As we know,
God is restoring all things. When we say this we are thinking of the
restoration of the 5-fold ministry and gifts of the Spirit. Then, all members
of the Body of Christ doing the work of the ministry.
But, the Lord is restoring beyond those
things. His will and purpose is to restore our relationship with Him. This
relationship goes beyond the relationship that King David had, beyond what Joshua
and Moses had, beyond what Enoch enjoyed. As wonderful as these relationships were,
God wants to bring us back to the relationship that Adam had in the Garden of
Eden.
This a place of not only knowing the Will of
God for our lives, not only knowing His Voice and seeing what He is doing and
moving with Him but knowing Him intimately.
It is a place of knowing His footsteps and not only hearing His
heartbeat but that we will know what it is to be in the center of His Heart.
This is the
Call of Father God for each of us. This is the purpose of sending His Son Jesus
Christ and the giving us the Fullness of the Holy Spirit overflowing our lives.
Sadly, many of us never even move beyond the
basics of being saved and being filled with the Holy Spirit but there is a desire
for more but many never get to the more of God. This creates a sense of frustration
in our spirits and eventually leads many to settle for what that have. There
are others who attempt to do it in their own strength. This often leads to a
legalistic life of reading so much of Word of God, and praying many hours a
day. These things are good as tools and need to happen but the Word without the
Spirit and prayer without the Spirit lead only to an intellectual knowledge
about the relationship with God.
So, how do
we reach the relationship that God has purposed us and created us to be in with
Him. This requires a shift in the way we do things for God. It requires a shift
in our attitude about our relationship with God, our Father. We must realize that
relationship is more than what we do for Him.
Relationship comes from spending time with one
another not just in the doing of things.
The time factor is key. Sadly, many do what has been mentioned above,
read the Bible, some study the Bible (there is a difference) and they pray.
This is where most of us stumble, we make prayer a one-way litany of our needs
with a little praise and thanksgiving to top it off. Then, we are out the door,
expecting an answer, but never taking time to listen or spend time with the one
we are praying to.
Listening is the beginning of relationship.
Psalm 46:10 the NRSV, NIV, ESV, KJV all translate this way, “Be still, and know
that I am God.” The NASB says,” Cease striving and know that I am God”
and the AMP version, “Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand)
that I am God.” In all of these translations, God is saying to us to “stop”
realize Who I Am.
How do we be
still and start listening? I started, 8 years ago, by stopping for 5 minutes at
the start of each day, now this means turning off all distractions in our
lives, TV, computers, tablets and yes cell phones, and I inviting God come. I
would say this: “Father I want to be
with you, come and be with me.” Then, I would wait, thinking on God, with
expectation that He would come. This takes some training to keep your mind from
wandering off to other things but you can do it as I did.
Since then my time with the Father has grown
and grown, it how goes well beyond the 5 minutes, it is developing into more
and more intimate relationship with God.
It has
become a knowing that God is with me every day, all day and this fact makes my
life exciting and an Adventure in the Spirit, daily.
Salvation opens the way. Being filled with
Holy Spirit gives us the power. Studying the Word of God gives us knowledge and
prayer starts the communication. Taking time to invite God to come and be with
us, waiting and listening for Him are the first steps in the restoration of the
Adam Relationship in our lives.
There is much more to come. You can begin to experience
this relationship with God. God wants you to have it, all you have to do is
willing to spend time with Him.
©COPYRIGHT 2016 RICHARD L SPANGLER
