Doing Life with God....Intimacy with God

I love Joyce Meyer. Though I am of the Roman Catholic faith, I enjoy her teachings. She has been instrumental to my desire for intimacy with God. I have her app on my phone and  often listen to her sermons, read her daily devotionals and articles. It was she who came up with the phrase, ’doing life with God’.

 I recently listened to one of her messages in which she encouraged that we incorporate God into every area of our lives. She gave an instance on how in the early days of the call of God on her life, while out bowling, she heard God tell her in her heart to ask Him to help her bowl. To her, it sounded ridiculous! (I can totally relate. hahaha) Of all the important prayer requests she had, and was waiting on God for answers for, He was interested in something seemingly so trivial. ☺  Anyway, she did pray for His help and that night she bowled really excellently. The point is that God is interested in every single area of our lives and is willing to help us in the small and big things.

So when I went  ‘back to school’ shopping for my son  two weeks ago, I prayed a simple prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to lead me to the right vendors, to make the best purchases at cheapest prices and most importantly that I won’t be cheated.

I purchased some pairs of socks from a vendor and left his stall, in search of the next item on my list. Immediately, I started feeling uneasy. I felt somewhat incomplete and actually muttered under my breath,” something’s missing”. I decided to search my shopping bag, and then realized that I had paid for the socks but didn’t collect it! I rushed back to him and he apologized profusely. He was more preoccupied with getting my balance than packaging my goods.

To some people, this may not be a big deal. They may call it sixth sense, intuition, common sense etc. I call it being under the influence of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. I strongly believe that without my prayers, I would not have been prompted to check my bag to realize the mistake.

What a delight it would be to be so close to God that my life reflects His presence. I wouldn’t even have to preach; people will see Christ in me and desire Him from the life I live. I would be excellent in my duties as a medical doctor. My home will be filled with the radiance of God’s presence emanating from me, and the devil would have no place in my home. I would be the quintessential victorious Christian.

Oh Lord! I truly desire to experience that special bond with you, not occasionally, but every single moment.

I believe that God equally wants us to be intimate with him. In John 15:5, Jesus says apart from Him, we can do nothing. We need to lean on Him to help us with everything in our lives. We shouldn’t try to do things on our own. Allow God to invade your life.

Proverbs 3:5-7 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.

Proverbs 16:3 says Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Let us learn to give God first place in our lives. Involve him in every aspect of your life; from shopping to caring for our families, to our businesses and careers, our social life, I mean nothing is too small for him. God wants our hearts, our times, and our lives.

5 Practical ways to do life with God

1.       Love/Desire the Lord. 

When you love someone, you want to spend enough time with the person…right? Same with God. The more you desire Him and love Him, the easier it would be to spend every second of every day with Him. Praying or studying the word to know God more would become a priority. David gave us a glimpse of this desire when he said in Psalms 27:4, one thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and seek Him in His temple.  Paul, in Philippians 3:2-11 stated his priority by saying he considers everything rubbish compared to knowing Jesus.

2.       Spend time with God.

Create a time specially for a meeting with God. You don’t have to sound religious or change your voice when you pray. Talk to Him, as you would a friend. Just tell him all that’s in your hearts (1 Peter5:7). Always try to maintain a constant state of prayer, e.g. by giving Him spontaneous thanks.

3.       Surrender.

Learn to surrender your entire being to God. Don’t keep some dark aspect of your life ‘hidden’ from God. He knows about it anyway. Allow Him to touch you and reveal those areas of your life where you need to change and you will by you relying on His help.  

4.       Obedience.

When we are prompted by God through the Holy Spirit to do certain things, we would know because we would feel at peace. This is not the time to rationalize. Just obey God’s leading. As you pray, you would learn to hear and recognize God’s voice. (John 10;27-29).The more your mind is renewed by His word, the more you would be able to discern when He is truly speaking to you through the Holy Spirit, and when He is not.

5.       Be persistent.

  Don’t give up. Make Christ your priority even during those ‘dry spells’ when we would rather sleep or entertain ourselves than spend time with God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Whatever your station in life, whether out of desperation, boredom, or desire, keep seeking God.

Action Plan.  Once you find that you are awake in the morning, go to the throne, before the phone.-Joyce Meyer