A Longing for Intimacy

I have read two books outside of the Word of God that have helped me to see the value of sitting in the silence, “waiting on the LORD.” The books are Abba’s Child by Brennan Manning and Bridal Intercession by Gary Wiens.  I make mention of them because I recommend them as a helpful tool to enlighten you on how God feels about you and also the reason we pray and how it should be a direct response to our intimacy with Jesus, not a chore.

My feelings contradict what God asks of me. I find it very difficult to sit quietly alone in the stillness and wait on God. Many times, my response to his call for intimacy is: to jam in some earphones, open a book, turn on the computer or some other form of distraction so that I don’t have to feel the weight of silence and aloneness. I think this is important for us to get passed if we truly want intimacy with God. We can’t expect to hear from Him if all we do is drown Him out.

I have a challenge for myself that I want to extend to you:  Set aside an hour a day to sit quietly in SILENCE. Don’t allow anything to take that silent time away from you. Fight for it. In essence you will be fighting for time with God.

I warn you though. Anything and everything will try to stand in your way. The first thing to come to your mind as you sit in silence is all the things you have to get done today. Then comes the feeling that you are wasting your time and you need to be “doing” something. It happens without fail. I ask you though, what is your priority? Spending time with the LORD or doing things for Him. Martha and Mary had this same struggle when Jesus came to their home in Bethany:

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.  

But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

(Luke 10:38-42)

 “The Living Word is sitting in her living room and Martha chooses to serve Him as opposed to sit and be in His presence like Mary. This isn’t a focus on are you a Mary or a Martha. Both were loved by Jesus. The focus here is: which is most important to you? Being WITH Jesus or serving Him with the things we DO.” ~ From Bridal Intercession