The Priority Relationship by: Rick Astle
In Jeremiah 9:23-24 God identifies wisdom , might and riches as things that have the potential to become more important to you than the priority of understanding and knowing God in a personal way. In Matthew 10:37 and Luke 14:26 Jesus selected family members and our own self as examples of relationships that are often cherished deeper than a relationship with Him. As your love for Jesus deepens, you will begin to glorify God in the way that you love and treat your family, and you will become less selfish in your relationships.
The fact that God created us in order to have fellowship with us, coupled with the fact that He sent His only Son Jesus to earth to restore that fellowship after it was broken, tells you something about the priority that God places on relationship. There is no doubt about it, God wants you to know Him on a deeper level than just a "casual acquaintance". His priority goal is to reveal Himself to you.
You share your most intimate thoughts and feelings with close friends, well Jesus considers you His friend, and wants to share with you all that He has heard from his Father(John 15:15), speaking to you by His spirit (John16:13). Jesus wants you to know Him in a relationship that is priority and personal.
So if you want to love the Lord more deeply and obey Him more readily, you will need tto begin with knowing Him more intimately. The believer's "Divine Domino Theory" is very simply and works as follows: Priority time given to bible study and prayer moves you to know God> knowing God moves you to love God> loving God moves you to worship and obey God.
According to A.W. Tozer, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." How we reverence and consider God has a direct influence on the priority we will place on prayer. Here are 3 areas of study that will require further research on your part, but will help you give God the consideration that He deserves.
1) Spend time studying the "considers" in God's word.
Deuteronomy 4:39, 1 Samuel 12:24, Job 23:15;37:14, Psalm 8:3-4;50:22-23;64:9; 119:95, Ecclesiastes 7:13-14, Isaiah 1:3;5:12; 41:20, Hosea 7:2, Haggai1:5;7, Luke 12:24-31,Hebrews 12:3
2)Spend time studying God's attributes
Since He is infinite, any list would be incomplete but here are some of His attributes:
His faithfulness-Psalm 119:90; Lamentations 3:21-23
His goodness- Psalm 31:19;145:9
His grace_ Romans 11:6; Ephesians 2:8-9
His holiness-Romans 3:23; Revelations 4:8
His unchanging nature- Malachi 3:6; James 1:17
His love- Jeremiah 31:3; Romans 5:8
His omnipotence- Psalm 115:3 ; Jeremiah 32:17 (unrestrained power)
His omnipresence-Psalm 139:7; Jeremiah 23:23-24 (unrestricted closeness)
His omniscience- 1 Corinthians2:11; Hebrews 4:13 (unlimited knowledge)
His sovereignty-Acts 17:24-26; Revelation 19:6 (total control)
3) Spend time studying God's names.
Instead of just jumping right into our "want list" our prayers should begin with a reverent acknowledgement that reveals that we realize to whom we are speaking. In order to consider God as He desires to be known, it is necessary to understand the meaning of His names. Here is a list of God's names that you should learn:
Adonai- the Lord
El Elyon- the Most High God
Elohim- the Creator God
El Olam- the Everlasting, Unchanging God
El Roi- the God Who Sees
El Shaddai- God Amighty, Full of Grace
Jehovah- The God who keeps His Covenant
Jehovah Jireh- the Lord will provide
Jehovah Kadesh- the Righteous One
Jehovah Raah-the Lord, My Shepherd
Jehovah Rapha- the Lord who heals you
Jehovah Sabbaoth- the Lord of Hosts
Jehovah Shalom- the Lord, My Peace
Jehovah Shammah- the Lord who is always near
Walking with God means abiding in His presence with the desire to know Him through intimate fellowship. This is accomplished through your prayer life. We walk with God not primarily to get answerss from Him, but to be with Him.Your walk should not be limited to a daily quiet time or to participation in prayer meetings at church. Brief periods of private and public prayer are only a small part of walking with God. What we are after is a continuous walk. walking with God involves 1) listening to God long enough for Him to tell you what He meant by what He said. 2) meditating over what He meant long enough to understand what He is revealing to you 3) obeying the Holy Spirit's prompting to put into action what He has shown you will be your role in what He is doing.
Obedience to the Lord remains the single strategy that has ever been discovered for effective kingdom work. And obedience comes as the results of a deep love developed by a consistent walk. Walking with God means humbly desiring Him to develop your character before He gives you an assignment. Walking with God causes you to realize that fellowship with Him is far more valuable than anything you do for Him. Walking with God means that prayer has become your vital breath.Oswald Chambers wrote: "If we think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts, we think rightly. The blood flows ceaselessly, and breathing continues ceaselessly; we are not conscience of it but, it is always going on. The man who walks with God sees in every new experience, every new reading of scripture, every new circumstance,an occasion to make haste tp prayer.
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