Loving God happens in our hearts and in our lives. Here’s a picture God’s given me for how close and real our relationship with Him can be.
Many years ago I went to a conference and arrived a couple of days early. I was there before anyone else, so I was at this house by myself and I spent a great deal of time with God.
Bigger chunks than I had ever spent.
I remember being on my knees and listening to worship music and just being with Him for long periods of time. I can still remember the things He did in me that I will never forget. I remember getting up and walking toward the kitchen and looking back at where I had been kneeling and feeling like I had been somewhere. Powerful.
Then, I would head over to the church campus to prepare for a talk. I would be writing something out, and I if I would feel the intensity with Him begin to slip, I would put down my pen and I would pray. If that didn’t work, I’d run up to their bookstore and put worship music on. I was that extreme about being near to God.
It was an amazing intimacy with Him that I didn’t know was possible.
Then, the conference started and this spiritual high did not stay. But I can tell you that I took a step closer to God in that time that I didn’t think was possible. I thought I was close, but I became closer to God.
The next month, I was invited to a leadership meeting in California. I learned a lot and it was a lot of fun but there just wasn’t a lot of time for prayer. So it just wasn’t the experience I had in the other trip.
I came back home and this is what happened: I start to feel a longing for God. An extreme longing. A hunger for Him. I can even remember being in meetings and wanting to just get up from my chair and go over to the corner and get on my knees and be with Him. That was the desire.
I remember thinking, “What is going on?”
One day, I was on my knees with the youth ministry and we were praying and when it came for my turn, I prayed. And I closed with this, “God I love you with all of my heart.” I had closed my prayer with that before, but when I said it this time, I felt different. I can even remember the person who prayed after me making note of it. It impacted him, too. What was happening?
The next day I was with Children’s Ministry and we were listening to a song before we began praying and the song’s words said, “Let my words be few. Jesus, I’m so in love with you.” I can remember thinking, That’s it! I have fallen more in love with Jesus and I didn’t do it. God poured more love in my heart for Him. I didn’t know He did that. And I took a step closer than I knew possible.
I remember I would listen to a song I hadn’t heard in a long time and when I heard the song, this was my thought: I love God more now than when I used to listen to this song. And I thought, “I bet this is how this works. The longer we know God, the closer we get to Him, the more we are transformed into His image. That is what He offers.”
So stop and ask, “Where am I in loving God?” Remember, this is not about perfection. But are you moving? Are you seeking Him in this?
My next blog will look at the serving value of prayer.