Intimacy: What You Need NOW!

 

Do you know the Holy Spirit is your friend, and that you can relate with Him just the same way you would relate with any close friend? Do you know He can help you with that relationship? Do you know He is closer to you than you think? The Person of the Holy Spirit has

been given to you to help you handle everything about your life. It is your responsibility to get to know Him for yourself and build up an intimate relationship with Him. Learn to tell Him everything, even while walking along the street. 

This was a habit I cultivated and practiced a lot as an undergraduate in Ahmadu Bello University. Many times, as I walked from my apartment in Area BZ to the Department of English and Literary Studies, I’d be busy communing with the Spirit, sometimes even getting carried away and praying in the Spirit, not minding the stares of passersby.

Learn to speak to Him. He hears. Abraham learnt to communicate with God; that was why he was bold enough to go all the way to intercede for Sodom, as we see in Genesis 18:17-33. In fact, from verses 18-21, we see that God loves the way Abraham has brought himself to be intimate with Him.

Consider also the following Scriptures:

And Jehoshaphat took his place in the meeting of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord in front of the new open space,

And said, O Lord, the God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? are you not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in your hands are power and strength so that no one is able to keep his place against you.

Did you not, O Lord our God, after driving out the people of this land before your people Israel, give it to the seed of Abraham, your friend, for ever? (2nd Chronicles 20:5-7, Bible in Basic English, emphasis mine)

Two things quickly stand out here: for one, King Jehoshaphat clearly had an intimate relationship with God; for it is in the place of prayer, apart from the place of study of the Word, that you build up intimacy with God. For another, he equally mentioned Abraham, calling him the friend of God.

So the question is, how close to God are you? You must know that you can never be too close. God wants to share your life with you. Let Him in. Jesus, speaking through John the Beloved, in the Book of Revelation 3:20 (New Living Translation), says:

Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends. 

He has actually earlier, when He walked the face of the earth, called His disciples friends when He spoke the mind of God to them, as we read in the Book of John 15:15-16. He wants to be friends with you, only if you’ll let Him NOW. God is waiting for you with open arms. Come to Him as you are, making your life a living sacrifice.