…Learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. (1 Chronicles 28:9, NLT)
God’s greatest pursuit is to know us intimately, and He invites us to do life with Him. Could there be a greater quest? Paul said, “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:8, NLT)
Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ was Jeanne Guyon’s passion. So vital was this mission that she wrote a book by the same name. This seventeenth-century Frenchwoman influenced believers like John Wesley, Hudson Taylor, and Watchman Nee. Regarding intimacy, she said:
“Let me ask you…do you desire to know the Lord in a deep way? God has made such an experience, such a walk, possible for you. He has made it possible through the grace He has given to all His redeemed children. He has done it by means of His Holy Spirit. How then will you come to the Lord to know Him in such a deep way? Prayer is the key.”*
So, how would you describe prayer in relation to knowing God intimately? Carefully read Jesus’ prayer in Matthew 6:5-15. What can you learn from Him and apply in your life?
Adapted from: The Holy Spirit: An Introduction (Messenger International, 2013)
