5 Ways I Pursue Intimacy with the Lord

Hello, tender friends!

People sometimes comment on my “intimacy with the Lord,” and someone (I’m talking about you, SanVercell!) commented on it on this forum a few weeks ago.

Let me be clear: I don’t know that I agree that I have deep intimacy with the Lord. I think declaring that makes me sound like a Pharisee, and nobody wants to be a Pharisee.

But it’s something that people have commented on consistently enough that I thought I’d post about it.

So here is it, the ways I pursue intimacy with the Lord:

1. Spend time in the garden. It’s one of the ways to get a little bit closer to God’s original plan for humanity. A dear friend of mine and Anthony’s has said, “God started it all in the garden. He’s going to end it all in the garden too,” and I felt that in my spirit when he said it because I believe it’s true.

1. I sing pop music to God. I hadn’t yet discovered Christian music in 2012 when the song “Everything Has Changed” by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran came out. But the first time I heard it, the lyrics described how I felt about God so clearly that I sang it to Him as an act of worship as I drove to work.

Here are some of the lyrics:

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now/’Cause all I know is we said, “Hello”/And your eyes look like comin’ home/All I know is a simple name/And everything has changed/All I know is you held the door/You’ll be mine and I’ll be yours/All I know since yesterday/Is everything has changed

Here’s the link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1oM3kQpXRo

Christian music is great, and I still listen to it, but I was in a season when I was seeing God everywhere and that song ministered to me at that time. Since then, I sing pretty much all pop love songs to God. Just replace “baby” with “Yahweh” and you’ve got yourself a Christian hit.

2. Remember the words of people who have encouraged you in your pursuit of the Lord. Faith doesn’t arrive on a smooth continuum just because you start living for God instead of yourself. Has my faith increased over time? In general, yes. When God doesn’t protect me from certain hardships, it doesn’t have the shock value it once did.

I still have days that I wonder if I have much of any faith at all. I still take stock of the fact that I’ve been blessed throughout my life (I was born in a first world country…enough said) and thank God that he hasn’t made my tribulations worse. I don’t know what my level of faith would be like if he had made them more severe.

When I’m doubting my faith, I remember these words, written by friends of ours on the inside cover of a Joyce Meyer Devotional they gave me one year for Christmas.

In case the handwriting was hard to decipher, here’s the message typed:

Dear Stacey, 

From the first time we met you our hearts were drawn to you, and the desire of our hearts is to see God’s plan and purpose for your life fulfilled. In Ruth 1:14, Orpah kisses her mother-in-law, but Ruth cleaves to her. There are those who kiss with emotion – then those that cleave with devotion to the Lord. You are one that cleaves to the Lord, saying as Ruth did, “wherever you go, I will go. And where you lodge, I will lodge…” Always remember, “draw near to the Lord and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:8)

Much Love in Christ, 

Eric and Daniela

Being told that I cleave with devotion to the Lord is one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. When times are rocky, which is pretty much all the time these days, those words buoy me.

4. Keep a prayer journal. The act of writing prayers down sharpens my focus and helps me intuitively prioritize my prayer life.

5. Ask God who He is. Yes, I know many people say that God already told us who he is in the Bible. That’s true. But I’ve also had supernatural peace flow over me when I’ve come to God and simply said, “I don’t understand you and I’m tired of people telling me how I should understand you. Tell me who you really are. I want to hear it straight from you.”

Writing #5 out, I realize I haven’t done it in a while, so I’m actually off to do that now. I pray that you receive an extra revelation today if you do the same.

Ok, that’s all for today, tender friends. Thank you for stopping by, and thank you for sharing!

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