Steemchurch: Developing intimacy with God in prayer

God created each of us with a need for intimacy - intimacy with Him. Therefore, we must come to understand what He is asking of us and what He is offering. We must realize that we were created to have camaraderie with our Creator. We need it and He loves us.

Our God wants to hear about every thought, desire, and dream. In the Bible, David told God he was angry. Did God know that David was angry? Of course. But He wanted David to tell him. This allowed David to listen to God's heart and vent his anger on someone he understood, without directing it towards others. He chose to remember the faithfulness of God in his life and act accordingly.

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Matthew 11:12
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

Today, countless people long to have spiritual power. They want God to move with power in their lives. However, they do not want to pay the price of developing intimacy with the Lord. They dismiss that if we are in His presence, praying, we prepare the way for power to assist us in the daily ministry and development.

Remember that to pray is to place our trust in God, recognize His unlimited power, and firmly believe that when we pray, circumstances may change.

1. After receiving Christ, the greatest step of the believer must be to learn to pray.

Luke 11: 1
It happened that Jesus was praying in one place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him: Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

• Prayer was a principle of life of the Lord Jesus.

Mark 1:35
Rising very early in the morning, still very dark, he went out and went to a desert place, and there he prayed.

• Even though the daily days were very intense, the Lord Jesus took time to stop praying.

Luke 5:16
But he withdrew to desert places, and prayed.

The Lord Jesus began and ended his daily days in prayer.
When we pray, we express our full trust in God.

• The multiple daily occupations and fatigue were not an excuse for the Lord Jesus to stop praying.

Matthew 14:23
Fired the crowd, went up the mountain to pray separately; and when night came, he was there alone.

The Lord Jesus spent long periods in prayer.
The Lord Jesus sought intimacy with the Father in prayer.

Mark 6:46
And after he had dismissed them, he went to the mountain to pray;

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2. The Christian is called to develop intimacy with God in prayer.

Matthew 6: 1-8
1 Beware of doing your righteousness before men, that they may be seen of them; otherwise you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, to be praised by men; I swear you that the have already got their reward.
3 But when you give alms, do not let your left know what your right is doing,
4 so that your alms may be a secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you in public.
5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, to be seen by men; I swear you that the have already got their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, enter your room, and shut the door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you in public.
7 And praying, do not use vain repetitions, like the Gentiles, who think that by their talk they will be heard.
8 Do not therefore be like them; because your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him.

• Our times of prayer are known by God and therefore, we should not boast of the minutes and hours we spend in His presence.

• It is important that we set aside a place or a space to pray.

• A fundamental principle of prayer: praying is nothing other than talking to God, developing intimacy with Him.

• Prayer makes the Lord what we are and what we need, and God who loves us responds with power.

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3. Who prays to God experiences a life of miracles.

Luke 11: 1-13
1 It happened that Jesus was praying in one place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
2 And he said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.
3 Give us this day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive all those who owe us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
5 He also said to them, "Who among you who has a friend goes to him at midnight and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
6 because a friend of mine has come to travel with me, and I have nothing to put before him;
7 and he, answering from within, says: Do not bother me; the door is already closed, and my children are with me in bed; I can not get up, and give them to you?
8 I tell you, even if he does not get up to give them to be his friend, yet because of his importunity he will get up and give him everything he needs.
9 And I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to the one who calls, it will be opened to him.
11 What father of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if fish, instead of fish, will give you a snake?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

• The Lord Jesus taught us that it is in God that we should place our trust in prayer.

• The Lord Jesus taught us that in prayer we reach all that we ask of the Father.

• The Lord Jesus taught us that God responds to the prayers of those who persevere.

• If we do not know how to pray, it is necessary to place our trust in the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us.

Romans 8:26
And in the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness; For what we have to ask for as it should be, we do not know, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspeakable groans.

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There is nothing we can not tell God. There is nothing in our heart or thoughts that He wants us to hide from Him. He does not want us to carry a yoke that He wants to carry. Consider this: Nothing takes God by surprise. He is aware of every aspect of our lives. Even so, He still loves us and loves us with an eternal love.

Intimacy is the result of a mutual desire, includes a relationship of absolute trust, without any fear. Moses is a clear example of how much trust he placed in God. The Bible tells us that he talked with Him face to face.

Every believer who declares to follow the Lord Jesus, as He did, must develop intimacy with God in prayer. It is a principle that must be applied to their daily lives, without the strenuous days constituting a pretext for not going to the presence of our beloved God and Creator.

He loves us, hears our cry, and responds with power. That is the security we have when we go to His presence.