I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that we have a chance to connect at such a deep level with the almighty, to get intimate with an infinite force! God gave us free will to choose Him, an invitation, respecting our choices, without wanting to control us. Want intimacy with Him? Then make the first move towards Him. From Genesis to Revelation we read of a God who loves His people and desires to have fellowship with them. Since this is such an important matter to God, it also needs to be high on our list of priorities. As we commit ourselves to grow in intimacy with God through prayer, it is important that we examine biblical accounts of those who had this intimate walk with God. It will help us better grasp how special a close relationship can be.
David provides one of the best examples of intimacy with God in prayer. In spite of his sins and problems, David longed for intimacy with the Lord. Feel David’s passion in this Psalm:
O God, my God! How I search for you!
Psalm 63:1-8
How I thirst for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
How I long to find you!
How I wish I could go into your sanctuary to see your strength and glory,
For your love and kindness are better to me than life itself.
How I praise you! I will bless you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. At last I shall be fully satisfied; I will praise you with great joy.
I lie awake at night thinking of you— of how much you have helped me—
and how I rejoice through the night beneath the protecting shadow of your wings.
I follow close behind you, protected by your strong right arm
David cries out for God, expressing his desire for intimacy with Him. Could it be that we are not intimate with God because we don’t want to be? Have we never gotten thirsty enough to desire Him and Him alone? Are our lives so saturated with things and activities that we have never really missed being alone with God?
Three simple steps to grow in this area of intimacy and develop such a passion for God
- Spend more time with God
- Spend more time with people who are in love with God
- Spend more time getting to know God through His word
Nothing is more practical than
finding God, than
falling in Love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, whom you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in Love, stay in love,
and it will decide everything.
~ Pedro Arrupe SJ
Kenrick Vaz 