Draw Near
Intimacy with God begins when we radically pursue Him with our whole heart. King David wrote, “When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, O Lord, I shall seek’” Psalms 27:8.
God invites us in James 4:8 to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” God is saying to us, “Seek my face! Draw near!” Our hearts are crying out, “YES!” But our flesh is screaming “NO!” The sad part is our flesh usually wins.
We are instructed in Psalms 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” The wording “be still” literally means to cease from striving. It means to let go and relax, to turn down the volume of the world and listen to the quiet whisper of God. It’s getting still and coming into a place of rest. It means soaking in His Presence. The result is – you will know He is God. The word “know” is literally an experiential knowledge of God. It’s not being still and knowing about God. It’s being still and knowing God experientially. You will experience God. You will know the Presence of God.
As we focus our heart, spirit, soul, mind, and body (the whole person) on His manifest presence, we become oblivious to the natural or physical world around us. The key is where your focus is–on the things of God or on things of this world. Bible reading and prayer is not enough. We must take time alone with Him, not asking for anything but more of Him, more of His fullness, more of His presence in our everyday lives.
God releases power through us as we dwell in intimacy with Him. The natural outworking of His Presence is miracles.