationship. The same is true in your relationship with the Lord.
Prayer and intimacy are related. In physical intimacy we bare ourselves to our partner in the most vulnerable way. So too, prayer bares ourselves to God in an even more intimate way. Reading or studying the Bible isn’t enough. Prayer is the key to personal intimacy with God. And prayer isn’t enough. Scripture is the key to knowing God’s heart. So, let me share with you my favorite passages of scripture to help you along in your journey of intimacy with God.
My favorite passage is Deuteronomy 32:47. Speaking of itself, the scripture says, “This is not an idle word for you. Indeed, it is your life.”
Is the scripture your everyday priority? How do you know what takes priority in your life? You can determine that by analyzing what you spend your attention on. Aside from work, which takes up so much of our time, where does scripture fit into your day? If you’re spending more time on social media than on God’s word, you may have a problem. If prayer is only a few minutes a day or less, then you have an intimacy problem.
Consider this passage as well. Jeremiah 9:24. “Let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things.”
Did you catch that? You can not only “know” the Lord (that’s intimacy), but you can “understand” him. Can you say you understand the Lord? Why does he do the things he does? What motivates him? What does he take pleasure in? Do I take pleasure in the things that please him?
The only way to learn these things is to prioritize scripture and prayer. God never reveals the deep things of the spirit to the person who just drops by for a little chat. Consider your friendships. Chances are you are closer to the people you spend the most time with.
Remember Daniel. The angel called him, “Man greatly loved.” Daniel prayed three times a day. Remember the apostle John. He was “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” John was closest to Jesus in his ministry and suffering.
Making Christ your chief affection in life doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s simply a matter of time. You already have a Bible. You already have time. You have everything you need to become intimate with God.
I have a daughter that has nine children. She home schools them. She cares for their daily needs. She grows her own food. She leads worship in church. She prepares three meals a day for her family. She serves her husband’s needs. I know of no one busier than her. Yet she finds daily time for intimacy with God. How? Because Jesus is her priority. He is the chief affection of her life.
Consider all of the spiritual resources at your disposal. Deuteronomy 30:11-14 tells us what we have. “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.”
If you want to be a truly spiritual man or woman, if you really want to know God intimately, if you want the abundant life Jesus talked about, then nothing beats spending daily time in scripture and prayer and doing so over a lifetime. And it’s never too late to start. Spending more time in study and prayer has changed me. It will change you too.
Make Jesus Christ and the scripture your DAILY priority. Seek God daily and really know him. It will transform your life, I promise. You will never regret it.
Someone you know may need to read this. Please share it with others.
