Knowing God Intimately

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. – Ephesians 1:17

In the first chapter of the book of Ephesians, Paul is writing from a Roman prison, and he tells the Ephesians how he is praying for them. He also tells them how they can pray for themselves. The type of prayer he’s teaching them about is a prayer that will connect with God. This is a prayer that God will hear, and God will answer.  

Interestingly, the prayer Paul is describing is all about one simple thing – knowing God. There are four things we should pray for on a daily basis, and when we pray these four things, we will be praying a life-changing type of prayer. We’re going to discuss the first of these four things today, and we’ll discuss the other three tomorrow.

The first thing we should be praying daily is that we would know the Lord intimately. Most of us begin all of our prayers asking God to bless us with something or give us something. Paul does not pray for God to give the Ephesians what they want, but He prays what we all need and that is to know God better.

The main purpose of prayer is not for God to give you what you ask from Him. It is to grow you in how well you know Him. The old saying really is true, “It is not what you know, it is who you know that counts.”

Knowing God is the bullseye of the Christian life - not knowing of God, not knowing about God, but knowing God. We are not talking about a philosophical, intellectual, or even emotional knowledge of God. We are talking about a personal, experiential knowledge of God. And when you know God this way, your entire life will change.

Dear Lord, I want to know you more intimately. I don’t just want to have an intellectual understanding of you. I want to know you on a deep, personal level. I pray that as I continue to spend more time with you that you would reveal more of who you are to me. In Jesus’ name, amen.