The power of intimacy (I)

Exodus 24:12-18, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. [13] And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. [14] And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. [15] And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. [16] And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. [17] And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. [18] And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.”

Jesus gave this secret of effective prayer in Matthew 6:6, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

God instituted prayer not just so He can meet our needs but much more so we could be with Him. He enjoys your company more than you enjoy His. He is in love with you. He went to the cross to prove it. He wants you to set aside time to be with Him as often as possible so He can enjoy your company and deal with whatever issues you might have in the process.

He doesn’t want you to feel guiltywhen you are unable to keep your appointment in prayer; He wants you to feel thirsty. He wants you to miss Him. When I’m away from my wife, I don’t call her to say Honey I’m feeling guilty I’m attending a meeting, or you are attending a meeting. I say, I miss you. This was the intimacy Adam had at the beginning. God took it so seriously that even after Adam sinned, He still showed up to keep the appointment, but Adam was absent.

When God came calling, He asked Adam, where are you? He was not trying to locate where he was physically, He wanted to make Adam realize his new spiritual location. His absence from the secret place, the place of intimacy was as a result of a bigger inner problem. He was backslidden inside.

When you lose appetite for prayer, fellowship, or the Word of God, it’s an indication that a shift has taken place inside you. When you lose intimacy with God you replace His glory with makeshift covering. You look for leaves to cover yourself. You pretend to be spiritual by doing religious things like reciting some prayers, fasting, singing with your eyes shut in the church, serving tables, etc. Instead of hiding in God, you are hiding from Him in social groups, prayer groups, women’s club, men’s club, philanthropic groups, etc. God is calling you to return to the place of intimacy with Him. What is Intimacy? Sharing inner thoughts with others in close, caring ways.

Jesus demonstrated this intimacy with the Father. It was so productive it prompted the disciples to ask Him to teach them how to go about it. Peter James and John and the rest of them singled this intimacy out as their priority. We will give ourselves continually to prayer and the word they said. Relationships break down when intimacy breaks down. Relationships are sustained through intimacy.

These cherished moments of intimacy is the basis of your spiritual strength. The absence of this results in devastating spiritual weakness.

Let us look at Matthew 6:6, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” IN THE SECRET PLACE 1. You know God better. Moses was alone with God when God revealed Himself to him. He Said, the Lord the Lord God .... merciful .... it’s one thing to read about His glory, it’s quite another to experience it.

2. You know yourself better. I’m fearfully and wonderfully made, David said. Jacob got introduced to his real self when he wrestled with God that night – alone! If you want to know who you are, get alone with God. He will reveal your true identity to you. The Bible says in Romans 8: 16, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…”

3. You receive vital information. You cannot get secret information in a public place. You receive a vision of your future. You get to know your gift and your assignment. Isolated in the desert, God called Moses to come close, to isolate himself from the sheep and draw near to the burning bush. Then he received the call and the rod. His shepherd rod became the rod of God for signs and wonders. His assignment became crystal clear to him. The reason you’re confused about what you’re called to do is because you have been absent from the secret place.

4. You receive grace for your huge and intimidating assignment. You become stronger. Moses came down from the mountain with his face glowing with the glory of God. Jesus received strength to go through the Cross but He had to first isolate Himself. You receive grace to overcome temptation. Hebrews 4:16

5. You are rewarded publicly (Matthew 6:6). Those who get in the secret place get rewarded publicly. After a while, strange things (miracles, breakthroughs) begin to happen in your life that will be difficult to explain in human terms. The Bible says in Psalm 37:9b says,