Living Successfully - God's Way!Uddrag

Get Rid of Spiritual Intimacy Blockers

We had a look at intimacy with God yesterday and had a look at the kind of relationship Abraham, David, and Jesus had with God, the Father.

So, what could stop us from experiencing such depths and heights of intimacy with God? What could keep such bliss at bay?

I have a few thoughts on the matter which I call “spiritual intimacy blockers”:

1. Lack of communication:

Talking, listening, and understanding are some of the working parts of the machinery here. Imagine a marriage relationship where a husband and wife don’t communicate. It wouldn't be much of a relationship. With God, communication takes different forms, some of the most common being prayer, praise, and worship (with the expression of music). The point is, are you communicating with God daily? Because once in a while won’t cut it.

2. Not studying the bible:

Did you notice I didn’t say ‘read’? Almost everyone says they read. At the very least, they read on Sundays during the church service, but studying is quite different. Sure, you’ve got to read to study, but so many Christians stop at reading, and it’s such a shame considering how much of who God is we leave on the table when we don’t dig deeper.

You could use a devotional to help you start things off, and there are many right here on YouVersion, but you must get serious about this! You can’t build an intimate relationship with someone you don’t know. Find your rhythm (as one size doesn’t fit all) and get to know the living God for yourself.

3. Not embracing the silence:

I bet you didn’t see this one coming, did you? Keeping silent is an integral part of communication that people don’t talk about often enough.

Back to our marriage analogy: no one wants to be married to someone who just talks and talks and never listens. Heck, no one even wants to be friends with such a person, right? When you’re constantly talking (interchange with the word ‘praying’ here), you miss out on salient non-verbal gems which often point to something deeper.

By silence, I’m not just referring to being quiet but being surrounded by quiet. Early risers can take advantage of the early mornings; night owls, the night time... but whatever you do, embrace the silence within and without—with God.

4. Not putting in the time:

All the points above show a need to devote time to this “God relationship”. A good marriage is not built in a day. It takes slow persistence—brick after brick after brick of good, solid investments in communication and getting to know your spouse. It takes time and it takes effort. As the bride of Christ, isn’t our relationship with God worth the investment?

A deeper understanding of these blockers and especially how it relates to our earthly love and of course marriage relationship has helped many Christians to develop intimacy with God on a more intense level.

If you struggle with any of these spiritual intimacy blockers, it is time to start working on them so you can build and experience a better relationship with God which will, in turn, impact and influence your success here on earth.

I believe that you are called to a place of intimacy with the Father and I pray that you will rise and take up your rightful place with Him.