What is Intimacy with God ~ from Repurpose Your Weariness
If you are not familiar with the phrase ‘intimate fellowship with the Lord’, you might wonder what in the world I am talking about. It might sound awkward or weird to you. So let me explain. In the beginning, when God created man and woman, He created us for fellowship with Him. He made us in such a way that we could have a unique relationship of love, tenderness, and connectedness with Him. Not even the angels who were created before us have this special relationship with God. Mankind had a special place in God’s heart until sin shattered our ability to have that close, intimate relationship with God. We couldn’t solve that problem, so God solved it in the person of Jesus, who paid the price for our sin by taking the punishment we deserved but could never pay.
Now that the relationship as a Child of God can be restored, we each have the choice as to whether we will receive that gift, go in through the open door into God’s presence and fellowship with Him. There are many ways that a Child of God can have intimate fellowship with God just as there are multiple ways that human beings can become intimately attached to one another and maintain that intimacy. But in the same way that an intimate human relationship can become marred or broken and lose the joy of intimacy it once experienced, so our relationship with God can be either cultivated or lost. God is unchanging and always pursuing us. Therefore, if the relationship between God and us has grown cold or feels canceled, be assured that He is not the one who initiated the distance.
In your journal, take a few moments to meditate on the ‘warmth’ in your relationship with God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Has a poisonous wind cooled the fire that once burned brightly in your heart? Has it been a long time since you truly worshiped Him or felt His Presence? If you aren’t where you want to be in your relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you can begin the journey back today. In your journal, write out a prayer of repentance for allowing this most precious and important connection to grow cold. You can also find a Prayer of Rededication to Jesus Christ at the bottom of this section.
Ask the Heavenly Father to stoke the embers of the fire of godly passion once again and thank Him for sending the Holy Spirit to do just that! Our God is a compassionate and kind God Who understands our frailties and is ready to pardon and heal. Come back to your First Love and find revival for your heart today!
You can pray in your own words or pray this Christian rededication prayer. Give thanks to God for a change of attitude so your heart can return to what is most important.
Prayer for Rededication of your life to Jesus Christ:
Dear Lord,
I humble myself before you and confess my sin. I want to thank you for hearing my prayer and helping me return to you. Lately, I’ve been wanting things to go my own way. As you know, this hasn’t been working out. I see where I’ve been going the wrong way—my own way. I’ve been placing my faith and trust in everyone and everything but you.
Dear Father, I return now to you, the Bible, and your Word. I pray for guidance as I listen for your voice. Let me return to what is most important—You. Help my attitude to change so that instead of focusing on others and events to meet my needs, I can turn to you and find the love, purpose, and direction I seek. Help me to seek you first. Let my relationship with you be the most important thing in my life.
Thank you, Jesus, for helping me, loving me, and showing me the way. Thank you for new mercies, for forgiving me. I rededicate myself to you wholly. I surrender my will to your will. I give you back control of my life.
You are the only one who gives freely, with love to anyone who asks. The simplicity of it all still astounds me. I love You, Lord. Pour out Your grace so that I can love more with each passing day! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
The heart of Jesus towards sexual sin and trauma
If you have ever committed adultery or fornication, been sexually abused or trafficked, involved in prostitution, or opened the door to pornography, then you know the overwhelming self-hatred that comes in the wake of these sins and traumas. Whether you were the perpetrator or the victim, you become a casualty of the devil’s scheme to bring death and destruction through misuse and abuse of our bodies. If you find yourself reading these pages and are still trapped in self-hatred, I want you to hear these words:
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So, what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (Mark 8:3-11)
Maybe you feel like I felt when I finally realized what I had done and how I had sinned not only against my husband and children, but against my Beloved Savior who had given His life for me. Maybe you haven’t told anyone about what you have done or what was done to you because you are so afraid of what people will think of you. But let the words of Jesus to the wounded and humiliated woman who was probably standing in front of him wrapped only in a piece a cloth, bring you comfort. The One Who loves you most has already declared your forgiveness and restoration. You will find that bringing your pain to the light will allow you to heal and remove the hold that the tormenting voices have over you. I do advise you, however, to talk to someone who has a track record of spiritual maturity and depth in the Word, and who is trained in healing, deliverance, and counseling. They will help you process your pain, repurpose your self-hatred and lead you to healing and freedom.