Christianity is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It’s not a religion. Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).
God’s eternal purpose is to bring humanity into fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Paul confirmed this when he wrote, “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:9).
With this in mind, I am going to write a few articles talking about knowing God practically. In these articles, I don’t want to be heavy on theology, but in the practical lessons I have learned over the past 20 years of seeking to know God.
So, I’ll share 20 things I’ve learned about knowing God intimately over the past 20 years.
During these two decades, I’ve been to some of the best events, read many of the must-read books, and listened to some of the greatest preachers in the world. But undoubtedly, my greatest times of transformation have come by consistently seeking the Lord in the secret place.
Before I begin, let me state these lessons are not something you should copy. Instead, you should try to glean from my experience and apply it to your own life, based upon your unique circumstances and personality.
That said, let’s get started with the 20 things I’ve learned about knowing God intimately.
1. Develop a life vision of knowing God intimately.
One thing I have learned, over 20-plus years of seeking to know the Lord intimately, is it takes time. Much time. You can’t rush the Lord. Instead, we must learn to wait on Him, seeking to hear His voice, receive His counsel, and sense His direction.
The apostle Paul, just a few years before his death—after planting numerous churches, writing much of the New Testament, and even going to heaven—experienced a reset in his life. Writing about this reset, Paul said, “That I may know Him. . . . Let us therefore, as many as are perfect [mature], have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you” (Phil. 3:10,15, emphasis mine).
Contrary to what most think, maturity is not measured by the number of miracles we perform or the number of souls we lead to Christ. Rather, maturity is measured by the measure of Christ within us. And this begins with a burning desire to know Christ intimately in the secret place.
Realize this: Knowing God intimately is the most important thing about your life. And knowing Him deeply and experientially takes a lifetime—it simply won’t happen in one day, one week, or one year. That’s why you—and me—need to make knowing God intimately in the secret place our life vision.
Like Paul, let’s make knowing God intimately the “one thing” our entire lives revolve around (Phil. 3:13). Make it the one thing you “press on” to obtain at any and all cost (Phil. 3:14).
2. Make knowing God intimately the highest priority of your life.
After you have made knowing Christ your life vision, the next thing is to make knowing Him the highest priority of your life.
The reason for this is simple. You make time for what is most important to you.
What I have found, serving as a leader in the church for over twenty-five years, is that many of us have our priorities out of order. We place family, ministry, entertainment, or career above intimacy with Christ.
But when you examine Scripture, it’s clear our priorities should be in this order: 1) intimacy with God; 2) spouse; 3) children; 4) job; and 5) ministry.
Make knowing Christ intimately the highest priority of your life.
3. Schedule your time with God every week until it becomes a habit.
Stephen Covey said, “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
After you have made knowing God your life vision and your number one priority, begin to make appointments to meet with God in your daily schedule.
Here’s what I learned early on: If I don’t schedule time with God, I will likely not have time with God.
Since most of us are super busy, scheduling is a must at first, especially if you struggle with regularly seeking the Lord in the secret place.
Over time, as this becomes a regular habit and even an addiction, scheduling time with the Lord is not nearly as important because this has become an automatic—a can’t miss time in your daily life, like the air you breathe.
4. Be faithful in the little time you have and more time will be given to you.
Jesus said, “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10).
In my late twenties and thirties, I used to get frustrated because my busy work schedule didn’t allow me to spend nearly as much time with the Lord as I would have liked.
I yearned to spend hours waiting on Him, but only had at the most 30 minutes before work. But when I realized this principle of faithfulness, everything changed. I decided to use the 30 minutes I had faithfully, and when He gave me more time, I would use that time to spend more time with Him.
If your work or family schedule consumes your time, I encourage you to take the small amounts of time you have—even if it’s only 5, 10, or 15 minutes—and use it to seek the Lord. If you are faithful with this, sometime down the road, He will give you more time to seek Him.
Also, make the most of every opportunity you have to seek Him. Seek the Lord on your commute to work. Be still and listen to the Lord’s voice while taking a shower. Ask the Lord to speak to you when you cut the grass, paint, or do other projects around the house. Turn the radio off and communicate with the Lord while running errands. Take a walk and listen for what the Lord will say.
5. If you are super busy, ask the Lord to show you how to seek Him.
Like you, I too have had unusually busy seasons. Times when it was almost impossible to spend time with the Lord. For example, when I worked in the office 3-5 days a week or the first year after my daughter was born, the time I spent with the Lord went way down.
Everyone has busy seasons. In these busy seasons, don’t lose sight of your life vision to know Him. The busy seasons will change and you will eventually have more time. So, make sure you keep your life vision to know Him in sight as you navigate busy seasons.
In addition, tell the Lord you want to spend time with Him but you don’t have the time right now. Ask Him for wisdom and creativity about what you need to do. He will show you. I have done this many times, and almost immediately, the perfect idea pops into my head. It’s an idea I hadn’t even thought about before.
Apply These in Your Life
If any of these lessons were helpful, act on them and apply them to your life. Stay diligent and you will grow in your relationship with the Lord.
In the next article, I will talk about more lessons I have learned on my journey to know the Lord deeper.
