Why is it important to know the Lord intimately?

Why is it important for us to know the Lord in an intimate, personal way? If God loves His children perfectly, and if there is nothing we can do to make Him love us more—or less—why is having a personal relationship with Him so important? Why is it not enough to live as good a life as we can, and let it go at that?

Because if we do, we miss so much. God doesn’t have favorites, but He does have intimates. We see that in Martha and Mary—Martha, busy in the kitchen; Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:38-42). In John 11, we hear that their brother, Lazarus, had died. Jesus was away, and as He returned, Martha went out to Him and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21) Then Jesus answered her, “Your brother will rise again. ...I am the resurrection and the life....” (John 11:23, 25)

Then Mary went to Him. She fell at His feet—“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32) Same words. Different response: “When Jesus saw her weeping...He was deeply moved in spirit... and He wept...” (John 11:33, 35) He went to the tomb and raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11: 38-44).

Martha got a theological response. Mary got an emotional response, and a miracle. Which sister knew and loved Jesus in a more personal way? When we pray, how do we want Him to respond to us?

Why pray the Scriptures for each other?

Praying that our faith will grow more and more, and the love that we have for each other will increase (2 Thessalonians 1:3) doesn’t sound like spiritual warfare prayer, does it?

But any Scripture can be a warfare prayer. In Ephesians 6:10-18, the Apostle Paul says we are in a battle against the powers of darkness. Our assignment is to stand our ground and pray. We’re to put on the full armor of God and wield our weapon—the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Not the whole Bible as one weapon, but the Bible as an arsenal of weapons, every verse a different sword!

As we pray God’s Word for each other, our prayers are able to defeat Satan. It’s not the prayers, but the promises behind them. God has promised that we’ll have what we ask, when we pray according to His will (1 John 5:14-15). His Word is His will. He has also promised that His Word will accomplish its purpose (Isaiah 55:11), that it is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) and sharper than a double-edged sword. A simple prayer such as “help our faith to grow more and more, and our love for each other to increase” becomes a powerful weapon against Satan because of God’s promises. Such a prayer will defeat evil spirits seeking to discourage our faith or disrupt our relationships and give us victory.

What kind of relationship does the Lord want with us?

Jesus gave the answer in John 14, where we read: “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” (John 14:21)

Jesus is describing a love relationship in which He reveals Who He is, allowing us to know Him in a highly personal way. To whom does He reveal Himself? To whoever obeys. When I obey, I’m expressing my love to Him, and He is free to express His love in and through and to me. All in response to the choices I’m making—choosing to spend time with Him, in prayer and in His Word, choosing to neither grieve nor quench His Holy Spirit within me.

In Experiencing God authors Henry Blackaby and Claude King write, “Everything in your Christian life, everything about knowing the Lord and experiencing Him, everything about knowing His will, depends on the quality of your love relationship to God.” [Henry Blackaby, Claude King, Experiencing God, p.44]

Our Lord wants to have a personal, love relationship with us, one in which we learn to live the abiding life, to discern the prompting of His Spirit, to be confident that we know and do His will. Everything in our Christian life depends on it.

Our prayer—Lord, we not only want to tell You we love You, but we want to show You by the way we live. We need Your help, and we ask for it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

How much of a personal relationship with the Lord do we want?

How much of a personal relationship with the Lord do we want? The closeness of our relationship with Him, the quality of our relationship with Him depends on us.

We know the Lord lives in us, if we are His children, and that makes the relationship possible. Jesus told us in John 14, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. ...You know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ...on that day, you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (John 14:16-20, italics added)

Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, lives in us—yet the degree to which we know Him, love Him, experience Him as person on a continuing basis, is up to us. He doesn’t force Himself on us at the moment of salvation, or at any other time in our Christian life. We choose whether or not to spend time with Him, in prayer and in His Word—and that creates the foundation of our love relationship with Him.

We choose whether or not to be in fellowship with Him, as we decide whether or not to confess our sins on a regular basis. Isaiah 59:2 tells us: “Your iniquities—[your unconfessed sins]—have separated you from your God.” The choice is ours.

Our prayer: Lord, help us to recognize and choose to confess every sin as You bring it to mind, so that our relationship with You is not hindered. In Jesus’ name, amen.