Intimacy means that we live every moment of our lives in Him, allowing His wisdom to shape our thoughts and watching Him work in us and unfold His will for us.
Two important aspects of intimacy will help us keep his presence out of the abstract. First, God wants to communicate with each one of us. Prayer was never intended to be a monologue in which only our concerns are expressed to God. He also wants to give us His wisdom and direction. Jesus said that one of the major assignments of the Holy Spirit was to mediate this dialogue: “He will guide you into all truth… He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16:13).
Second, God wants to share His power with us. Human effort will never accomplish God’s work. Unless He fills us with His love, we will just exploit people for our own ends. Unless He fills us with peace, our path against the current of the world will destroy us with anxiety. Unless His power can really heal human hurts, how can we convey the depth of His love?
What I love about the prayer meeting mentioned in Acts 4 is not only that in the face of persecution they saw their need for boldness, but also that they got down on their knees until God filled them with it. They did not contrive a six-step plan to greater boldness. They did not institute persecution practice. They poured out their lives before the Father because they knew that only He could make them bold.
From “The Naked Church” by Wayne Jacobsen.
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