8 Keys to Intimacy With God: A Biblical Guide to Growing Closer to God

What are the keys to intimacy with God ? How can you have the closest possible and most intimate fellowship with God ?

In this series of Bible study articles we will look at the 8 keys to intimacy with God. In this article we will look at the first 4 keys to intimacy with God. These are the things we need to incorporate into our daily walk with God. In order to experience the fullest relationship and intimacy with God.

Remember that intimacy with God is all about having a restored and close relationship with God. It is not the same as a religion. Religion is very much different than having a restored relationship with God through His son Jesus Christ.

 

Can You Be God’s Friend ?

There are many people these days that believe that God does not exist. There are many others that believe that God is some far away, impersonal spirit that takes pleasure in punishing people and making their life difficult. Sometimes if a person has had a bad experience with their own father, or had a father that abandoned them, they will have a hard time seeing God for who He really is. And it will then be difficult to personally know God.

 

God Is Love Relationship Oriented

The Bible tells us that God is not some far away impersonal spirit. God can seem that way to some people, and it is more challenging to many because God is not visible to us. Acts 17:27 says “that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” The Bible promises us in many verses that if we will seek to personally know God, then we will find Him and ultimately know Him. 

God is a loving and caring personal love-relationship oriented father. He loves us and He very much desires to have a restored relationship with us. “God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” – I Timothy 2:4. God wants everyone to be saved… to first have a restored relationship with Him, then close fellowship with Him, and ultimately eternal life with Him in heaven when our life here is done.

 

A Restored Relationship With God

The first important thing in order to begin to know God for who He really is, and have close fellowship with Him and personally know God… You have to have a restored or reconciled relationship with God. God’s Word the Bible clearly shows that we all have a broken relationship with God because of our sins, and that we need to have this taken care of. Many people try to solve this problem of sin and separation from God and a broken relationship with Him themselves. People try many things to try to reach out to God and personally know Him… they try Religion, or Philosophy, or Church, or doing good things, or giving money to charity…

Also, we are all created with a built in need to personally know God and have a restored relationship and fellowship with Him. When this need is not met, then we will have a void in our life. Many people do not know what it is, but they will know that something is missing in their life or that something is not right. People will try all types of things to try to fill this void in their life… Relationships with people, Sex, Drugs, Alcohol, Pleasure, Recreation, Money, Career,…

 

Salvation & The Gospel of Jesus Christ (How to Have A Restored Relationship With God)

Step 1: God loves you and wants you to experience peace and life – abundant and eternal life

• “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Romans 5:1
• “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16
• God loves you so much that He sent His only Son Jesus to suffer and then die a very painful death on a cross, to make it possible for us to have a restored relationship with Him.
• “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10 

Step 2: The Problem – Our Sin & Separation From God

• “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23
• “For the wages of sin is death (eternal separation from God), but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23
• “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” – Isaiah 59:2
• Our sins are personally against God, and cause us to have a broken relationship with Him, and to be separated from Him.
• Sin is not just breaking some religious rule or law. Sin is personally against God… “Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.” – Psalm 51:4

Our Attempts To Reach God

• people have tried in many ways to bridge this gap and separation between themselves and God … good works, religion, philosophy, morality,… and none work … except One
• “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” – Proverbs 14:12
• Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one may come to the Father except through me.”     – John 14:6

Step 3: God’s Solution To Our Problem – Salvation & Gospel of Jesus Christ And The Cross

• “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.” – I Timothy 2:5
• “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”                    – I Peter 3:18
• “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”           – Romans 5:8
• Jesus is God’s answer and solution to our problem of sin, eternal separation from God, and eternal punishment for our sins.
• “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16
• Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one may come to the Father except through me.”      – John 14:6

Step 4: Our Response: Repent, Put Your Faith in Jesus, and Receive Christ As Your Lord & Savior 

• you must trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and receive Him by faith and personal invitation:
• “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” – Revelation 3:20
• “That if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9
• “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” – Mark 1:14-15
• “Yet to all who did receive him (Jesus), to those who believed in his name (Jesus), he gave the right to become children of God.” – John 1:12

 

Commit Your Life to Jesus

Receive Jesus means that you need to commit your life to Him and follow Him as your Lord & Savior. Nearly everyone wants Jesus to be their friend. Nearly everyone also wants Jesus to be their Savior and save them from their sins and the eternal punishment of hell. But many people do not really want Jesus to be their Lord.

The Lord of their life. Which means to give up control and the rights to their life to Jesus. It may mean you need to give up your dreams and goals and plans, and accept Jesus’ will and plans instead. It may cost you a lot. Their is a cost to follow Jesus as Lord & Savior and be His disciple (a disciple is a learner & follower of Jesus). You need to commit your life to Jesus, and commit to follow Him as your Lord and Savior.

 

The Final Requirement For Salvation & A Restored Relationship With God

Jesus also stated the final requirement for salvation and a restored relationship with God. In John 1:12 Jesus tells us that we need to accept His Son Jesus Christ in order to receive the gift of salvation and become one of God’s children. 

“But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” – John 1:12

Only by repenting from sins, and placing your faith and hope in Jesus Christ alone, and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior can one experience the joy of having a right love relationship with God.

 

You Can Receive Jesus As Your Lord & Savior

If you have never trusted and received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, but you are ready to do so, then you can do it right now. In order to have a restored relationship with God you need to do the 2 things that Jesus said in Mark 1:14-15, and also to receive Jesus as Lord & Savior as in John 1:12 and commit to follow Him:

1. Admit your need (“I am a sinner and I need a savior”)
2. Be willing to turn from your sins (repent – Mark 1:14-15).
3. Believe with all of your heart that Jesus loves you and died for your sins and paid the price for them. Believe also that Jesus rose again from the grave after 3 days, and later ascended back to heaven. (Mark 1:14-15 and John 1:12)
4. 4. Through prayer, talk to and invite Jesus Christ to come into your life and be your Lord and Savior, and commit to follow Him in your life:

 

Speak to God (Prayer)

“Dear Lord, Thank you for loving me very much, and for sending Jesus to die for my sins. Lord, I have sins in my life. Please forgive me for all of my sins. And dear Lord Jesus, please come into my life, and be my Lord and Savior. I commit my life to you, to follow You and Your ways. And I repent and turn away from my sins, and I turn back to you. Please give me peace with God and eternal life in heaven. Please teach me your ways, and help me grow closer to you. In Jesus name. Amen.”

 

Assurance of Salvation

If you have done these things – you truly repented of your sins, put all of your faith and hope in Jesus Christ, and received Him as your Lord & Savior and committed your life to follow Him, and you meant it sincerely with all your heart – then now you for sure have a reconciled relationship with God, peace with God and eternal life, and new life in Jesus.

• “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” – Romans 10:13
• “Those who have the Son (Jesus) have life. Those who do not have the Son do not have life. These things have I written, that you may know you have eternal life.” – I John 5:12-13

 

Once you have a restored personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you can begin to seek to have intimate fellowship with Him and you can get to know God more and more. In Part 2 of this series we will look at what it takes for you to have intimacy with God and how you can know God personally.

 

Can you know God personally ?

The Bible indicates that you can. The Hebrew word “yada” is used in the Old Testament and is translated in English as the word “Know” or “Knowledge”. 

The Hebrew Word Yada

The word yada in Hebrew has a much wider sweep and meaning than the English word know. The Biblical Old Testament word for Know God personally means the following:

• to Perceive
• to Learn
• Understand
• to Recognize
• to Believe
• Accept His Claims
• to Conform
• to Be Willing
• Perform or Live (to please God)
• to Obey
• to See or Experience

Can you know God personally ? The above English words that come out of the Hebrew word “yada” all hold important keys to getting to know God personally, the way that He wants us to know Him. Not just to know about God, but to know Him personally and in real ways by experiencing & seeing Him in your life.

The opposite of knowing God is not ignorance or a lack of knowledge, but is Rebellion. The things that hinder our knowing God personally are a lack of faith, a lack of conforming or submitting to Him, disobedience, and rebellion.

The Greek Words For Know God

The Greek words “oida” and “ginosko” are used in the New Testament for Knowing God. They have the wider meanings as the Hebrew word “yada”, but in the context that they are used in the New Testament, they also have the following additional meaning:

• to Believe & Receive Jesus (John 1:12)
• Know Truth (John 14:6)
• to Know Jesus is to Know God  (Hebrews 1:1-3)
• to Respond in Faith (Mark 1:14-15, John 1:12)

 

A Restored Personal Relationship With God

Can you know God personally and intimately ? In order to truly know God personally, first you have to repent (turn away from) of your sins. Then you need to place all of your faith in His Son Jesus Christ (not in a religion, or a church, or in good works… only in Jesus), and also commit your life to follow Jesus and receive Him as your Lord and Savior.

Once you have a restored relationship with God through faith in Jesus, you begin a new relationship and fellowship with Him. It is a long process to grow closer to God, to grow in your faith in Him, and to be transformed to Jesus’ image and character (see Romans 8:28-29) and His will, and to become like Him. It requires spending a lot of time with God and seeking Him.

 

Seek God With All Your Heart

It is possible to know God in personal and real ways. Your heart has to be right towards God. You need to seek Him and spend time with Him, in order for you to know God personally. In His word the Bible God promises that if we seek Him we will find Him (and ultimately you can know God personally). 

• “O, the fullness, the pleasure, the sheer excitement of knowing God on earth.” – Jim Elliott
• “Teach me Your ways, so that I may know you, and continue to find favor with You.”                                 – Moses (Exodus 33:13)
• “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” – Paul (Philippians 3:7-10)

 

Religion vs Relationship With Jesus Christ

A relationship with Jesus emphasizes a personal, intimate connection with Him. A relationship that is rooted in faith, love, and devotion. It focuses on understanding Jesus’ teachings, experiencing His presence, and following Him as Lord of your life.

In contrast, religion often refers to a structured system of beliefs, rituals, and practices that help guide a community in worship and moral living. While religion can facilitate a relationship with Jesus, it can sometimes become more about rules, traditions, and external behaviors than about a deeply personal connection with Christ.

Ultimately, a relationship with Jesus is about experiencing His love and grace firsthand. Whereas religion may sometimes focus more on outward observances and institutionalized practices.

 

Religion vs Relationship With Jesus Christ

Being a religious person can be very different than having a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. Religion is man’s self effort at reaching God. A religious person can be following religious rituals in his/her life, and yet the heart can be far from God. Religious rituals can include going to church, reading the Bible as a religious book, fasting, and even prayer.

When you read the Bible about Jesus’ life here on earth, you see that the people Jesus had the most trouble with were religious people. Especially religious leaders. They talked the talk very well, but did not live out their religious beliefs. In fact they were very hypocritical in their lifestyles. Their hearts were so far from God that they did not even recognize God’s own Son Jesus. And they did not believe that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah and Savior.

Religion often involves trying hard to follow a set of religious rules or restrictions. Hoping that these efforts will lead to forgiveness and God’s favor. There are many more religious people in churches today than there are people who truly have a restored and committed personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

God’s Plan For Redemption And Salvation

God’s plan of redemption and salvation is not based on people’s efforts and good works. If it were you would have to be perfect in order to qualify this way. You would have to perfectly obey God’s commands and principles in your life. No one is perfect. Only Jesus Christ lived a sinless and perfect life.

God’s plan of redemption and salvation is based on His amazing Love and amazing grace for us. His plan involved His precious Son Jesus paying the price and penalty for our sins on the cross. To be able to receive the gift of salvation and a restored relationship with God, and eternal life in heaven, you need to do the 3 things that the Bible reveals.

 

Religion vs Relationship With Jesus Christ

God’s Requirements For A Restored Relationship & Eternal Life

First, you need to repent of your sins. This means you need to turn away from sins and turn back in your heart to God. Then you need to put all of your faith and hope in Jesus Christ and in what He did for you on the cross. Not in any religion, or in church, or in your own efforts. Simply put all of your faith and hope in Jesus Christ alone. 

Jesus himself stated these first 2 requirements for salvation and a restored relationship with God in Mark 1:15. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.”

 

Religion – Self Effort And Works To Try to Earn God’s Favor

Religion is man’s way to try to reach up to God. It is an attempt to try to earn God’s favor and blessings. And an effort to receive salvation and forgiveness for sins from God.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

But no one can earn their way into heaven. Unless he or she is perfect in obeying God’s commands and laws. 

Religion vs Relationship With Jesus Christ

Religion

• Goal: reach out to God, try to work your way into heaven
• Means: diligent service & works, with hopes of a reward (heaven)
• Power: good, honest effort through self-determination
• Control: self-motivation and self control
• Results: apathy, failure, chronic guilt, eternal separation from God

 

Religion vs Relationship With Jesus Christ

Salvation Through Faith In Jesus Christ (Personal Relationship)

• Goal: trust fully in Jesus, then live to please Him
• Means: confess sins, repent, yield self to Jesus
• Power: the Holy Spirit does God’s work in and through us
• Control: submit & allow the Holy Spirit to control & direct our lives
• Results: love, joy, peace, freedom, victory, power, eternal life in heaven,…

 

“Man’s way to reach God is religion; God’s way to reach man is Jesus.”

“I (Jesus) am the way, the truth, and the life. No one may come to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6

“Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”  – Mark 1:14-15

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” – John 1:12

 

True Salvation & The Biblical Requirements

 

Being that it is a personal relationship, the 8 keys to intimacy with God are similar to some of the keys to have a good relationship.

 

The Keys to Intimacy With God

There are many similarities between having a good marriage relationship with your spouse and having a good personal relationship with God. In the Bible, there is a lot of language that refers to marriage in describing a personal relationship with God. Those who receive and profess Jesus as their Lord & Savior are referred to as the “bride of Christ”.

• In Jeremiah 2:2 God says “I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert”
• Jeremiah 3:14 – God speaks to His people after they had left Him: “Return, faithless people, declares the Lord, for I am your husband.”
• In Jeremiah 3:20: “But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to Me.”

 

The Keys to Intimacy With God

We Are God’s First Love

We are God’s 1st love, and He wants to be our 1st love and have an intimate personal relationship with us.

• “God who has called you into fellowship (“koinania”) with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord is faithful.”                – 1 Corinthians 1:9

“Koinania” is the Greek word for fellowship: it means “the closest possible fellowship and intimacy with God, complete oneness and unity with God, and a partnership with God in His kingdom work and mission.”

In order to have this type of intimacy with God, there are some vital keys to intimacy with God that we have to have in order to have a wonderful and intimate fellowship with Jesus. Here are the first 4 keys to intimacy with God:

 

The Keys to Intimacy With God – #1 – Commitment & Faithfulness

Deuteronomy 5:7-9 “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…”

Revelation 2:4-5 “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

Psalm 100:5  “For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

1 Chronicles 28:9 “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”

 

Fully Devoted To Jesus

Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to…”

The Greek word for devoted literally means to “latch on and refuse to let go”. They were not religious people devoted to a religion or a church or to doing religious things. The early disciples & church “latched on” to Jesus and fully committed themselves to Him, even though they had to sacrifice much and even suffer for Him. Many of them died because they followed Jesus and did everything He commanded them to do.

God is fully devoted and committed and faithful to us, and His love is an unfailing, forever loyal love. He wants us to be fully devoted and committed to Him in return, and to love Him as He loves us. Would a marriage be very good if only 1 of the 2 people were totally committed to the other ? Our relationship with God will not be very good if we are not as committed to Him as He is to us

 

The Keys to Intimacy With God – #2 – Love

Deuteronomy 6:5  “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” 

1 Timothy 1:12-14 “I thank Christ Jesus our LORD, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our LORD was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” 

2 Corinthians 5:9, 14-15 ” So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it… For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

Luke 9:23 “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” 

 

Love For God

1 John 5:3 “In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.”

Psalm 91:14-16 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

The Greek word “agape” (New Testament) for Love means “unconditional & sacrificial love”, which Jesus demonstrated when He suffered and died on the cross to pay for the sins of the ones He loved. God wants us to love Him and others in the same way He loves us… sacrificially and unconditionally.

 

The Keys to Intimacy With God

The Keys to Intimacy With God – #3 – Respect (Honor, Reverence)

Psalm 25:12-14 “Who, then, are those who fear the LORD? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land. The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.”

Luke 11:1-2 “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “LORD, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.” 

Acts 2:43, 47 “Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles… praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the LORD added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (it was the Lord that did the great acts and wonders through the apostles)

1 Samuel 2:30 “Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.:

The Biblical word for “fear” means to be in awe of God, and to greatly respect and have a great reverence for Him. God is worthy of our reverence, and the more we know Him the more we will reverence Him and be in awe of Him. The word Praise means to “place great value on someone”, so when we praise God we are communicating how much we care for Him and value Him.

 

The Keys to Intimacy With God – #4 – Trust & Faith

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Psalm 91:1-2 “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 22:4-5 “In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.”

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” 

Psalm 62:5-8 “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”

You simply cannot have a good, intimate relationship with God (or with your spouse) if you cannot trust. Faith is absolutely vital in walking with God and having close fellowship with Him. Because God’s ways are so different than our own (Isaiah 55:8-9), there will be times we will not understand what He is doing or why He is doing the things He is doing. Trust and faith is absolutely vital during these times.

The Keys to Intimacy With God

8 Keys to Intimacy With God – #5 – Intimate Communication – You Listen (God Speaks)

John 10:2-4,10, 27 “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice… I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

1 Kings 19:11-13 “The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”

 

Our Heart Attitude Needs to Be: Speak Lord For Your Servant Is Listening

1 Samuel 3:10 “The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

 

Listening to God Is The Most Important Part of Our Prayer Time With God

Psalm 46:10 “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God…”

Ecclesiastes 5:1 “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.”

Luke 10:38-42 “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the LORD’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “LORD, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the LORD answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 

Blessed Are Those Who Hear God’s Voice & Obey

Luke 11:28 “But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Hearing God’s voice is the most important part of our prayer time with Him. That is why we should get in the habit of reading God’s word and hearing His voice before we share our prayer requests and petitions with God.

Good communication and learning to hear His “still small voice” is essential to knowing God. And to knowing His attributes, His will, and His plans, and God’s calling on your life.

 

 

8 Keys to Intimacy With God – #6 – Intimate Communication – You Speak (Prayer)

Acts 1:14 “Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”

Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him.”

 

We Need to Devote Ourselves to God And to Prayer

Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. “

Matthew 7:7 “Ask (“keep on asking”) and it will be given to you; seek (“keep on seeking”) and you will find; knock (“keep on knocking”) and the door will be opened to you.”

God wants us to talk to Him about and involve Him in all aspects of our life. And He wants us to have a lifestyle of prayer & talking to Him. God wants us to share our heart and our life with Him, including our needs, hurts, and struggles. God loves you and He wants you to involve Him in your life. He cares, so He wants to hear from you.

 

 

The Keys to Intimacy With God

8 Keys to Intimacy With God – #7 – Time & Effort To Know God 

John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” 

Luke 10:38-39 “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the LORD’s feet listening to what he said.”

Exodus 33:13, 17-18 “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you”… And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

Luke 6:12-13 “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.”

 

God Wants to Reveal Himself & Spiritual Truth to Us

Matthew 11:25-27 ” At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, LORD of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. 27″All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Philippians 3:8,10 “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my LORD, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ-yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death”

 

When You Love Someone You Want to Be With Them

When you love someone you want to know them more & more. You want to spend time with them. It takes time & effort & desire & determination in order to get to know God. It is a lifelong process and a heart attitude. A heart attitude of desire and passion for God.

 

8 Keys to Intimacy With God – #8 – Honesty

Psalm 62:8 “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” 

Psalm 13:1-4 “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? And how long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.”

Psalm 22:1-2, 14-15 “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my [c]groaning. O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; and by night, but I have no rest… I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me [m]in the dust of death.”

 

God Wants Us to Pour Out Our Hearts to Him

1 Samuel 1:10-11 “In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” 

Psalm 51:2-4, 10-12 “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.”… “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

 

God Wants to Be Involved In Your Life

God wants you to “pour out your heart to Him” (Psalm 62:8). Whatever it is you are feeling and going through, God wants to hear about it. Because He deeply cares for you. God wants you to be open and honest with Him. Note how David would be completely honest with God in some of the Psalms (Psalm 13, 22,…). Hannah poured out her heart and soul to God when she was in anguish about not having a child. God is always truthful with us, and He wants us to be truthful and open and honest with Him.

Make knowing God and having intimacy with God your main desire and pursuit. Nothing will please Him more. The more you know Jesus the more you will love Him, and trust Him, and delight in Him, and follow & obey Him.

 

 

 

Pursuing Intimacy With God

Pursuing Intimacy With God is committed to helping you with the most important thing in your life… your intimacy with God , your fellowship with Him, and your partnership with God in His Kingdom work & mission.

There are hundreds of Bible verses and great truths & promises in the Pursuing Intimacy With God studies.

** New Expanded Edition of Pursuing Intimacy With God Bible Studies Book – 40% more material

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Book of Revelation Bible Study Series

 

Other Links

Religion vs Relationship With God

Testimonies Of God At Work

God’s Spiritual Goals For You

Why Should You Pray & Spend Time With God ?

Is Jesus Your First Love ?

Is Jesus Your First Love ? Part 2

Prayer Is Passion To Seek & Know God

God’s Purpose & Mission For You And Your Church

Spiritual Gifts: All Christians Have Gifts

Hope In A Dark World

Jesus Wants To Heal You & Set You Free

Salvation & The Gospel Of Jesus Christ

The Kind of Christian & Church God Wants