Intimacy with God should be the #1 priority in our lives.
All mighty men and women of God had intimacy with Him. Enoch, Abraham, Jacob, Moses and the disciples had tremendous intimacy with God. We can see how Moses had intimacy with God from reading Exodus 33: 7-23. Intimacy with God is vital to a fulfilling life and it can be sought in the following ways:
The first key is the TENT OF MEETING
We should have a meeting place with God. Our own tent of the meeting. It could be a place in the house or outside the house. This is the secret place of the Most High. We should spend time with God daily. We get to know a person more intimately only as we spend more time with that person. It’s the same with God. The more time we spend with God, the more we will get to know Him deeply and intimately. We read about Enoch in the book of Genesis, how he walked with God in habitual fellowship. God was so pleased with Enoch that He just took him away Enoch never experienced death because of his intimacy with the Lord.
The second key to intimacy with God is WORSHIP
God is seeking worshippers.
There are a very few places in Scripture where it says that God Himself is seeking someone. And John 4.24 is one of the places. The primary activity of Heaven is worship. The angels never stop crying “Holy Holy Holy is the Lord Almighty who was, and is, and is to come.”
One Hebrew word for worship is ‘proskuneo’ which means to kiss. When we worship God, we are kissing His beautiful face. We become like the person we worship. Many husbands and wives start looking like each other after staying together for many years.
The third key to intimacy with God is becoming ADDICTED TO HIS PRESENCE
There is nothing like the presence of God. There is no high like the Most High. The more you have Him, the more you want Him. His presence is so beautiful.
In the book of Exodus, we read about Joshua, the young assistant of Moses. When Moses finished talking with God and went out of the Tent of the meeting, Joshua would continue to linger in the Presence of God. He was hungry to get even the crumbs of His Presence. He had such a passion for the Presence of God. No wonder God chose him to lead the children of Israel after Moses.
The fourth key to intimacy with God is the FAVOR OF GOD
The favor of God means the blessing of God. Without the favor of God, we can never know Him. Mike Bickle says that it takes God to love God. Unless He chooses to reveal Himself to us, we can’t know Him. We need to ask God for more hunger and thirst for Him. Jesus said, “Blessed are the hungry, for they shall be filled.” If we cry out passionately for more of Him, He will hear our cry and answer us.
The fifth key to intimacy with God is to KNOW HIS WAYS
In Psalms 103.7 it says, ”God made His ways known to Moses and His acts to the children of Israel.” His ways are higher than our ways. We need to surrender to His ways and don’t insist on doing things our way. That is when we will come to know Him more deeply and intimately.
The sixth key to intimacy with God is to SEEK HIS GLORY
The Hebrew word for Glory is ‘kavod’ which means ‘weighty’ presence. The Greek word for Glory is ‘doxa’ which means brilliance or radiance. The glory of God brings intimacy, signs, and wonders.
The more intimacy we have with God, the more of His glory we shall experience. The more of His glory we experience, the more we will become intimate with Him.
The seventh key to intimacy with God is to SEEK HIS FACE
His face is lovely. There is no one like Him.
In 1994, there was a great revival in Toronto, Canada. Thousands of people flocked to get a touch from God. But the main feature of this revival was the love of God. People came to seek the face of God and were powerfully touched and then carried the anointing back to their churches from all over the world. They were powerfully touched when they sought His face. His touch made a total difference in their lives.
One of the persons who was powerfully touched in that revival was Heidi Baker. Today she is working in the African nation of Mozambique and she has started many churches which is absolutely amazing. Another minister of the Gospel was touched in Toronto. His name is Leif Hetland. God called him to go to the Muslims of Pakistan and other nations and he has led thousands of Muslim people to the Lord. All this came about because they sought intimacy with God. They were seeking his face diligently and passionately.
The message of Intimacy with God is a central message of the Bible. The greatest commandment in the Bible is the commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said that this is the greatest commandment in the Bible. So my friends, intimacy with God should be the main reason why we live. As it says in the Book of Revelation chapter 4, we were created for the pleasure of God. And as the book of prayer in England says, “The chief end of man is to glorify God.”
I pray that the Lord himself will give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation to understand this message and not only that but that you will experience intimacy with God to such a degree that it will consume your life and that you will be a conduit to impart that same anointing of intimacy to many in the Body of Christ. I pray that there will be a revival of intimacy with God in the Church throughout the world. Amen.
By Nitin Khaire