6 Ways to Protect your Intimacy with God

Using the word PRAYER, we find ways to protect our relationship and intimacy with our Heavenly Father. I pray the following thoughts and Bible verses will speak to your heart today.

6 Ways to Protect Your Intimacy With God

P – Pursue the Lord

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).

“…seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).

R – Rid Yourself of Sin.

I like the word rid. It means to pull out by the root; eliminate; discard; be free from. Ephesians 4:31-32 (NIV) uses the word rid to tell us how we are to treat sin in our heart.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

The word rid and similar verbiage is used in Colossians 3:8, Ezekiel 18:31, and James 1:21.

A – Alter your thought processes.

Renewing our mind in the Word of God will help us gain an eternal perspective in our situations. Gaining a new and heaven driven mindset will center us in the Lord when all is unsettling around us.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and prefect will” (Ephesians 12:2; see Ephesians 4:22-24 as well).

Y – Yield your right to be right.

In short, be rid of the prideful attitudes, mindsets, and actions that proclaim yourself better than those around you. There are times our words and attitudes are wrong no matter how right we are. Carry the attitude of Christ who serves and loves all (Philippians 2:1-8)

“…live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3)

E – Evict harmful relationships.

Friends are needed. However the friendships we choose can either spur us on in our pursuit of the Lord, or they can cloud our judgement enough to distract us from intimate connection with our Heavenly Father. Stay focused on your prize. Remove harmful relationships where you can, be ever more diligent about protecting your connection with the Divine.

“A righteous man (woman) is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Proverbs 12:26)

“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God…” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34).

R – Resolve to do the Lord’s will.

Decide to not sin. Daniel resolved to not defile himself with the foods and habits of the royal environment around him. (Daniel 1:8). Because he decided to not sin, possibly even before he was tempted, he was strengthened in resolve to stand against the temptations.

We can do the same. We know our pit falls. We know our weaknesses. We can choose to be prepared to not go back to that same rut.

“Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God,… so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God” (Jeremiah 42:6).

That last verse sounds repetitive. However, it’s through repetitive resolve, continually renewing our minds, and always seeking the Lord that we are able to be rid of the things that disconnect us from our Heavenly Father

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